VERY GOOD
8.5Overall Score
Reader Rating 2 Votes
9.4

After our very interesting 19-minute chat with their legendary frontman John Tardy, we got the chance to take a look on OBITUARY‘s 10th full-length offering. Their self-titled album. They’ve always been steady ever since their reunion, let’s see what this record has in store for us.

The album kicks in with “Brave” and “Sentence Day” and old-school death metal crushers in trademark full-speed-ahead OBITUARY fashion. The band sounds fresher, however, more pissed and energetic than before and it shows right off the bat. “A Lesson In Vengeance” follows in a more mid-tempo yet still punishing death metal groove and motif. Up next we have “End It Now” and “Kneel Before Me” with their double-bass headbanging groove and killer solos by Kenny Andrews, who truly shines throughout the record.

A bit slower but as devastating is the following track called “It Lives”, and its title could really fit OBITUARY‘s state: the band lives and kicks asses. “Betrayed” kicks in with one of my favorite Tardy screams of the record, going a bit faster and being more double-bass flavored, bringing some 90’s SEPULTURA to mind. “Turned To Stone” keeps up that motif and it’s the first song to have its lyrics ever published in the history of OBITUARY on a lyric video.

“One of the best records of the latest OBITUARY history.”

“Straight To Hell” goes on a bit more doomy path , giving Tardy’s voice the necessary room to make us shiver with his one-of-a-kind growl. And they’ve saved the best for last: “Ten Thousand Ways To Die” (check out the hilariously awesome animation video clip, where they worship local Florida heroes Nasty Savage) with its 100% OBITUARY headbanging groove and beautifully melodic soloing, as a perfect way to end the record. To top it all off, the bonus track “No Hope” (entitled “No” on the promotional Decibel flexi released a month prior to the albums’ release), just goes to show that some bands know how to get things done. And OBITUARY are undoubtedly one of them.

A 33-minute-slab of old school death metal the Florida way. One of the best records of the latest OBITUARY history, blending together the top-notch soloing of “Cause Of Death”, the killer groove of “The End Complete”, all under the relentless thrashing death metal attitude of OBITUARY! And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go give this crusher another spin. I highly recommend you do the same.

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