Oblivion Beckons is the third studio album by Charleston heavy metal band Byzantine. It was released on January 22, 2008. According to vocalist Chris "OJ" Ojeda, the band "stripp[ed] down some things like the vocals for a more aggressive style and ... [went] out on a limb on some other things [they] have never tried before." Ojeda also described Oblivion Beckons as being the band's most varied album.[4] The album reached #8 on CMJ.[5]
Track listing
- "Absolute Horizon" – 5:00
- "Nadir" – 3:41
- "Oblivion Beckons" – 3:54
- "The Gift of Discernment" - 5:29
- "Expansion and Collapse" – 3:44
- "Catalyst" – 3:36
- "Pattern Recognition" – 4:14
- "Renovation" – 2:16
- "Centurion" - 4:23
- "Receiving End of Murder" – 4:13
- "All Hail the End Times" – 3:46
- "Deep End of Nothing" – 5:38
- "A Residual Haunting" – 4:11
Personnel
- Chris "OJ" Ojeda - Vocals, Lead/Rhythm Guitar, Piano
- Tony Rohbrough - Lead/Rhythm Guitar, Keys
- Matt Wolfe - Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Guitar
- Michael "Skip" Cromer - Bass, Vocals, Lead Guitar
- Charles Aaron Fisher - Producer/engineer
- Drew Mazurek - Mixing
- Allen Douches - Mastering
Singles
- "Nadir"
- "Expansion and Collapse"
Trivia
- During the song "Deep End of Nothing" all four band members trade lead guitar solos since all members played guitar in previous bands before Byzantine.
- The Morse code intro that starts off the album spells out the phrase "Absolute Horizon Brings Death" 3 times.
- A common theme of death and finality is used throughout the lyrics coinciding with the fulfillment of their recording contract.
- The guitar melody at the beginning and end of "Centurion" is the haunting melody to the classic horror movie "The Howling".
- The album artwork utilizes once again the image of Tovah Miller, who was the actress in the music video for "Jeremiad" and the short performance film on the DVD "Salvation".