Straightaway most of you will probably be wondering “Who’s this Jennie Tebler character, and what has she done for the metal scene that warrants her name tagged onto the front end of some bands moniker?” The short answer to that question is very little. An interesting fact about Ms. Tebler is that she collaborated with Bathory’s fallen hero Quorthon back in 2004 and is rumored to be his kid sister. Whether or not this is true is irrelevant to the music of Out Of Oblivion, so from this point forward I’ll be dropping the Jennie Tebler part of the name since nobody has ever heard of her other than her supposed family.

Rarely in the female fronted metal circuit is one fortunate enough to stumble across an act that genuinely defies the cut & paste and cash in mentality of said scene. Bands such as Aesma Daeva, To-Mera, and Amaran are a few that have all opted out of the goth status quo to forge their own innovative paths. While Sweden’s Out Of Oblivion doesn’t completely push the envelope of originality, it is apparent that they’re fairly comfortable with the idea of being different (at least part of the time), as evident on their debut effort Till Death Tear Us Part.

In terms of quality, the ten tracks on Till Death Tear Us Part can be divided into three classes. First, there are the somewhat innovative songs like “Brand New Start” and “Life Full Of Lies” that dare to deny the norm and exhibit a certain degree of technical proficiency and heaviness. Next are memorable songs such as “Demon’s Ode”, “Enchanted”, and “Mistake” which place emphasis on preserving the catchiness and haunting melodies that the genre is known for. Lastly, and certainly least, are repetitive run of the mill goth rock tracks like “Queen Of Ice” and “Succubus” that take the potential of all the previously mentioned songs and impede their promise by diving headfirst into the mold that has produced countless other generic acts of the kind. Fortunately there are few of these moments and the handful of missteps won’t hamper your overall enjoyment of the album.

While Out Of Oblivion do occasionally borrow from some of the better known acts of their style, it’s more than obvious that they’re willing to explore outside the goth boundaries that they are rooted in and Till Death Tear Us Part is as good of an album as one can expect from a brand new band in any genre. In short, Out Of Oblivion don’t venture quite far enough off course to attract listeners who aren’t regular followers of this style, but if Lacuna Coil, Xandria, and Leaves’ Eyes are your cup of tea, then you’ll most certainly find something to like about this young act.

[Visit the band's website]

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