LP Review: Self Titled by Obituary

Obituary

There are times when I absolutely love a band. Many times during my life, when this has happened, I've torn through albums only to burn myself out for a time.

The ebbs and flows of life are a wonderful thing that will always confuse me.

American Death Metal and by extension, Obituary, was something that I did burn out on. There was a period of years where I didn't listen to anything extreme.

Upon my musical reawakening, I sought out Blues, modern rock, and scoured the classical aisle for anything I missed.

But, for Christmas, I purchased for myself, the Roadrunner Obituary Boxset. It was a lot cheaper then....and it had been so long since I'd heard from my old friends in Florida that they were a refreshing change.

Obituary

Since my re-examination of the Florida death metallers, it was clear that much had been forgotten.

They are truly an exceptional band.

They've been at this for nearly thirty years and continue to excel.

Their latest album continues where they left off, but there are some nice little updates to the Obituary sound.

That's something they've never been shy about doing.

There are some nice dueling leads a la Slayer where the two solos have a Hanneman/King kind of vibe between them.. The guitars...Obituary has created the death metal guitar sound. That ultra high gain buzzsaw sound. It's basically a certainty that this secret will die with them.

John Tardy continues his brutalizing onslaught on his own vocal chords. His signature half time delivery continues to create that delicious juxtaposition of sound along with a very intelligible style.

Obituary, the album, has Obituary, the band, playing with a greater swagger and groove than I've ever heard them do. The Tardy's and Co have taken their classic sound and added a few bells and whistles and continue to call down the thunder whenever they so choose.

Release: 3/17/17
Genre: Death Metal
Label: Relapse Records
Formats: CD/LP/Digital
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