Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5/5 Stars
Heavyocity’s Oblivion: Aggression Designer maintains the ‘fierce hybrid’ style of its Gravity 2 predecessor, unleashing a fresh set of rhythmic pedals, leads and basses, textures, pads, drones, stings, noises, risers and dives. Oblivion (8.39GB installed) requires Kontakt or Kontakt Player 7.10.5 or later and runs on the Gravity 2 sound engine, described at length in my March 2024 SOS review.
For this library Heavyocity collaborated with composer and sound designer David Levy, famed for his work on the Doom Eternal — The Ancient Gods video game. In their quest for “ruthless power, relentless energy and serious sonic pain”, both parties fired up their modular and analogue synths (Moog Modular, Metasonix, Make Noise Strega, Soma Labs Enner, Lyra 8, Pulsar 23), tube‑based outboard gear and DSP plug‑ins to create a total of 336 unique (and undeniably aggressive) sound sources.
The partnership has generated some excellent four‑bar pedal loops. Presets such as the brutal ‘Raging Road Rash’, the banging, Prodigy‑like ‘Lazer Face’ and the aptly named ‘Crusher Waves’ are infused with Levy’s signature blasting, ripping sound, and the majestic ‘State Of Emergency’ (which sounds like a dramatic movie cue) and explosive ‘Spiked Pinger’ carry the percussive force of a rock kick.
In a somewhat less violent vein, the hustling, propulsive ‘Double Vision’ and ‘A Demon Runner’ loops provide instant rhythmic action for composers, while synth players will enjoy the big, beautiful Moog‑like bass sound of ‘Say Goodbye’. Heavyocity’s programming virtuosity comes to the fore with the insanely syncopated ‘CnC Doom Factory’, and ‘Factory Electric’ (which reminded me of the Dr Who theme) makes brilliant use of the Macro Sequencer’s vivid tone‑shaping. As with Gravity 2, the 72 pedal loops are divided equally between straight 4/4 and triplet‑based 12/8 time.
Oblivion’s playable basses and leads will be nirvana for those seeking aggressive synth patches. The three‑channel bass presets ‘Driver Open’ and ‘Bad Nightmares’ are fierce, snarling monstrosities which slam like a barn door, while the gigantic twang of ‘Magnetized’ and forceful ‘Magma Lashes’ are epic distorted bass timbres. In the leads department, ‘Lead With The BFG’ and ‘Polymorpher’ are both furious, filthy howling rackets designed to spread fear and alarm — a vicarage tea party it is not.
Moving into calmer waters, a set of clean, quiet pads include the breathy, gently swelling ‘Fallout’, the radiant ‘After Mourning’ and the lush hybrid orchestral tones of ‘The Abandoned Lab’. Underpinning these serene textures are 24 ominous‑sounding pitched drones and 36 scary atonal drones, which Heavyocity have concocted into a diabolical cacophony — that’s intended as a compliment, by the way.
Rounding off this excellent library is a wildly inventive collection of stings and modular noises.
Rounding off this excellent library is a wildly inventive collection of stings and modular noises comprising impacts, sub thumps, clangs, wild metallic sound effects, pink noise explosions, fizzing crackles and hair‑raising electronic screams, a celebration of creative cyber industrial sound design.