posted on 22.11.2023

CRUCIAMENTUM: Acclaimed Second LP From US/UK Death Metal Quartet, Obsidian Refractions, Now Streaming In Its Entirety; Album Out Friday On Profound Lore Records

photos by Necroblanca Photography

Stream CRUCIAMENTUM’s Obsidian Refractions HERE.

Obsidian Refractions, the acclaimed second album from UK-based violent death metal contingent CRUCIAMENTUM, is streaming in its devastating entirety, just days ahead of its worldwide release this Friday through Profound Lore Records.

CRUCIAMENTUM’s Obsidian Refractions comes eight years after their debut LP Charnel Passages – one of the most anticipated death metal debuts of current death metal cannon. Now more commanding than ever with a formidable new lineup, Obsidian Refractions sees CRUCIAMENTUM deliver their most advanced, demanding, and overpowering work yet.

Taking everything in the band’s death metal paradigm to the next sonic measure beyond anything the band has previously released, Obsidian Refractions combines the very essence and aesthetic of ancient cult death metal while encapsulating the dynamic, complex, next-level affectations relevant in today’s death metal landscape. The darkness and resonating unequivocal uncompromising evil and magnitude surrounding the record also builds upon the CRUCIAMENTUM aura of dark death metal majesty, combined with the progressive, savage, and complex yet aggressive substance of the album. Through the unrelenting and ever tectonic-shifting riff assault, Obsidian Refractions is a modern death metal monument unparalleled.

Obsidian Refractions was mixed by Greg Chandler (Esoteric) at Priory Recording Studios, mastered by D. Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio, and features artwork by David Glomba. The new visualizer video for “Scorn Manifestation” was created by Chariot Of Black Moth.

Stream CRUCIAMENTUM’s Obsidian Refractions in its entirety now at YouTube RIGHT HERE.

Obsidian Refractions will be released through Profound Lore Records on LP, CD, MC, and digital formats this Friday, November 24th. Find preorders, merch, and digital presaves HERE.

Stand by for further updates on CRUCIAMENTUM to post over the months ahead.

"...you're left with the impression that CRUCIAMENTUM might actually be the best British death metal band (not from the subgenre's classic period) in the game today. 9/10" – Decibel Magazine

“This is an album that deserves to be listened to from front to back without interruption, one that will take you on a journey through dark, foreboding landscapes and leave you feeling invigorated when the curtains fall and the lights come back on. 4.5/5” – MetalSucks

"…a next-level band that will surely win over audiences if given the opportunity to tour with the likes of Obituary, Carcass, and others of that caliber, and with Obsidian Refractions, CRUCIAMENTUM have proven themselves to be amongst death metal's most elite. 8.5/10" – Blabbermouth

“…CRUCIAMENTUM’s imposing, monstrous sound is rooted in old-school death metal and then blown up tenfold into a crushing and crunchy aesthetic that is as reliant on aural aggression and heft as it is on intricate songwriting and fascinating progressions. In a sense, we’ve been wanting more of the same from CRUCIAMENTUM, and luckily with Obsidian Refractions that’s just what they’ve delivered. – PopMatters

"What ultimately makes Obsidian Refractions such a stand-out album amidst a sea of undeniably solid, but largely unimaginative, sound-a-likes is its judicious use of malevolent melody and ominous atmosphere..." – No Clean Singing

"...Obsidian Refractions builds atop the foundation laid by Charnel Passages, with CRUCIAMENTUM pushing its cocktail of unrelenting aggression and sinister ambiance to hellish new extremes. More dense and dissonant than its predecessor, Obsidian Refractions retains CRUCIAMENTUM’s uncompromising brutality while, in the same breath, embracing further experimentation rather than resting on its laurels." – Invisible Oranges

“A charnel and ecstatically charged opus of true death metal might from one of the finest… The infinite depths of this band’s sonic upheavals continue to impress and explore while keeping the original spirit as alive as ever. It should go without saying this is one of the truly unmissable death metal records of the year. 9/10” – Nattskog

“CRUCIAMENTUM have impressed and surprised me in a fundamental way with this dark, doomed yet set-afire burst of death metal and it all comes down to putting their own designs on the old ways and making them bigger, not only more imposing and ridden with impossible depth but smarter in their otherwise violent craft. 90/100” – Mystification Zine