German progressive death metallers Obscura‘s latest single “Evenfall” has drawn some controversy, with Exist‘s bassist/vocalist Alex Weber and vocalist/guitarist Max Phelps insisting that the track is has been “stolen”. Per two posts on social media from the aforementioned pair, Obscura mastermind Steffen Kummerer is said to have lifted the ideas from Weber, who served several stints in the band over the past few years.
Following the January 08th debut of “Evenfall” earlier this week, Weber took to social media to call out Kummerer for the alleged theft, sharing both a statement and below video comparison.
Essentially Weber claims to have presented the ideas to Obscura for potential usage on the band’s forthcoming album “A Sonication“, but upon exiting the fold, was assured his suggested contributions wouldn’t be included. Weber relayed of that:
“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.”
Now Weber‘s Exist bandmate Max Phelps has also come forward over the allegations, revealing that the parts in question were already in the process of making their way into a new Exist song. Phelps stated today, January 10th:
“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 – 5:35That’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.”
Neither Obscura or Kummerer appear to have publicly responded to the allegations as of press time.
