Oblivion is an American

technical death metal Technical death metal (also referred to as tech-death) is a musical subgenre of death metal that began and developed in the early- to mid-1990s, with particular focus on challenging, demanding instrumental skill and complex songwriting. Techni ...

band from the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

formed in 2007. They have released three albums, one demo and several music videos. Members of Oblivion have previously performed in several notable metal bands such as

Antagony Antagony is an American deathcore/metalcore band from the Bay Area of California, United States, formed in 1998, disbanded in 2009, and reformed in 2019. The group are noted for combining their metalcore style with a remarkable amount of death m ...

All Shall Perish All Shall Perish was an American deathcore band from Oakland, California, formed in 2002. The band was signed to Nuclear Blast and have released four full-length albums through the label. Their final album, '' This Is Where It Ends,'' was releas ...

, Hacksaw to the Throat, Alchemicon, Feast and Fractals. Another notable aspect of Oblivion is the fact that one member has a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

degree in music and is a university professor, while another has a doctorate in mathematics. Currently, the band is signed to

Unique Leader Unique primarily refers to: *Uniqueness, a state or condition wherein something is unlike anything else *In mathematics and logic, a unique object is the only object with a certain property, see Uniqueness quantification Unique may also refer to ...

and will release multiple albums through the label. A reissue of their debut album, ''Called to Rise'', was released on October 15, 2013.

History

In 2007, after two decades away from the scene, Bay Area

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

veteran Ted O'Neill sought musicians with which to play music. His previous band, Alchemicon, had broken up after appearing on the

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distrib ...

compilation "Complete Death 2." O'Neill found a suitable partner in Joe Ellis, a seasoned session guitarist in the Bay Area metal scene. The duo began playing music together but required an additional component to refine their sound. They sought the services of Nick Vasallo, an award-winning composer and professor of music. Vasallo, who founded

and fronted several other Bay Area bands, was appointed lead vocalist and bassist. The trio began writing songs immediately and recorded at their in-house recording studio (reamping courtesy of Zack Ohren at Castle Ultimate Studios in

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

). Their first released song "Annunaki" went viral with a simultaneous video release that received over 5000 hits in 24 hours. Since their first studio session video they have received 20,000 views in 3 weeks. After their demo CD was released, both John Haag and Joe Ellis were replaced by Luis Martinez and Victor Dods.

Ownership of band name and endorsements

Despite there being several other bands named Oblivion, the members officially secured the ownership of the name with the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

. Members of Oblivion are currently endorsed by

KxK Guitars KxK (also spelt KXK and Kxk) Guitars, established in 1997, is a guitar company whose specialty lies mainly in custom guitars for Heavy metal music, heavy metal artists. All their instruments are made in the United States and are handcrafted. The c ...

, Rhodes Amplification,

Ibanez is a Japanese guitar brand owned by Hoshino Gakki. Based in Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Hoshino Gakki were one of the first Japanese musical instrument companies to gain a significant foothold in import guitar sales in the United States and Europe, as ...

Ernie Ball Ernie Ball (born Roland Sherwood Ball; August 30, 1930 – September 9, 2004) was an American entrepreneur and musician who developed guitar-related products. Ball began as a club and local television musician and entrepreneur, building an inte ...

Mesa Boogie Mesa/Boogie (also known as Mesa Engineering) is an American company in Petaluma, California, that manufactures amplifiers and other accessories for guitars and basses. It has been in operation since 1969. Mesa was started by Randall Smith as a s ...

, Fractal Audio, In Tune guitar picks, WeNeedMerch.com, VIPmerch.com and

ENGL Engl or Engl. may refer to: *England, a country that is part of the United Kingdom * English * Engl (surname), a German surname *Engl., taxonomic abbreviation for botanist Adolf Engler Heinrich Gustav Adolf Engler (25 March 1844 – 10 October 1 ...

Musical style, vocal style, and lyrical themes

Oblivion's music utilizes aspects from multiple styles of extreme metal: death metal, black metal, and thrash metal. Nick Vasallo's vocals frequently fluctuate between

death growls A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for their ...

, inward subtone singing and high-pitched screams. Unlike much of their peers, Oblivion's lyrical themes do not revolve around religion, war, politics, or gore. Their band name literally translates to "the condition or state of being forgotten or unknown." Because of this they sing about the history of the earth that has been buried with time.

Band members

;Current members *Ted O'Neil - guitar (2007-present) *Nick Vasallo - vocals, bass (2007-present) *Ben Orum - bass - (2012-present) *Luis Martinez - drums (2012-present) *Victor Dods - guitar (2012-present) ;Former members *Joe Ellis – guitar (2007-2012) ;Live musicians *John Haag - drums (2007-present) *Curt Opem - drums (2007-present)

Discography

;Demos ;Studio albums

Music videos

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://obtainoblivion.com American technical death metal musical groups Death metal musical groups from California Black metal musical groups from California American post-metal musical groups Musical groups from the San Francisco Bay Area Musical groups established in 2008