Obscura are a German technical death metal band from Landshut. Formed in 2002, the group were initially known as Illegimitation and featured guitarist and bandleader Steffen Kummerer, vocalist and bassist Martin Ketzer, second guitarist Armin Seitz, and drummer Jonas Baumgartl. The group's current lineup includes 2024 additions Kevin Olasz (guitar), Robin Zielhorst (bass) and James Stewart (drums), although their touring lineup in 2025 has featured guitarist Vince Wilquin, bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout and drummer Clément Denys.
History
2002–2007 16-year-old Steffen Kummerer formed Illegimitation in 2002, just "a few months after" buying his first guitar. The original lineup included Kummerer and Armin Seitz on guitars, Martin Ketzer on bass and vocals, and Jonas Baumgartl on drums and cello. The band recorded a self-titled demo in November 2003. Ketzer left in early 2004 due to the band's "manic rehearsing schedule", with Seitz following "a few weeks later" to focus on his education. Kummerer subsequently took over vocals and wrote the material for Retribution with Baumgartl ahead of recording in the summer. For the group's only show during this period, Ernst "Azmo" Wurdak was enlisted to play bass live.
Recording for Retribution took place in August 2004. Kummerer tried to enlist former Pestilence bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling to play bass on the album, but due to scheduling conflicts was forced to record them himself. The band's name was changed to Obscura during the album's recording. After a brief hiatus while Kummerer focused on his recently formed second band Thulcandra, the band self-released Retribution in 2005, by which time guitarist Markus Lempsch and bassist Jonas Fischer had joined the lineup. Touring continued throughout 2006, before Lempsch announced his departure in January 2007 due to "scheduling conflicts and other obligations". By April, he had been replaced by Johannes Rennig. For a tour in September that year, Matthias "Seraph" Landes of Dark Fortress temporarily filled in for the temporarily unavailable Baumgartl.
2007–2014 After the September 2007 tour, Baumgartl left Obscura permanently, alongside bassist Jonas Fischer, with former Necrophagist drummer Hannes Grossmann taking over on drums. In December, it was announced that Jeroen Paul Thesseling had replaced Fischer as Obscura's bassist. In January 2008, guitarist Johannes Rennig was replaced by Christian Münzner, a former bandmate of Grossmann in Necrophagist.
With the new lineup of Kummerer, Münzner, Thesseling and Grossmann, Obscura signed with Relapse Records and released their second album Cosmogenesis in February 2009. For a European tour in October that year, Thesseling was replaced at most shows by Jacob Schmidt of Defeated Sanity. After rejoining Pestilence, Thesseling was also unavailable for a Japanese tour in June 2010, with prolific bassist Steve Di Giorgio filling in for him. The official lineup released Omnivium in March 2011, with Schmidt returning for shows around the same time in place of Thesseling. By July, Thesseling had officially left Obscura, citing "repetitive conflicting schedules". When Kummerer later claimed that the band had fired the bassist in January, Thesseling responded that he had been unable to tour consistently due to financial difficulties, leading to him quitting in April.
Linus Klausenitzer, who had filled in for Thesseling during recent tour dates, officially took over as Obscura's full-time bassist in September 2011. The new lineup made just three demo recordings featured on the 2012 Illegimitation compilation, before both Münzner and Grossmann left the band in July 2014 — the guitarist explained that his departure was mainly "to devote the biggest part of the time that I have to work on my own music and visions", while the drummer noted that "In the last two years it just became more and more obvious that the musical chemistry between band founder Steffen and me just wasn't right anymore", assuring that "It's not a personal issue, it's a musical one".
2014–2024 Obscura announced the replacements for Christian Münzner and Hannes Grossmann as Tom Geldschläger and Sebastian Lanser, respectively, in September 2014. The new lineup released Akróasis in February 2016. Prior to the album's release, the band unveiled Rafael Trujillo as their new guitarist in November 2015, following Geldschläger's departure in July. The new lineup issued the band's fifth album Diluvium in July 2018. During a tour towards the end of the year, Steffen Kummerer was unavailable for three shows after his passport and luggage were stolen, so members of support bands Beyond Creation (Simon Girard and Kevin Chartré), Exist (Max Phelps and Alex Weber) and Inferi (Stevie Boiser) stood in for the vocalist. In April 2020, Kummerer announced the dismissal of Trujillo, Klausenitzer and Lanser due to "musical differences".
Replacements for the departed band members were announced over the following month — a week after news of the change, bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling returned to the band; in mid-May, David Diepold took over on drums; and at the end of the month, former guitarist Christian Münzner also rejoined the group. The new lineup released A Valediction on Nuclear Blast Records in November 2021. For shows early the next year in North America, Thesseling and Diepold were unavailable due to "visa issues", with Alex Weber and Gabe Seeber performing in their places. The regular members returned for European shows later in the year, but Thesseling had officially left by the end of the year. Weber and Seeber continued performing with Obscura during 2023 and 2024. A few shows in the summer of 2024 featured Ype Terwisscha van Scheltinga on bass.
Since 2024 In August 2024, Christian Münzner announced his second departure from Obscura, which he credited to "creative differences". The next month, a new lineup of the band featuring guitarist Kevin Olasz, bassist Robin Zielhorst and drummer James Stewart was announced. A new album, A Sonication, was released in February 2025. Touring for the album has featured a lineup of Kummerer alongside guitarist Vince Wilquin, bassist Hugo Doyon-Karout and drummer Clément Denys in February. Since February 2025 the touring lineup features guitarist Vince Wilquin, bassist Robin Zielhorst and drummer Clément Denys along Steffen Kummerer.
Members Current ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsSteffen Kummerer2002–presentall Obscura releasesKevin Olasz2024–presentguitarA Sonication (2025)James StewartdrumsRobin Zielhorstbass
Former ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsRelease contributionsJonas Baumgartl2002–2007Martin Ketzer2002–2004Illegimitation demo (2003)Armin SeitzguitarJonas Fischer2005–2007bassMarkus LempschJohannes Rennig2007–2008guitarnoneHannes Grossmann2007–2014drumsJeroen Paul ThesselingbassChristian MünznerguitarLinus Klausenitzer2011–2020bassSebastian Lanser2014–2020drumsTom Geldschläger2014–2015guitarAkróasis (2016)Rafael Trujillo2015–2020Diluvium (2018)David Diepold2020–2024drums
Touring ImageNameYears activeInstrumentsDetailsErnst "Azmo" Wurdak2004bassFollowing the departure of Martin Ketzer, Wurdak filled in for the band's show at Walpurgis Metal Days IV.Matthias "Seraph" Landes2007drumsLandes filled in for Jonas Baumgartl, who was unavailable, for a European tour in September 2007.Jacob SchmidtbassSchmidt filled in for regular bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling at shows in October 2009 and early 2011.Steve Di Giorgio2010Di Giorgio filled in for Thesseling, who was touring with Pestilence, for a Japanese tour in June 2010.Alex Rüdinger2015drumsRüdinger was set to fill in for the injured Sebastian Lanser on a summer 2015 tour, but the band pulled out.Alex WeberbassWeber substituted for regular bassist Thesseling at shows between 2022 and 2024.Gabe Seeber2022–2024drumsSeeber filled in for regular drummer David Diepold during several tours during 2022, 2023 and 2024.Ype Terwisscha van Scheltinga2024bassvan Scheltinga took over from Robin Zielhorst, playing bass at the band's three festival performances in August 2024.Vince Wilquin2025guitarWilquin and Denys have been touring with Obscura since early 2025 to promote A Sonication. Hugo Doyon-Karout stepped in for a European tour in February 2025 only. Hugo Doyon-KaroutbassClément Denysdrums
Timeline
Lineups PeriodMembersReleases2002–early 2004Steffen Kummerer — guitars, backing vocals Jonas Baumgartl — drums, cello Martin Ketzer — bass, vocals Armin Seitz — guitarsIllegimitation demo (2003)April/May 2004Steffen Kummerer — guitars Jonas Baumgartl — drums, cello Martin Ketzer — vocals Armin Seitz — guitars Ernst "Azmo" Wurdak — bass Summer 2004Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals, bass Jonas Baumgartl — drums, cello Stephan Bergbauer — guitarsRetribution (2005)2005–January 2007Steffen Kummerer — guitars lead vocals Jonas Baumgartl — drums, cello Markus Lempsch — guitars, backing vocals Jonas Fischer — bassRetribution reissue (2010) Illegimitation (2012)April–September 2007Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Jonas Baumgartl — drums, cello Jonas Fischer — bass Johannes Rennig — guitarsrowspan="4" September 2007Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Johannes Rennig — guitars Matthias "Seraph" Landes — drums October–December 2007Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Johannes Rennig — guitars Hannes Grossmann — drumsDecember 2007–January 2008Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Johannes Rennig — guitars Hannes Grossmann — drums Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bassJanuary 2008–July 2011Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Hannes Grossmann — drums Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bass Christian Münzner — guitarsCosmogenesis (2009) Omnivium (2011)September 2011–July 2014Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Hannes Grossmann — drums Christian Münzner — guitars Linus Klausenitzer — bassIllegimitation (2012)September 2014–July 2015Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Linus Klausenitzer — bass Sebastian Lanser — drums Tom Geldschläger — guitarsAkróasis (2016)November 2015–April 2020Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Linus Klausenitzer — bass Sebastian Lanser — drums Rafael Trujillo — guitarsDiluvium (2018)May 2020–late 2022Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Jeroen Paul Thesseling — bass Christian Münzner — guitars David Diepold — drumsA Valediction (2021) A Celebration I: Live in North America (2023) 2023–2024Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Christian Münzner — guitars Alex Weber — bass Gabe Seeber — drums A Celebration I: Live in North America (2023) August 2024Steffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Kevin Olasz — guitars James Stewart — drums Ype Terwisscha van Scheltinga — bass September 2024– presentSteffen Kummerer — guitars, vocals Kevin Olasz — guitars James Stewart — drums Robin Zielhorst — bassA Sonication (2025)
References
External links Obscura official website