"DEATH OBVIOUS came out of nowhere to release a debut album that coalesces elements of black, death, and even doom metal to create a harrowing albeit intriguing sound that's strangely both alarming and comforting in parts. Without adhering to any particular style or school, they're just going about crafting music as it suits their demented vision in a recklessly intuitive manner, a cacophony of hurtling sounds that somehow hits the mark. The songs sound like excursions into pitch-black darkness, not knowing what's coming next, while the listener remains terrified, haunted by monstrous and spectral voices coming and going. Their sound might not be easily penetrable at first but it remains strongly alluring, imploring for more time and understanding, waiting for its mysteries to be unraveled with multiple visitations. This release is not a rebirth but a necessary resuscitation."

The album has eight songs, and "Mercury Off Axis" is first. The opening tones are dissonant and chaotic, and you can barely see through them to find the music. It does settle into a groove, and that groove is blackness, the abyss, and utter destruction. "Santuario" begins with a firm, marching groove, before it takes a dive over the cliff and into the shadows. Some of the backing vocals sound like torture personified, and the energy of the song radiates deep and far. "The Great Gate Theory" has a dark, crawling pace, as well as some Progressive element, particularly in the way the chords progress. It's unusual at times. Above all, however, is this deep sense that you are peering into something that is forbidden. "Total Heavenly Desolation" has dissonant and horrid tones, and it's as if the torturer is back with a new myriad of devices. The screams tell a level of pain that is never reached.

"The Third Eye Burning" has more aggressiveness to it, and it burns like a fire lit with accelerant. The vocals are more like screams, and guttural utterances at times, and the entire song is so black, it doesn't reflect in the mirror. "Suffer the Spectacle" begins with clean guitars, but still remains very dark. What follows is another horrid landscape that sound to me like souls being tortured in the pit. They scream, they wail, and they yell, but the torture never stops…it's for eternity. "As Absence Expands Over Everything" begins with a low and slow riff, the kind that pounds concrete into sand. From there, the aggression grows like a fast moving disease, overtaking your entire body and shutting down your organs. The piano notes add texture that you can feel.

"Catechismus for the Plagued" is the final offering, and it's also the longest. It's as if the band was saving a pocket full of torture that they had in reserve, and they let it all out. Your body feels like it is on fire, the kind that can't be extinguished. There is a long, lingering pause through the halfway mark, and then it returns with a vengeance. Overall, this was a delightfully horrid album to listen to, and took the term "darkness" to a whole different level. It sounded like torture on the purest, and evilest measures, and the blackness of the album stays with you long after it ends.