OBVURT hailing from Quebec, Canada were formed in 2020. They are a technical brutal Death Metal band and all band members are vastly experienced with other bands such as UNBREAKABLE HATRED, GOROD, CATTLE DECAPITATION and CRYPTOPSY. OBVURT stands for the words obvert and hurt. "The Beginning" is a concept EP about Phillipe Drouin's personal tough reality told in six episodes. The EP was recorded at Grid Studio in Montreal by Chris Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and released by Indonesia label Brutal Mind that has a number of brutal Death Metal bands among their roster. "The Beginning" has a length of a bit more than 18 minutes.

The six episodes start with classical intro which was inspired and based on the works of German composer Johann Sebastian Bach and it leads to "Osteophyte" which is about a bump in Phillipe Drouin's wrist forcing him to play his guitar left-handed. The sound of "Osteophyte" has everything, Death Metal fans can possibly ask for: aggressive guitar riffs, highly technical lead guitars, bass, and drums, as well as brutal growling ranging from the medium to the low end of the gutturals with occasional screams. The pace of the rhythm is mainly kept mid-tempo throughout. "The First Light" - a song about the thoughts Phillipe Drouin when he woke up in a hospital - starts in head-banging mode with a catchy lead guitar sequence before it transitions into several short blast-beat sequences. The technical lead guitar sequences are at times twisted and distorted, but generally follow some classical paths during the middle section of the song. Drums, guitars, and bass work very well together to create an outstanding piece of music. "The First Light" was released as video and the YouTube link is given below.

"Obverted" starts with powerful and dark guitar riffing before it bursts into a blast-beat and double-bass driven furious spectacle of lead guitars at a very high technical level. It also includes an extended well contributing lead guitar solo by guitar legend Michael Angelo Batio. Most parts of the song are played at frantic pace with a mid-tempo break in the middle of the song. "Obverted" has noticeably more darkness in the guitar riffing compared to the preceding songs while the lead guitars were obviously influenced by classical role models. "Scars Of War" continues with the dark sound, the guitar riffs are very powerful and doom-laden, the rhythm frequently changes starting from mid-tempo transitioning into hammering blast-beat sequences at high pace before going into a down-tempo break. "Scars Of War" is a bit more direct and less technical and mainly driven forward by the relentless drumming of Samuel Santiago. The final chapter on "The Beginning" is a reference to the EP title and it is an instrumental. For those who are interested in the stories of each song, OBVURT give an interesting summary on their website.

"The Beginning" is a very good debut of a promising young band. OBVURT have a no-nonsense approach to technical brutal Death Metal where the technical aspects of the sound are in the focus of the songwriting. Guitars, bass, and drums play expertly together and the growling vocals fit very well into the sound of the EP. The idea of doing a concept album is brave and gives "The Beginning" something extra and special. The EP is very well produced. With OBVURT, a new name has arrived at the Canadian Death Metal scene and I am sure, the band has the potential and all ingredients to establish themselves as a well-recognized force in the future.