Oak Coffin — The Obsidian Ritual

Oak Coffin — The Obsidian Ritual

After twenty five years of silence, New Jersey’s Oak Coffin return with their long awaited new full length, The Obsidian Ritual, set for release on September 13th, 2025 through Iron, Blood and Death(CD) and Futhark Records (vinyl). For a band once considered a hidden cornerstone of the American black/death underground, this resurrection feels both timely and essential.

Founded in 1994, Oak Coffin quickly established themselves in the burgeoning USBM scene by merging the bleak, atmospheric qualities of black metal with the density and aggression of death metal. Their output during the 1990s, though limited, earned them a devoted cult following and cemented their reputation as a band unafraid to blur boundaries between subgenres. After disbanding in 1999, the name lingered in obscurity, referenced by collectors and diehards but absent from the contemporary conversation… until now.

The Obsidian Ritual is not a nostalgic exercise. Instead, it is a direct continuation of the band’s original vision, sharpened and reinvigorated for a modern context. Across ten tracks and a concise 32 minute runtime, the record demonstrates an economy of songwriting that refuses to overindulge while still offering an immersive experience.

Songs such as “My Fire” and “I Am the Ruler of This Earth” embody the raw blasphemy and hostility that defined Oak Coffin’s early years, while “Catoptromancy” and “…An Offering” explore more ritualistic and atmospheric territory. The title track closes the album on a particularly striking note — slow, suffocating, and thematically weighty, it encapsulates the record’s essence of darkness and transformation.

Production, handled by Ashk’Ente at Azimuth Mastering, strikes a careful balance between clarity and grit. The mix allows the instrumentation to breathe without sacrificing the abrasive qualities so crucial to the genre. Visually, the album is anchored by Alvaro Valverde’s cover art and J. Bowens’ layout, both of which mirror the album’s lyrical explorations of ritual, sacrifice, and transcendence.

What makes The Obsidian Ritual compelling is its integrity. Rather than attempting to modernize through trend driven choices, Oak Coffin deliver a record that feels timeless, rooted in the traditions of black/death metal but executed with renewed conviction. This is not a reunion for its own sake, it is a fully realized statement from a band reclaiming their voice after decades of silence.

With The Obsidian Ritual, Oak Coffin affirm their place within the extreme metal canon — uncompromising, atmospheric, and authentically driven by the same creative fire that first defined them.

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