German progressive death metal outfit Obscura have been faced with a bit of controversy between former members following the release of their latest song, “Evenfall.” The track arrived on January 8 and is the second single taken from their upcoming album, A Sonication, set for release on February 7 via Nuclear Blast Records. Former members Alex Weber and Christian Münzner have accused mastermind Steffen Kummerer of using their song ideas without consent.

On January 10, former bassist Alex Weber publicly claimed that Kummerer included musical ideas he presented during his time with the band in “Evenfall.” Weber alleges that Kummerer assured him these contributions would not be used following Weber’s departure. Upon hearing the single, Weber recognized his parts and noted they had already been integrated into a song by his current band, Exist.

Weber exclaimed:

“I was REALLY hoping it wouldn’t come to this… I’m not one to create drama and stir the pot unnecessarily but I’m sad to hear that the new Obscura tune contains melodies that I wrote and melodies that I did not give Steffen permission to use. Before we all left the band we got written confirmation that the material we contributed to the record would not be used but this video shows clearly that my melody was used note for note.

It would have been one thing if I was credited for this or had given him written permission to use it, but that was not the case. It’s not about money or even being that attached to the melody, it’s a matter of principle and intellectual property theft.

I know because of deadlines, that Steffen was in a tough position when we all left the band but now i’m concerned that more of the music that Chris and I wrote for this album will still be used without our consent.

I’m always more for going the compassionate route but I don’t appreciate how this situation has been dealt with. It’s NOT ok to use someone else’s music regardless of how much or how little was used, especially without credit.”

Former guitarist Christian Münzner, who also left the band in 2024, has leveled similar accusations; on January 12, he stated that his contributions were used without his authorization. Münzner has expressed intentions to pursue legal action against Kummerer.

Münzner expressed:

“I just heard more of the new Obscura. There are riffs I had written and was guaranteed would not be used, and they are being used anyway with sometimes just little details changed, at times almost note for note, stolen, basically copied, as well as entire song structures. Mr. Tech Death Genius strikes again I would say. If Nuclear Blast releases this they are thiefs as well. I will not let this slide and explore every legal avenue. There are limits to how much shit we should tolerate. These songs were intended for a solo EP I was planning to do after the Obscura split, now I can not do this anymore. This can not go on. Especially if we “agree to disagree” because of creative differences and then you use other peoples work, after you say we are not on the same page what we want musically?”

Adding to the controversy, Exist’s vocalist and guitarist Max Phelps supported Weber’s claims, alleging that sections of “Evenfall” had been repurposed from an Exist track currently in development. Phelps and Weber shared a video comparison on social media to highlight the similarities.

Phelps added:

“I have never wanted to make a post like this, but I’ve got to back up my brother on it…the new Obscura song is stolen. Alex brought the parts in question to the table a while ago and we had currently been working them into an Exist arrangement, so I’m personally very familiar with them. I would even argue that Alex undermined the extent of the plagiarism in his wording…it goes beyond the melody to the rhythmic ideas and development whenever that melody occurs. It’s not just the bassline, it’s the guitars and drum line as well. Here are the parts that are plagiarized:
0:00 – 1:15
2:14 – 2:34
4:49 – 5:35

That’s 2.5 minutes of a 5.5 minute song. These were not Steffen‘s to use and now he’s trying to blow Alex off by claiming that he ‘changed them dramatically’. He didn’t… it’s not even remotely subjective and there are copyright violations all the time over musical ideas that are far bigger stretches.

I do want to clarify that Steffen has been a good friend of mine for years and has done a lot of solids for Alex, myself and Exist including taking us on tour even when our band really didn’t have much traction. Neither of us take this for granted, which unfortunately makes this even more of a heel turn and a huge disappointment.

If Alex still wants to use the riffs then we still will use them and there’s nothing Steffen can do because they are legally not his or his record label’s intellectual property. On a side note, Robin Zielhorst is awesome and I feel bad if he and the other new dudes are getting tangled in this.”

Since the public declarations, Kummerer has dismissed the allegations. Most recently, in an interview with Roadie Crew, Kummerer stated the following:

“Oh, I think there’s a lot of frustration involved in this story. There’s a lot of unnecessary public slander going on right now. That’s all I have to say. If I have a problem with someone, I pick up the phone and go and deal with it directly with them, I’m not going to go on my social media and start a ‘witch hunt’. I think their intention was a little different, they didn’t want to solve the ‘problems’. I find that very sad, because I worked with those guys for a long time, and we ended up on a relatively good note.

I sent the entire album, the final product, right away for them to listen to; I have nothing to hide. Now I’m having to deal with someone putting the entire campaign for the new album on hold, which is very sad, but there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s already happened, people have already formed their opinions, no one wants to hear the other side of things anymore, they don’t want my opinion. I’ll deal with it, I’ll resolve it, but it won’t be very nice for them, that’s all I can say.

It’s sad because it’s so unnecessary. Nowadays, if you point things out like that in public, it doesn’t look good for the person pointing it out, it’s not a very mature approach. In the end, everyone loses. I’m not going to speak out, there’s not going to be an official statement. I’ll talk to people directly if it’s really a problem, but so far, no one has come to me to try to solve it directly, and that’s the good thing. Again, I think there’s a lot of frustration involved in all this, and I’m going to deal with it, but on my own terms, not publicly.”

When “Evenfall” was initially released, Kummerer had this to say about the song:

“With Evenfall we look into the most anticipated song by the band to perform in a live setting on our upcoming tours. The dynamics, groove, and pace fall perfectly into place. One of my personal highlights of the new album, showcasing a rather cinematic soundscape within the Obscura universe.” 

Watch the clip below and pre-order the album here:

 
 
 
 
 
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A post shared by Alex Weber – Bassist (@alex_weber_bass)

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Zenae Zukowski