If any of my readers ever have had guitar lessons, or feel that they can do with more finger fast exercises, you might want to check out PHILIPPE DOROUIN OBVURT on his latest endeavour, the debut album "Le Chemin Du Gaucher". This is classed as Technical Death Metal, but this band (project?) from Quebec in Canada does more masturbatory guitar sounds than any other Death Metal band I have even encountered. Let that be a word of warning before you decide to have a listen. The other thing that might put people off is that all the titles are in French. The thing is, I haven't got a clue if the lyrics are in the same language, as I can't understand any words that are being grunted by the man Philippe Drouin himself.

What I hear is a mans who is hell bent on letting people know that he is a good guitar player, and that he has the technical ability to make his guitar sound very Heavy and convincing. I will admit, the addition of drummer John Longstreth is a very good move, because that man is not only bloody fast, his drumming is almost tighter than a duck's arse. The thing I have to mention is that if you are into having a lot of guitar sounds repeated time and time again, you will really like and maybe even enjoy a listen of "Le Chemin Du Gaucher". To me it is as if Philippe Drouin is hoping that by making this PHILIPPE DOROUIN OBVURT album the way it is, he will gain recognition from his peers.

I love my SATRIANI, VAI, MALMSTEEN and such, and I don't always agree with how they fill their albums, but their songs make a lot more sense then what PHILIPPE DOROUIN OBVURT is bringing me. Those artists know how to write good songs. The one good song that "Le Chemin Du Gaucher" is a cover, by J.S. BACH of all the greats. And even that one isn't done that well. The same goes for the last song on the album, the "Gojira Medley". It is not really done to the best capability, but it does catch the essence. What bugs me more is the way the album sounds, as it feels as if pieces have been put together in the cutting room instead of being played continually. The stops and starts are very choppy. Another reason why PHILIPPE DOROUIN OBVURT isn't cutting the mustard.