Ingurgitating Oblivion – Ontology Of Nought Review

[Cover art by Dmitriy Egorov]

Ontology of Nought is a deeply overwhelming album. You probably already knew that, though, looking at that title, the fact that one song has 17 words in its name, or if you happened to peep the 73-minute runtime across only five tracks. In general, technical death metal is intended to be an overwhelming style, but Ingurgitating Oblivion approaches that goal from a rather unusual angle. While they aren’t interested in creating inviting or easy music, this German duo doesn’t rely solely on relentless blasting and fretboard gymnastics. These maestros overwhelm with dynamics, creativity, attention to detail and unexpected choices. There is so much nuance to every song that album number four necessitates quality headphones to even hear everything that’s happening.

Moments of quiet should provide reprieve but more often build an eerie or upsetting atmosphere before they’re blasted to smithereens. Unusual instruments flit in and out, sometimes being barely audible under a rhythmic assault but adding an unnerving layer all the same. You’ll see flute on the instrument list but this is far from a Jethro Tull album. The woodwind instrument creeps in and quietly builds tension before an explosion of harsh vocals and violent guitars. You’ll hear stretches that harken to Deathspell Omega’s peak. Gravity blasts will back guitars that sound like they’re on the verge of melting right after a passage that feels at once whimsical and like an evil circus due to the implementation of vibraphone. Leads will balance between scribbling madness and odd prettiness while still intentionally never feeling quite right. A stretch can offer lounge music that sounds like it’s improvised but has two different spoken word passsages overlapping on it to sound like a full hotel bar. All of this happens on the opening track “Uncreation’s Whirring Loom You Play with Crippled Fingers.” Like I said, overwhelming.

If you have even a passing interest with this musical space, there’s a good chance your familiar with Defeated Sanity mastermind and drummer Lille Gruber. Despite having a new album with that band, Gruber was enlisted once again as a session artist for Ontology of Nought. Despite not being a full-time member, his performance alone is worth the price of admission. While his jazz background is apparent in his other work, he utilizes it in much more direct segments here. “The Barren Earth Oozes Blood, And Shakes And Moans, To Drink Her Children’s Gore” is entirely devoid of harsh vocals and is barely a death metal song for much of its runtime. It opens with bizarre recorder (I think that’s what that is, anyway) before opening up to meditative clean guitars and Tibetan singing bowls. That early stretch has Gruber in pure, gorgeous jazz mode. Ava Bonam provides husky clean singing paired with a prettier, smoother style layered in as well. Outside of a doomy hard hitter, the guitars are barely riffing and, instead, layering tones, notes and chaos among moments of beauty. At one point, the bass is downright bopping. The song builds and builds making it feel like a big climactic moment in an opera about a serial killer.

This, of course, all takes place before an 18-minute closing track opens with an evil piano and some violence. Gruber is once again in an absolute tizzy destroying the song. There are points where he’s doing staccato gravity blasts. The man is a lunatic. Norbert Müller and Florian Engelke’s guitars fire off about 30 different stylistic choices across that time as well. Session artist Chris Zoukas’ bass is riveting in quieter passages. Just as it opened the album, the flute brings it to a close with a slow somber outro. If you’re only going to give one song a chance on Ontology of Nought, this is the one to play.

Ultimately, no review is going to do this album justice. A minimum of about 5,000 words would be needed to get anywhere close and your time, dear reader, is much better spent experiencing Ontology of Nought directly. No matter your final opinion, I can guarantee you won’t hear another new record quite like this in 2024. Find your best headphones, a quiet space, and then listen. And then, listen again, and again, and again, and again until you’ve fully processed at least one song from Ingurgitating Oblivion.