Forged at the dawn of the Florida death metal scene, Obituary is legendary. Their sound is instantly recognizable, defining what it means to be brutally heavy and crushing. Throughout their career, they have been exceedingly consistent. Never following trends, Obituary remains true to their sound. With each album, they work at perfecting their craft of creating aggressive, skull-smashing music that bores into your brain. Their new album Dying of Everything is a classic Obituary at the pinnacle of performance.
Dying of Everything is the eleventh full-length album from Obituary. It will be available via Relapse Records on January 13th (Friday The 13). On the off chance, you are not familiar with this legendary band, Obituary was formed in 1984. Founding members John Tardy (vocals), Donald Tardy (drums), and Trevor Peres (guitar) are joined by Terry Butler (bass – joined in 2010) and Ken Andrews Jr. (guitar – joined in 2012).
Obituary comes out ripping and tearing with “Buried Alive”. Donald sets a blistering pace with double bass cranking before settling into pulverizing gear. The guitars and bass of Trevor, Terry, and Ken burn with furious single-note riffs and chunky down-picked chords. Ken’s guitar solo is a dazzling display of fretboard pyrotechnics. As you would expect, John’s vocals are snarling supremacy.
Songs “The Wrong Time”, “Without A Consequence”, and “War” exhibit the monstrous headbanging groove that makes Obituary’s music so infectious. Instead of going for the throat with speed, these songs pummel and crush. The breakdown in “Without A Consequence” is a fantastic display of brute force. Adding to the heaviness is the creative use of special effects on “War”. At the start and finish, you can hear the war machine grinding, shooting, and destroying the landscape all around you. It gives the song a cinematic adrenaline surge.
Moving back into a balls-out blitz is the title track “Dying of Everything” as well as “By The Dawn” and “Weaponize The Hate”. The burly drums and bass crash and burn as the guitars grind the remains to a pulp. Each song showcases Obituary’s ability to generate extreme tension in the music. You feel it racing toward the edge, before slowing into devastation. Adding to each song’s dimension and range are the guitar solos. Each one is perfectly molded to the song to add tension or provide a counterpoint.
While every song on Dying of Everything is masterful, the standout track is the album’s final cut called “Be Warned”. This song is an avalanche of death doom. The sludgy mega-crunchy guitar intro blazes with terror. The stomping drums come in as John growls with terrible menace “Beware and Be Warned!!!!!”. The guitar solo is simple, yet compelling. It fits like a glove. This thundering monster of a tune ends with whammy bar dives and harmonics cascading over the rhythm as the song slowly fades into the distance. This has to be the best Obituary song of all time.
Dying of Everything showcases Obituary at the height of their powers, delivering a masterpiece of crushing death metal. This new album rivals their classic and influential Cause of Death as their greatest work to date. Dying of Everything has everything we love about Obituary. From the savage riffs dripping with aggression and brilliant razor-edged guitar solos to the menacing vocals spitting with venom and pile-driving rhythms that dig grooves into your soul, this album has it all.
