That changes with the far deeper grooves of third track Ghosts: a composition openly indebted to vintage goth-rockers like The Sisters Of Mercy and The Mission. "At this point there aren’t a lot of people alive that remember the ‘80s goth scene!" reckons Gregor. “So hopefully it’ll sound like a fresh thing to a lot of people.” Although Nick’s bold chorus line (‘For JESUS CHRIST!’) verges on the sort of blackened cheese rarely seen this side of a toastie maker, the velvety textures and dancefloor-filling hookiness throughout the rest of the song manage a sense of refreshment and logical progression.
The album undulates from that point, with The Devil Embraced and Serenity delivering prime-cut savagery, all serrated riffage and swirling solos, while cold-hearted lament Forsaken and waltzing epic Ending Days layer up the indulgence. The latter, particularly, is a cataclysmic standout with its unstoppable escalation and towering guitar solos providing Obsidian’s most straightforwardly satisfying moments.
The mid-paced melancholy of Hope Dies Young pirouettes us back into outright goth-rock, its beguiling lyrical motifs (‘How could you know? / As pure as driven snow’) elevating a stock template that benefits greatly from the dynamism of the record’s shifting shades. The full-blooded baroque doom of Ravenghast sends us home on an unequivocal high, however. Examining the bitter misfortune and cruel irony of those soldiers killed in conflict after battle has technically ended through history, it throbs with trademark pessimism and the steely, galloping bludgeon of warriors determined to go down swinging.
In all, it's a fitting late-career statement from one of heavy music’s most relentlessly brilliant bands.
Verdict: 4/5