Location: Salisbury, North Carolina
Country: USA
Genre: Melodic death metal, metalcore
Full length: Obscure Sorrows
Format: Digital
Label: Bleeding Art Collective/Blood Blast Distribution
Release date: February 27, 2026
In January, I reviewed a promotional video from Blackwater Drowning’s upcoming album “Obscure Sorrows”. The footage must have left a deeper impression than I realized, as I find myself immersing in the album. Blackwater Drowning’s third visual piece, released to coincide with “Obscure Sorrows”, somewhat echoes the creative liberties of “The Sixth Omen” and “Eye of the Storm”, but with notable distinctions.
“Devour,” inspired by vocalist Morgan Riley’s personal experience with a friendship that disintegrated through no fault of her own, emphasizes the song with surreal, symbolic, and nightmarish imagery vividly mirroring her ordeal. The visuals serve to heighten the emotional intensity and deepen the listener’s connection to the narrative.
Set in a dark forest and a nearby lake, it features a confrontation of sorts between provocatively dressed, sword-wielding dancers, along with imagery of sacrifice and transformation. In many ways, the sacrifice and transformation depicted through the choreography and effects reflect the band’s sacrifice of the typical approach to melodic death metal and metalcore, and the transformation of the nuances incorporated into those genres.
Cryptopsy guitarist Christian Donaldson understands the importance of mixing and mastering a band’s work to ensure every element is presented with sharpened clarity. Given the hyperspeed nature of his band and his experience working in the studio with bands like Suffocation, Ingested, and Shadow of Intent, his process of bringing out Blackwater Drowning’s heavy and experimental aspects, effectively balancing brutality with innovation was meticulous and thorough.
As vocalist and frontwoman, Riley demonstrates greater tightness, range, control, and diction than usual for crossing melodic death metal and metalcore. She also exemplifies the need for a vocalist to have a strong presence to match the instrumentation. Displaying operatic strength as she projects her voice, she phrases the lyrics in a way that makes them easily understood over the instruments, with rasping and melodic vocals overlapping in a natural flow.
The band’s musicianship is as tight as her high-pitched rasp. This symmetry is evident from the start of “The 6th Omen,” with an urgent keyboard passage that pushes you past its brief morphing into guitars, thrusting you into a top-notch execution of precise, inventive riffs, equally precise transitions, and virtuosic solos that continue throughout.
There is guitar crunch often played in inventive, intricate patterns, fitting a puzzle made of melodic progressions with grit that often grows around the edges. Keyboards underscore the verses like a deep lake, sometimes lining the background, sometimes adding color, and sometimes taking a more active role in the songs.
With occasional hints of thrash, black, and symphonic metal, and piano like a gentle rain falling into the lake I mentioned earlier, “Obscure Sorrows” is clearly an effort on Blackwater Drowning’s part to have each element of their sound interact harmoniously, fluctuating like waves in a vast ocean. –Dave Wolff
Lineup:
Morgan Riley: Vocals
Jeremy Bennett: Guitar
Ron Dalton Jr.: Guitar
Aria Novi: Bass
Aamon Dalton: Drums
Track list:
1. The 6th Omen
2. Devour
3. Eye of the Storm
4. Incubus
5. Heir of the Witch
6. Washed Out Washed Away
7. Where Mean Fear to Tread
8. Death by 1000 Cuts
9. Teeth and Claws
10. Chain of Ages
