REVIEW: Tómarúm - Beyond Obsidian Euphoria

Tómarúm’s second offering Beyond Obsidian Euphoria is an exploratory album in its concept, focused on coming out of the other side of depression and navigation of life after this experience. It is sonically average for its genre, that being black metal with some progressive elements, and in its lyrics - though in some places poignant - often come across more as pretentious.

This album opens with ‘In Search of the Triumph Beyond…(Obsidian Overture)’, which clocks in at 9:59 and works well as the opener to this album. The lyrics are a little wordy which is difficult to make work with such guttural vocals, but elements of this track, such as the section from 3:20 to the end of Longerbeam’s guitar solo have a spaced out energy to them which feels akin to waking up with the weight of a dark period feeling light for the first time.

The track following is 'Introspection III', which is a pretty instrumental number that pulls the good of the prog influence to give what feels like a walk to the tavern at the beginning of a D&D campaign. Lazy guitar harmonies mix well with an easy open-hat based drumline that show off the capabilities of each member of Tómarúm as musicians. 'Shallow Ecstasy' contrasts well with these laid back vibes, pumping the drums back to a double bass and with a more sinister feel as the screaming vocals return. However, it is from about here where all of the comments on each track are the same: “that sounds cool.” The drum breakdown from around 2:25 sounds cool, as does the ambience in the background of the track that gives it its sinister energy. The lyrics to this track call to the feelings of what getting better means and being able to look forward to better days ahead - but the feeling that seven minutes is not needed for this nags, and only nags more in the second half of the project.

Jumping ahead a little, the main perpetrator of this crime is 'The Final Pursuit of Light', coming in at 14:09 and with its penultimate place on the tracklist indicates a crescendo. To give the credit where it is due, it just about avoids feeling like two or three songs mashed together and there’s no element that can be pointed to to take out entirely. It generally plays with tempo well, having a thrashier feel throughout its first act which is mellowed into something more akin to prog to show off each guitar player’s skills in turn. The section that they’ve written from about 8:30 to 11:10 is also…really cool, with a satisfying drum solo from Chris Stropoli at its midpoint and a groovy sounding bassline from Micheal Sanders being a welcome change of vibe.

The real crime that 'The Final Pursuit of Light', and Beyond Obsidian Euphoria in general, commits is boredom. Nothing in this almost 15 minute ballad - lyrically or sonically - is new or different to what has been heard in the six tracks that precede it. The concept is realised, absolutely, but for a concept that is supposed to be similar to that of a fantasy novel there is never the feeling that the character gets anywhere on their journey. The protagonist is met in track one speaking of “A new journey begins…/In search of the triumph beyond/a new euphoria” and by the end they claim to have found “obsidian euphoria”, but the lack of evolution in the sound makes this resolution of the story accessible only to those who have the lyrics. Even with the lyrics, spending time googling what the crucial concepts are for an album is an acquired taste; one easier to acquire if said lyrics are atop a soundscape that already tells you the story.

Overall, Beyond Obsidian Euphoria is a passable black/prog metal offering which would likely be enjoyable for those who mainly listen to those genres, but there is little to say about it as a piece of music or as a concept. There is every chance that, as Tómarúm write their story, this album may be recognised for a richness that is currently lost, but hopefully with that more time may be spent diversifying and tuning their sound rather than finding obscure words to litter into their lyrics.

Score: 5/10

Beyond Obsidian Euphoria was released on April 4th 2025.

Words: Julia Brunton

Photos: Tómarúm