OBLIVION BY HEAVYOCITY
KK-ACCESS REVIEW
In this latest release, Heavyocity have teamed up with acclaimed composer David Levy to unleash an accelerated yet healthy dose of carnage and sonic destruction with Oblivion, which is their new and no holds barred, hard hitting library.
INTO OBLIVION
The marrying of synthetic, hybrid & organic content together has long since been the trademark sound of Heavyocity, and working with David Levy is clearly a match that in the nicest possible way, is forged in hell, with extended helpings of the usual grime, grit, and lo-fi dirt to fuel both the tonal & atonal aggression!
With cinematic credits such as DOOM Eternal, Justice League, & gen:LOCK, among other trophies hanging from his ammunition belt, Levy seems an ideal collaborator to further expand the Heavyocity library portfolio.
TECH SPECS
Oblivion runs in Kontakt 7.10.5, either the full version or free Kontakt Player, and is compatible with all versions of Komplete Kontrol as a Kontakt host.
The library requires 8.39GB of disk space for installation, utilising the NCW lossless compressed file format for it’s sample content.
There are two Kontakt master NKI preset files, one for each of the represented library components, with a further 352 supporting NKSN snapshots files divided across the two category sections.
DOWNLOAD & INSTALLATION
Download and installation came via the Heavyocity Portal, which is generally accessible with a screen reader, aside from having some unlabelled buttons.
The provided serial number is used to register and download through the portal, and also secondly to authorise the product within Native Access.
A rescan of Komplete Kontrol will quickly have Oblivion added to your browser, and you are then ready to go and wreak some audible mayhem!
Full NKS mappings are available at the end of the review after the media links
ACCESSIBILITY
Oblivion users the Gravity 2 Kontakt engine, and as such there have been no updates to the NKS mapping for this release.
It continues to offer some basic performance tweaking via the Komplete Kontrol hardware, but does not provide any in depth sound shaping options that blind & visually impaired users can gain access to solely through NKS.
I did discover that there were some additional per layer tune and pan controls in my DAW parameter list that are not mapped to the NKS template, and these could certainly prove useful.
What we would ideally still like to see here, is the ability to browse and select our own sounds from the libraries extensive pool of samples, which is something that other developers are now increasingly beginning to introduce, and this would undoubtedly shift our total reliance on just the provided factory presets, as good as they may be.
OBLIVION, DISHING THE DIRT
The Oblivion library is divided into two halves, the Oblivion designer, which is intended as something of a sonic playground for users to create and sculpt their own textures using a selection of predominantly GUI based tools.
In contrast, the Oblivion Menus section offers users an as ever, meticulously cu rated collection of rhythmic and animated factory presets.
This, for many Heavyocity fans is always a keenly anticipated refuelling pitstop, providing an opportunity to top up the compositional tank with some new inspirational & high octane media thrills!
Oblivion does not disappoint in this respect, all the key elements that have driven the success of Heavyocity over the years all remain firmly locked, loaded and ready to shoot straight from the hip, as ever providing a wealth of direct to DAW, mix ready material, which is ideal for forming the foundation, embellishments, or indeed an entire track of components for those media projects that are able to embrace and run with the stylised sounds that Oblivion delivers.
AN EXAMPLE OF OBLIVION IN ACTION BY HEAVYOCITY
OBLIVION, TOOLS OF THE TRADE
As Oblivion is housed within the Gravity 2 engine, it follows that it is capable of offering the kind of content that both Gravity & Gravity 2 are renowned for, but not just those famous Risers and Stings of course, although these are certainly catered for, but playable Bass and Lead presets too.
In the Oblivion Designer category, we find Cue Creators, Straight Rhythmic Pedals, Triplet Rhythmic Pedals, Bass, Leads, tonal Textures, Atonal Textures, Stings & Transitions.
Stings & Transitions are configured to have an individual fully designed sound assigned to it’s own single key on your controller, whilst it’s pitch can be changed using keyswitches located on the lower octaves of your controller, outside of the playable sounds palette.
Other presets such as the Bass & Leads are played chromatically in the usual way, modulation wheel assignments vary between presets, but generally it’s a good way to dial up the aggression factor by ramping up the level of dirt & distortion.
I observed that one particular preset entitled ‘Unidentified Object’, had note glide assigned to it, and unfortunately through the NKS mapping there was no way of adjusting or removing this to suit your track or personal taste, which is a little frustrating.
In general though, there is a perfectly serviceable collection of great material here, but we do have to accept and put aside the fact that the principle intention of the designer section is to create our own sounds, which for anything other than those top tier global fx, remains inaccessible using just NKS.
OBLIVION, WHAT’S ON THE MENU?
The Oblivion Menus section provides more in the quantity ratio of the overall factory presets, and as I eluded to earlier, it’s often the source for some instantly gratifying out of the box inspiration.
Here we can dive headlong into preset selections for Rhythmic Pedals, Playables, Sustains, Stings, Transitions, Combos, single Pedals Straight, Single Pedals Triplet, Single Playables Basses, Single Playables Leads, Single Sustains Atonal, & Single Sustains Tonal.
Some of these menu presets are collated from other individual presets, however the intention here I believe is to present the overall library content in a variety of flexible options that will suit particular workflows.
Where appropriate, the same modulation wheel and playable keyswitch mappings are assigned, we do not however get the stutter effect keyswitches that are seen in some of the other Heavyocity product lines, presumably this is reserved for the drum and percussive libraries.
Oblivion puts the spotlight squarely on aggressive gritty hybrid synth sounds, and there is without doubt plenty here that would work brilliantly in a typically fast paced adrenalin rush video game, action, horror, thriller movie, or their associated promo trailers, which after all is where the early work of Heavyocity media began.
Do make a point of checking out the excellent walkthroughs that Heavyocity put out, as they always demonstrate what the library is capable of delivering.
CONCLUSION
Oblivion manages to ramp up the aggression another notch, yet stays consistent with the overall signature sound, it will find favour with existing Heavyocity product owners, yet with it’s mid range pricing perhaps equally appeal to those who have so far not chosen to invest in the flagship Gravity or Gravity 2 libraries.
In terms of accessibility, there is room for more in depth controls if they could be adapted to work with NKS, but a reasonably high preset count and production ready design and audio quality make Oblivion a viable purchase for those needing this stylised sound.
Oblivion: Aggression Designer, can be purchased directly from the Heavyocity website: For a limited time, Heavyocity is offering OBLIVION: Aggression Designer for $119 (reg. $149)
In addition, owners of Gravity 2 will get an additional $20 off with a registered serial
Offers end August 23, 2024
Oblivion Product Page:
Oblivion Product Overview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd0FsQS0YRo
Oblivion Preset Playthrough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqpTzltxwkk
Erasure By David Levy – Oblivion Demo Track:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT4Ko8IXUcw
Oblivion User Manual:
https://heavyocity.com/Downloads/Oblivion_UserManual.pdf
KOMPLETE KONTROL PLUG-IN EDIT NKS CONTROL MAPPINGS
Oblivion Designer & Oblivion Menu mappings are identical, except the menus presets do not have the mixer page
Page One – Macro Controls
Knob 1 – Macro Amount
Knob 2 – Modulation On/Off
Knob 3 – Modulation Amount
Knob 4 – Envelope
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Drive
Knob 7 – Motion
Knob 8 – Space
Page Two – Macro LFO
Knob 1 – Macro LFO On/Off
Knob 2 – Rate (Hz)
Knob 3 – Spread
Knob 4 – Envelope
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Drive
Knob 7 – Motion
Knob 8 – Space
Page Three – Mixer
Knob 1 – Random On/Off
Knob 2 – Drift
Knob 3 – Scatter
Knob 4 – Volume Channel 1
Knob 5 – Volume Channel 2
Knob 6 – Volume Channel 3
Knob 7 – Mixer X
Knob 8 – Mixer Y
Page Four – Punish & Filter
Knob 1 – Punish On/Off
Knob 2 – Punish Amount
Knob 3 – Bass
Knob 4 – Response
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Filter On/Off
Knob 7 – Cut
Knob 8 – Resonance
Page Five – EQ
Knob 1 – EQ On/Off
Knob 2 – Amount
Knob 3 – Gain
Knob 4 – Frequency
Knob 5 – Gain
Knob 6 – Frequency
Knob 7 – Gain
Knob 8 – Frequency
Page Six – Compressor
Knob 1 – Compressor On/Off
Knob 2 – Threshold
Knob 3 – Ratio
Knob 4 – Attack
Knob 5 – Release
Knob 6 – Make-Up
Knob 7 – Mix
Knob 8 – Unallocated
Page Seven – Modulation
Knob 1 – Modulation On/Off
Knob 2 – Rate (Hz)
Knob 3 – Amount
Knob 4 – Feedback
Knob 5 – Width
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
Page Eight – Delay
Knob 1 – Delay On/Off
Knob 2 – Time 1/1 to 1/32 (Including Triplets)
Knob 3 – Feedback
Knob 4 – Quality: Low, Medium, High
Knob 5 – Tone
Knob 6 – Level
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
Page Nine – Reverb
Knob 1 – Reverb On/Off
Knob 2 – Pre-Delay
Knob 3 – Size
Knob 4 – Damp
Knob 5 – Modulation
Knob 6 – Mix
Knob 7 & 8 – Unallocated
(c) Chris Ankin
KK-Access.com
**13TH August 2024 **
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About the Author
Based in Buckinghamshire, England, Chris Ankin has worked as a freelance review writer and contributor with articles published in Sound On Sound, Home & Studio Recording and ST Format Magazines.
He has also successfully worked extensively in and around the music, recording, film Soundtrack scoring, Game & media composition, the creative arts, Charitable trusts,publishing, music streaming and property investments since 1982 whilst continuously and deliberately managing to evade any mainstream recognition under his own name by the use of various pseudonyms.
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