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Interview: OBVURT Unleashes Hold On To Hope: A Tribute to Resilience, Innovation, and Metal Without Limits

By capitalchaostv on August 5, 2025 • ( 0 )

With their second album An Alternate Dimension on the horizon, Canadian tech-death visionaries Obvurt are back with a blistering new single: “Hold On To Hope.” More than just a technical showcase, the song is deeply personal—both in its message and its method. Frontman Philippe Drouin opens up about the track’s emotional roots, the radical songwriting process behind the album, and what it means to create with hope at the core of heaviness.

Hold On To Hope’ is deeply inspired by Jason Becker’s resilience and creative spirit. How did his story specifically shape the song writing or emotional tone of the track?

I mean, I am inspired by Jason Becker since I had to relearn how to play lefty. He had ALS for many years and he never stopped writing music at any point. When Triumphant Hearts was released, that was a revelation to me and gives me hope. Jason wrote the song ‘Hold On To Love’, I decided to call mine ‘Hold On To Hope’.

Triumph Beyond Adversity was a powerful debut with critical acclaim—what lessons or evolutions did you carry into the writing and production of An Alternate Dimension?

The writing process was a bit different on this new one: I wrote music on the Double guitar for the first time and it brings a new sound. There are 4 songs on the album. The single guitar is tighter and cleaner, you can hear nice tremolos melodies and harmony. For the first time I recorded all by myself and send to the mix. A lot of tries and fails but I did it.

Obvurt has always aimed to push boundaries in tech-death. Can you share a specific risk or experimental approach you took on this new album that you’re especially proud of?

Writing on the double-guitar; it changed the sounds. There are only hammer ons and pulls off playing, so it’s harder to make a brutal riff without any pick. No chugs, no tremolos, only hammer ons…

Obvurt has always aimed to push boundaries in tech-death. Can you share a specific risk or experimental approach you took on this new album that you’re especially proud of?

With the visual for ‘Hold On To Hope’ filmed among autumn leaves and fading light, how important is visual symbolism in enhancing or communicating your music’s message?

Me and my friend just needed a place to shoot a music video. Louis called me in the morning ‘hey let’s go film a song’ ‘Where?’ ‘Mmm I got a concept’… So we found that place and thought it was a great spot to film that song. So we did.

With the passing of Ozzy Osbourne, a figure who revolutionized heavy music, how has his legacy influenced you personally or artistically, if at all?

I am still a fan and will be forever, his legacy is here and now. I will surely find inspiration in Ozzy’s and Sabbath’s albums, I am listening to his music for a while and the lyrics are great. I am saddened about his death but he is waiting for us on the other side.

That Dean Custom Michael Angelo Batio ‘Burnt’ double guitar is absolutely wild—how did you adapt your technique to such a unique instrument, and how did it influence the composition of ‘Hold On To Hope’?

I learnt the double-guitar with the Michael Angelo Batio limited edition 2021 double-guitar. ‘Hold On To Hope’ has been written on the double-guitar, the 2 hands together. Most of the time I harmonize in major or minor thirds.

If you could take your double guitar into an actual alternate dimension, what weird sci-fi or fantasy scenario would you want to shred your way through?

Man that’s a wild question haha! I think the actual double-guitar I play is just mind blowing, but if I could enter the alternate dimension with it, the guitar will return to a brand new instrument from hell.

With “Hold On To Hope”, Obvurt continues their mission to craft not just complex music—but meaningful art. An Alternate Dimension promises to elevate their sound even further, led by passion, precision, and a refusal to conform. Watch the “Hold On To Hope” music video now, and prepare for the release of An Alternate Dimension. Obvurt isn’t just pushing tech-death forward—they’re redefining what it means to make heavy music that truly connects.

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