Hey there, tech fiends. It's that time of the week again. Before we dive into today's focus, here's the usual weekly reminder that if you're looking for even more sick bands to hear, all prior editions of this series can be perused here.
Next Wednesday, March 31st, Quebec-based newcomers Obvurt will release their first effort as a group, a stunning six-song EP aptly titled The Beginning through Brutal Mind Records. The group’s line-up consists of bandleader Philippe Drouin on guitar and vocals who was a part of the Unique Leader Records-signed group Unbreakable Hatred and his other group Vitiated, along with Cattle Decapitation/Cryptopsy/Akurion bassist Oli Pinard, and ex-First Fragment/ex-Gorod drummer Samuel Santiago. Outside of a guest guitar solo from Michael Angelo Batio on "Obverted", the power trio format of the group holds true from start to finish.
While I would normally offer a comprehensive write-up alongside an early stream premiere like we're doing today, I’m going to hand off the bulk of this write-up over to the band’s guitarist and vocalist Philippe Drouin. Simply because of the very personal struggle and return to music that led to what you’re about to hear below. As usual, you can immediately scroll below and start jamming the release or you can read on and learn more about this project and their 2021 release.
We'll begin this part of the feature with a quote from the group about The Beginning, Obvurt kindly shared with me that "Obvurt is a death metal band from Quebec and Montreal formed by Philippe Drouin (ex-Unbreakable Hatred and Vitiated). The band was composed by a single member, the guitarist, and singer, the project started when Philippe Drouin switched from a right-handed guitarist to a left-handed guitarist. After suffering from a major injury in his right hand, which caused a pathology called Osteophyte (bone spurs) to develop afterward.
The lyrics theme of this album talks about life and death but mostly, It is a bit like a story! Each song has its own meaning and gives its direction to the EP. The music speaks itself in ways that words wouldn’t convey and you won’t hear any repeated notes except on the last song!"
While I often think of tech-death at its best as exemplifying what humans can do that are very driven, seeking to get back to that type of level and re-learning from scratch as Obvurt's bandleader had to do, is something else entirely. It's a testament to the human spirit and it's really cool that the end product on The Beginning is damn good Canadian tech-death worth raving about. So check out our early stream of the release below and pre-order it here and here (or via Bandcamp here) if you like what you're hearing. You can follow the group over on the Obvurt Facebook Page.
