Album Review – Death Obvious / Death Obvious (2025)

Behold the debut opus by this uncanny duo from Finland, offering a harrowing albeit intriguing sound that’s strangely both alarming and comforting in parts.

Hailing from the darkest and most mysterious corners of Finland, the uncanny duo known as Death Obvious came out of nowhere to release a debut album that coalesces elements of Avantgarde Black, Death and Doom Metal to create a harrowing albeit intriguing sound that’s strangely both alarming and comforting in parts. Showcasing a straightforward, grim artwork by Petri Kiviniemi, the debut offering by Lea LaVey on vocals and Sima Sioux on guitars, bass, keyboards and drums brings to our avid ear eight songs that 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, being therefore highly recommended for fans of Thantifaxath, Dodecahedron, Veilburner, Lurk, Blut aus Nord, Hexrot, and Deathspell Omega.

Mercury Off Axis is absolutely dissonant, disturbing and grim from the very first second, gradually adjusting its shape and form to a hammering Sludge Metal beast led by the rumbling bass and riffs by Sima, who keeps pounding his drums until a storm of blackened sounds comes crushing our damned souls in Santuario, with Lea barking and roaring rabidly in the name of total fucking darkness. The Great Gate Theory sounds even more sluggish and introspective, with the bass by Sima once again reverberating beautifully while Lea’s vocals transpire insanity; and it’s pedal to the metal in the Experimental Black Metal attack entitled Total Heavenly Desolation, with Lea sounding demented on vocals while Sima crafts the most caustic sounds imaginable armed with his riffs, bass and drums.

Then leaning towards a more visceral, direct form of Black Metal we face The Third Eye Burning, as primeval as it can be, again offering our putrid ears the absolutely dissonant sounds blasted by the duo, whereas after such an insane display of extreme music the duo brings forward the Stygian tune Suffer The Spectacle, starting in a cryptic manner before Lea begins barking like a venomous beast. Their Sludge and Doom Metal vein pulses harder than ever in As Absence Expands Over Everything, perfect for some vigorous headbanging in absolute obscurity; and lastly, it’s time for the chaotic, ruthless Catechismus For The Plagued, presenting eight and a half minutes of first-class Avantgarde Black and Death Metal spearheaded by the demolishing beats by Sima, ending in utter insanity and violence.

In summary, the Finnish death dealers of Death Obvious are clearly onto something in their first full-length opus, having created an exceptional and mature release right off the bat, one that deserves as much attention as it can possibly get before it gets lost in the annals of history. Hence, you can get to know more about such a promising new entity of the Finnish scene on Facebook and on Instagram, stream their wicked music on Spotify, and of course purchase their caustic album from their own BandCamp or from the Transcending Obscurity Records’ BandCamp, main store, US store or EU store. Because Death Obvious is not a rebirth, but a necessary resuscitation.

Best moments of the album: Total Heavenly Desolation, The Third Eye Burning and Catechismus For The Plagued.

Worst moments of the album: Suffer The Spectacle.

Released in 2025 Transcending Obscurity Records

Track listing
1. Mercury Off Axis 5:38
2. Santuario 5:13
3. The Great Gate Theory 5:16
4. Total Heavenly Desolation 4:45
5. The Third Eye Burning 5:56
6. Suffer The Spectacle 6:51
7. As Absence Expands Over Everything 5:53
8. Catechismus For The Plagued 8:30

Band members
Lea LaVey – vocals
Sima Sioux – guitars, bass, keyboards, drums