Review by Adam M on March 17, 2017.

Nailed to Obscurity brings the doom metal to the forefront on King Delusion.   The doom metal here has similarities to My Dying Bride, but brings its own unique view to the table. The vibe of the band is similarly downtrodden even if they don’t use the violins. There could also be parallels made to other bands like Draconian, but the bottom line is that there is definitely some death metal to be mixed with the doom metal.

The atmosphere created by the band is powerful and all consuming. There are some great performances put on display here. The guitars weave the threads of melodramatic riffs with a lot of compassion and energy. The vocalist is bleak and fits the music perfectly. The drumming provides a solid background to the remainder of the music. All in all, the band is cohesive and pulls together to form a whole in a wonderful fashion. The melodramatic aura of the outfit is captured from the first track 'King Delsusion' which does a nice job opening up the proceedings. The second track 'Protean' introduces some nice clean portions to the mix. If there is a negative to be found here, it’s that the band maintains their mood, but doesn’t go overboard to find something completely phenomenal. The music thus coasts along feeling complete even though it could be reaching into higher territories to become more ingenious and interesting. Still, for a doom band, the music here is appropriate and captures the correct aura. It just seems that things could be pushed in more compelling directions at times.

When compared directly to Draconian and My Dying Bride, the band successfully brings a similar, but still unique sound to the proceedings. As a doom album this is thus a successful venture that has appropriate amount of feeling and emotional depth. Congratulations to Nailed to Obscurity on creating a beast of an effort with King Delusion.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Adam M on March 17, 2017.

Nailed to Obscurity brings the doom metal to the forefront on King Delusion.   The doom metal here has similarities to My Dying Bride, but brings its own unique view to the table. The vibe of the band is similarly downtrodden even if they don’t use the violins. There could also be parallels made to other bands like Draconian, but the bottom line is that there is definitely some death metal to be mixed with the doom metal.

The atmosphere created by the band is powerful and all consuming. There are some great performances put on display here. The guitars weave the threads of melodramatic riffs with a lot of compassion and energy. The vocalist is bleak and fits the music perfectly. The drumming provides a solid background to the remainder of the music. All in all, the band is cohesive and pulls together to form a whole in a wonderful fashion. The melodramatic aura of the outfit is captured from the first track 'King Delsusion' which does a nice job opening up the proceedings. The second track 'Protean' introduces some nice clean portions to the mix. If there is a negative to be found here, it’s that the band maintains their mood, but doesn’t go overboard to find something completely phenomenal. The music thus coasts along feeling complete even though it could be reaching into higher territories to become more ingenious and interesting. Still, for a doom band, the music here is appropriate and captures the correct aura. It just seems that things could be pushed in more compelling directions at times.

When compared directly to Draconian and My Dying Bride, the band successfully brings a similar, but still unique sound to the proceedings. As a doom album this is thus a successful venture that has appropriate amount of feeling and emotional depth. Congratulations to Nailed to Obscurity on creating a beast of an effort with King Delusion.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Adam M on March 17, 2017.

Nailed to Obscurity brings the doom metal to the forefront on King Delusion.   The doom metal here has similarities to My Dying Bride, but brings its own unique view to the table. The vibe of the band is similarly downtrodden even if they don’t use the violins. There could also be parallels made to other bands like Draconian, but the bottom line is that there is definitely some death metal to be mixed with the doom metal.

The atmosphere created by the band is powerful and all consuming. There are some great performances put on display here. The guitars weave the threads of melodramatic riffs with a lot of compassion and energy. The vocalist is bleak and fits the music perfectly. The drumming provides a solid background to the remainder of the music. All in all, the band is cohesive and pulls together to form a whole in a wonderful fashion. The melodramatic aura of the outfit is captured from the first track 'King Delsusion' which does a nice job opening up the proceedings. The second track 'Protean' introduces some nice clean portions to the mix. If there is a negative to be found here, it’s that the band maintains their mood, but doesn’t go overboard to find something completely phenomenal. The music thus coasts along feeling complete even though it could be reaching into higher territories to become more ingenious and interesting. Still, for a doom band, the music here is appropriate and captures the correct aura. It just seems that things could be pushed in more compelling directions at times.

When compared directly to Draconian and My Dying Bride, the band successfully brings a similar, but still unique sound to the proceedings. As a doom album this is thus a successful venture that has appropriate amount of feeling and emotional depth. Congratulations to Nailed to Obscurity on creating a beast of an effort with King Delusion.

Rating: 8.1 out of 10

Review by Carl on March 23, 2021.

In the late 90's and early 00's, it looked like there was something of a gross-out war going on in grindcore/death metal circles. Bands like Mexico's Disgorge, Flesh Grinder and Rotting Flesh (both from Brazil) and Last Days of Humanity seemed to be doing their utmost best to come up with the most disgusting artwork, and they sure got tongues wagging. That was until Waco Jesus released their "The Destruction of Commercial Scum" debut and took home the award for most nauseating artwork. It is in this spirit that we find Oxidised Razor and their debut. This stuff will upset anyone into clean producing, technical musicianship and elaborate song writing, and you bet your granny's dentures that exactly that is why I love this album so much.

Musically you can situate this troupe of degenerates somewhere in between the usual suspects like the aforementioned Disgorge and Last Days of Humanity, but a less mechanical Mortician is also a point of reference. The guitars are tuned waaaaaay down into the ground and are drenched in distortion, almost to the point where it is hardly audible what is exactly being played. On top of that comes a guttural grunt that sounds like it was recorded while the vocalist was belching out his lyrics with his head stuck in a bucket. This bass-heavy concoction of a-musical rumblings is held together by the percussion. The drummer alternates between savage blastbeats, a sturdy thrash-like tempo and the occasional groovier beat, and is the instrument to follow to get a notion of the songs structures. Surprisingly, the production isn't that bad at all, the rough concoction of death metal and grind comes thundering out of the speakers, submerging the listener into a pit of bloody gore. There is no melody to be found on this whole album, only a powerful barrage of down-tuned, relentlessly hammering death/grind, and it's exactly that "fuck you" to musical niceties that I so love about this release. This is pure grinding raw power death metal.

However, there are some things that rub me the wrong way. There's quite a lot of movie samples here, kind of like Mortician has, and just as with the latter, they get somewhat tiresome towards the end. Another thing is the fact that this cd features no less than 4 cover songs (Gut, Mortician, Carcass and Impetigo), and I would've preferred some more original compositions in their place. Though it has to be said that those covers don't feel or sound out of place in the total picture, the band has really made them their own. And finally, those almost 10 minutes of silence before the hidden track starts playing are bullshit. I never appreciated that on other albums, and neither do I here.

Those things aside, this still is a great release for all who like their death/grind raw and sick. It's heavy, distorted and totally devoid of melody and subtle nuance, and I love it all the more for it.

Rating: 8 out of 10