Melodic death metal. Now that's a very, very crowded genre, innit?! Surely it is, but new contenders pop up like drunken idiots in a bar. Observant hail from Pietarsaari, Finland, formed by local metallers known from such bands as Chthonian, Degenerate and Twilight Moon.

As the music is penned by Degenerate guitarist Mikael Ekstedt, it's not a surprise that Observant perform melodic death metal. However, that's just one side of the story here. 'As Corrodead as You' open the demo. Its hard-pumping riffage might sound uninspired at first, due to being so non-melodic, but soon it grabs and it grabs hard. Once again, the riff is the king! The song is very rolling indeed, so the first five minutes feel like half of it. With 'Thoughts Realigned' the band turn their ears towards Gothenburg. Sadly, too tightly so. 'Still Nameless' is another more riff-driven song, but does not catch my ears like the opener. The same stands for the beginning of 'Smoke Screen', but thankfully the song reaches a bit more varied spheres towards its ending.

The demo does not sound too good for nowadays' standards, soundwise. While it is clear, that Mr. Ekstedt has tried to compose characteristic songs here, they mainly miss hooks. Let's see what the future brings...

Reviewed by Lane
06/01/2010 22:15