Artist: Camera Obscura Two [CO2]
Album: D.O.D.
Label: Selfmadegod Records
Release Date: 12/02/2021
Country: Poland/Italy
Let’s take a look at Camera Obscura Two [CO2] and their upcoming debut full-length release D.O.D., set to drop on February 12th on Selfmadegod Records, in partnership with Earsplit PR.
The band is somewhat of a supergroup, consisting of Alberto Penzin, formerly of Italian thrash legends Schizo, on four-string bass, joined by Giulio The Bastard (Cripple Bastards) on vocals, Andrea Ragusa (ex- Pestem, I Will Kill You) on five-string bass, Marco Mastrobuono (Hour Of Penance, Inno) on guitars, and Giuseppe Orlando (Novembre, Catacomb) on drums. They play a harsh and aggressive blend of grindcore, death metal, trash and crust punk.
Do you like your music to kick your ass? Well, you’ve come to the right place, because Camera Obscura Two are not here to mess around, they’re here to play harsh and aggressive grindcore/crust. Between the dirtiness of the crust elements and the raw aggression of the grind elements you have got some pretty harsh music on your hands. Having said that though for music of this nature there is actually plenty of groove and melodic in parts of the music and that may be due to the thrash elements. It’s kind of hard to explain but I guess the best way to put it is that in parts this is melodic grindcore. Do not take that to mean that it’s anything like melodic death metal with its clean crisp tones and harmonies etc., that’s not the case at all. What it means is that the music is not totally dissonant in nature and rather follows rhythmic patterns. Again, I should clarify that this also doesn’t affect the level of aggression in the music, it just channels in a more focused way. Also keep in mind that only parts of the album share this trait and others are fairly chaotic.
As far as vocals go there are three distinctive styles on the album, a harsher, more guttural death metal/hardcore blend, a higher screechier grindcore style and a raw and barked more guttural style that brings to mind grindcore vocals. The guitar work shifts back and forth between grindcore, death metal, thrash and crust punk in regard to the style of riffs and hooks being churned out. The variety doesn’t just stop with the style of guitar though, we also get a number of different tones and tunings used on the album, from a death metal crunch to a dirty downtuned tone. Bass wise I am happy to say that the band stuck with the more punk influences style and so we get thick and chunky basslines that are clearly audible in the mix. Drum wise things shift constantly too from furious blast beats to more rhythmic punk styles and everything in between.
I would say that while certain tracks on the album lean far more into specific styles than others, each track has a good variety of influences. If we use track 9 Deathstress as an example, the first third of the track is extremely aggressive, fast paced and heavy then after a few minutes things take a complete swing to hardcore, with that upbeat bouncy energy. Then with the last third or so of the track we get a crisp clean impressive guitar solo that runs for the remainder of the track’s duration. This is just one example of what the album has to offer.
Overall, this is a fantastic album and I think most fans of extreme music will really enjoy it. Even if you aren’t normally a grindcore fan I would definitely recommend giving this album a chance as it may be a great way to familiarise yourself with the genre while still not completely submerging you in it thanks to the mixed influences on the release. Check out the two pre-release tracks below and order the album or come back tomorrow for the full release.
Listen to and order the album below:
Bandcamp:
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