The new OBSTRUKTION album The End Takes Form caught me off guard during a bike ride, and honestly, I’m not sure I’d recommend trying the same. The energy hit hard enough to make steering difficult. I marked their name down right away to reach out—and then, a week later, they messaged first, with news of this release. Call it fate, or just the sort of dark timing that fits an album like this—charged, volatile, and cut through with no-bullshit rage.
Released by Suicide Records, The End Takes Form was recorded in the dead of winter, during a snowstorm in southern Sweden.
“We spent five days in the studio working around the clock, freezing in our sleeping bags at night,” they recall. The sessions had been delayed by half a year, but the eventual circumstances only reinforced the record’s edge. “I absolutely love the commitment shown by everyone involved in making this happen, and I guess that’s what makes it special to all of us.”
What you’ll find inside is a raw, no-compromise fusion of metal and hardcore—death metal in structure, punk in urgency, and emotionally stripped to the bone.
The overarching themes tackle suffering, decay, futility, and the way rage becomes something structural—either weapon or burden.
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Below is OBSTRUKTION’s full commentary, track by track.
THE END TAKES FORM
Written as a continuation of one of our favorite songs from the first album. The idea to make it the opener came very late in the process. I love its simplicity, but also the way it progresses—small tweaks and changes that hopefully make it interesting to listen to. As for the title—I don’t know what the others thought, but once The End Takes Form came into my head as a potential album title, I couldn’t shake it. In many ways, this song—both lyrically and musically—summarizes the entire album. It’s all in there, more or less.
DEATH COMES NEAR
This was the first single off the new record and also one of the earliest songs we road-tested live. From the start, the goal was to do an old-school Swedish death metal track, but filtered through our punk roots — raw and direct. A no-frills structure, no unnecessary layers, just a wall of sound, and then a punishing breakdown to close. Lyrically, the song was inspired by sickness and death in our close circles—trying to understand and make sense of mortality, suffering, and the ultimate end.
THE FINAL HOUR
For a while, The Final Hour was intended to open the record. It had that kind of tone — urgent, forceful, but we never quite nailed the sequencing. It ended up third in the tracklist, and I think it works better that way. It’s still one of my personal favorites. We were definitely channeling a bit of Bolt Thrower in the verse, wanting something that feels machinelike and relentless, but still organic.
The chorus came about spontaneously. One of those moments where instinct takes over and you don’t question it. Which is often when we’re at our best I think.
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SOW FEAR
One of those songs I personally had doubts about all the way up until we got a proper mix of it. For a long time, it just didn’t feel like much of a song. But once everything fell into place, I started loving it. Along with Born of Contempt, it’s probably my personal favorite. I love how simple and straightforward it is, yet it still feels playful and alive. Also—I think E’s solo is perfection.
MACHINERY OF DELUSION
This is a re-recording of a track that first appeared on the Flubber World compilation, which came out not long after our debut LP, Monarchs of Decay. We always had a soft spot for this song — it’s one of those that clicked instantly in a live setting, always getting the audience moving. That’s probably what made us want to revisit it. We tightened it up, reworked some parts, and gave it a bit more of a death metal edge. This was also the first song Joe Clayton mixed and sent over, and we couldn’t be happier to have worked with him on this record.
GROTESQUE ORDER
The title had been with us for a long time. We just needed a song to match it. I believe this was one of the first tracks written when we started working on the album. It’s one of those songs I wasn’t sure about until we got the first mix. Up until then, I couldn’t tell if it was too fast, too slow, or heavy enough. Turns out it probably has the heaviest riff of the entire record—the breakdown part.
TOUCHED BY THE VOID
Can’t remember anymore which one came first—this or Death Comes Near—but they’re clearly related and were written around the same time, dealing with similar lyrical themes. If I remember correctly, the riffs and initial song structure came together in minutes. We tweaked some details later, but it all came together smoothly and fast. It was also the first song we picked as a single.
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ONLY IN DEATH
Total pop song, really. Though secretly inspired by a Testament song that shall not be named. Lyrically, it deals with a darker theme and ends with a Fear Factory-style breakdown. I think my bandmates had their doubts about it at first, but it’s grown on all of us as we’ve played it more and more live.
BORN OF CONTEMPT
As soon as we finished our first album, I knew I wanted us to write a song like this for the next one—and for it to be the closer. Something bombastic, yet just as simple and punk as the rest of the album. It’s definitely a tribute to a bunch of different bands and songs from the past. Feel free to guess which ones. I also have to say—I absolutely love what E did with the solo here. Unreal. I’d love to build an entire live set around this song at some point and do something special with it. Also wouldn’t mind doing a part two for our next album.
