Melbourne progressive metal band Ne Obliviscaris don’t have casual fans.
Their fans are the kind who noticed the first image of a black hole resembled the cover of their last album. “We had to make a post about it because we had been inundated with people tagging us and sending messages about this black hole,” laughs singer Xenoyr. “To shut everyone up, we posted something about it so everyone knows that we know.”
Over a year has passed since Ne Obliviscaris were last in Australia, having spent that time touring the world, and Xenoyr has found being home stranger than his fans’ obsession. “Being back at home is kind of a shock to the system,” he says. “It takes a little while to adjust getting back to normal life.”
Instead of normal life, the band has decided to treat Australian fans to a series of massive shows.
The band have toured heavily around the world for their 2017 third album ‘Urn’. Their Australian return will allow fans to hear the band perform the album at their absolute best. “When we released the album, we toured after it was released,” says Xenoyr.
“A lot of people didn’t have the opportunity to absorb the new material. It’s been a year-and-a-half now, so I think the fans have got used to them now. I think it’ll be a new experience for people who come to the show.”
Ne Obliviscaris won’t be alone on this trek. Joining them are Brisbane’s Caligula’s Horse, Canadians Beyond Creation, and Americans Allegaeon and Rivers Of Nihil, making for a massive night of progressive metal. “We all had discussions with everyone in the band as to who they’d prefer to bring,” he says.
“At the end of the day we couldn’t decide, so we said ‘f... it’ and brought them all. They’re all friends of ours, and playing with bands who are your friends creates an even better environment for everyone at the show.”
Upon completion of their Australian tour, Ne Obliviscaris will take a break from live performances dedicating time to writing their next album. “Ultimately, between now and August we’re concentrating on writing material for the new album and, ideally, mixing and mastering in October,” Xenoyr says.
Ne Obliviscaris’ progressive metal takes influence from death, black, thrash and melodic metal, to classical, jazz, and flamenco. The complexity of their songs, however, has made it impossible to write while touring. “We would love to be the kind of band who writes effectively on the road, but we’re pretty sad at doing that,” laughs Xenoyr.
“As we’ve toured together and grown as a band we’ve begun to understand each other more, and develop a bit more respect and patience, especially in the writing process. We write really well however we do things, with space and not having any distractions around like touring.”
It’s too early to say what the next Ne Obliviscaris album will be like, except to expect the unexpected. For now, fans can follow their progress on Patreon. “We’re open to anything and I think our fans will expect us to do different things,” Xenoyr says.
“We’ve always done whatever we’ve wanted and we can still do that and not be flamed for it. We’ve been across quite a few more countries since the last album, so we’ll see what influences from those countries rub off on the new material.”
Ne Obliviscaris Tour 2019
Thu 9 May - Lion Arts Factory (Adelaide)Fri 10 May - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 11 May - Manning Bar (Sydney)
Sun 12 May -The Triffid (Brisbane)
