James Murphy lead guitarist on Cause of Death has to be be one of the most underrated guitarists ever. For people that dont know, he was also a member of Death, Cancer, Testament, Disincarnate etc. and did countless guest solos on too many metal albums to even mention.
Obituary is the first death metal band I ever heard. My creative writing teacher reccomended them and Pestilence. I found Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death in a 2 for 1 package at media play and fell in love. Still in my top 3 Old School Death Metal bands
It's a rare feat when you can put on an album that was made 30 years ago and it still sounds a fresh as the day it was released. Cause Of Death is the Death Metal standard all shall be judged by. Obituary, cuz Death Metal should be heavy as fuck and fun to listen to.
Of all the openers for Amon Amarth that I saw in Toronto this past December 2nd, Obituary were the best of all of them. In fact, they were my personal highlight of the whole show! The new album will be fun. Those who want more Obituary-style death metal will be satisfied by the new album released back in the fall of 2022 by cult underground favourites Ares Kingdom. Think Obituary but with fantasy lyrics and a hint of NWOBHM melodies on the last proper track.
I wanted to go see them in Quebec Dec 22 but just couldn’t swing it, would love to see them live some day New tracks are wicked good! Can’t wait for the full album this month! 🤘🏼🤘🏼
It's funny you mention Sepultura while talking about Cause of death because the Cause of Death album artwork was originally going to be used on Beneath the Remains but ended up on Obituarys album instead, fun fact there.
Very nicely done. Looks like I should check out some of the newer albums. Maybe once the new one comes out. I kind of got into them after World Demise, with Back from the Dead being the first "new" one that came out after I was aware of them -- as such I have maybe a bit more of a soft spot for it than you and many, while admitting everything you say about it is correct. Still stuff like "Platonic Disease" and "Threatening SKies" was a part of my death metal development. Surprised you didn't mention the guest rapper dude on the one track, but well, it was the late 90s and maybe everyone wanted to do taht sort of thing so I guess who cares? For me, the biggest difference between Slowly we Rot and Cause of Death, besides the greater propensity for slower/groovier passages, was the addition of james Murphy on lead guitar. His slinking, creepily classical solos definitely added a whole other dimension to their music, and its' why even now there's nothing quite like Cause of Death. I also have to give it to Donald tardy, one of the best, grooviest and most underrated death metal drummers. Seems a very wholesome dude as well.
Thanks for posting this bro, I really enjoyed it. I haven't listen to every Obituary album yet, but I'd say my favorite song would be "The End Complete" as of right now. Obituary is probably one of the best groove based Death Metal bands ever, and one of my top favorites. Anyways GREAT video. Also I'd love to see you do an Autopsy ranking some time.
What about Reviewing EVERY Katatonia Album!?!?! New album is coming out in a couple of weeks. Love your videos btw! Keep up the great work! Greetings from Athens, Greece! //m//
Greetings from Germany, i enjoyed the Stream yesterday a Lot. Not only the Gaming, also the bashing on Chreeeeeez Barnes and youre interaction with the Chat. First i say that Cause of Death will always be my favourite Obituary Record. The Production is so massive and the Atmosphere plus Songwriting is amazing. The Leads from James Murphy godlike and the Artwork is Killer. Big dissapointment is the end complete, thin Production, also World Demise. By the Way, check out the German Death/-Black Metal Band Arroganz. Personal Friends of mine and great Band.
My current ranking, but may change when the new album drops and I do another run through. 10. World Demise 9. Darkest Day 8. Xecutioner's Return 7. Inked in Blood 6. Obituary 5. Back from the Dead 4. Slowly We Rot 3. Frozen in Time 2. The End Complete 1. Cause of Death
Very entertaining video as always. I haven't listened to an overwhelming amount of Obituary (just their first two albums and some miscellanous songs), but they're a cool band, and I'll try to get around to checking out their new album when it gets released on Friday. Also, since you're wearing your Kreator shirt, how about making one of these videos for them? I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on their discography.
I am not familiar with all obituary albums but what stuck out to me on their self titled was that John actually shows way more vocal range than on the previous releases I know. even though he could do what he does always and I would adore it
I think the band really regrets executioners return seeing as they have not had it on streaming ever (might be wrong on that tho). Now that I'm double checking it they dont have darkest day either
Every time I hear of Obituary I think of Goniloc calling their debut "collection of stolen Celtic Frost riffs" 🤣 Still a great album tho, are couple of albums post it, Cause of Death especially. Some of their later stuff gets pretty bland but new one seems promising
I would really love seeing you review every Nile album. Those guys have a flawless discography and I believe that all their albums need a good analysis.
@@themetalmeltdownofficial thanks for considering my suggestion. I've heard that they're working on new material so it's another reason to talk about their shit before the new one comes out.
One Mention, Scott Burns recorded no Morbid Angel Albums, Jim and Tom Morris did it. Right, Frozen in Time was his last Work but quite producing after 1996 and did not recorded Back from the Dead. No Front, hope you don't misunderstood
Good review. I need self titled. Executioners return. And the new album. I have all digital but want originals. Like this band alot. Oh I need inked in blood too. I really like darkest days art.
Overall good assessment. but the one thing I'd definitely disagree on is "Xecutioner's Return". I got into Obituary with "Anthology" (perfect for beginners). So I was primed & ready when they reformed with "Frozen in Time". I felt they topped that with "Xecutioner's Return". It just has better songs & I love Ralph Santolla's leads, although some say he feels out of place in their music. Not crazy on the title or the cover art though. "Darkest Day" felt much the same musically. I'd take those 2 albums over "Frozen in Time" & "Inked in Blood" any day. But yeah, their last 2 are really strong, on that we can definitely agree.
Great list amigo, I'd say Slowly we rot is my favorite, it has my favorite songs on it and it's also one of my favorite Death Metal debuts as well 🤟 You should consider doing Reviewing Every Converge Album, another great band with an extremely strong discography
love the kreator t shirt robert i have the new kreator album hate uber alles on vinyl i love obituary saw obituary in 2014 at brutal assault festival in czech republic great show 8 years ago i have loved every obituary album from slowly we rot to now including cause of death the end complete world demise back from the dead frozen in time executioner,s song doomy sludgy obituary i love as well darkest day is my least favorite been a hugen fan of obituary since 2005 since i was 5 still listening to obituary 15 years later cause of death was the first obituary album i got into because of my dad love inked in blood as well however only listened to obituary obituary 2017 once and bored the fuck out of me but i heard the new song wrong time and very excited to hear dying of everything
Obituary is one of my favorite death metal bands and is one of the bands that got me into death metal. I can't wait for Dying of Everything when it comes out. Here would be my score for each album: Slowly We Rot: 4.5/5 Cause of Death: 5/5 The End Complete: 4.5/5 World Demise: 4/5 Back from the Dead: 3/5 Frozen in Time: 4/5 Xecutioner's Return: 3.5/5 Darkest Day: 3.5/5 Inked in Blood: 3/5 Obituary: 4.5/5
I don't know if I trust the opinion of someone whose first Obituary album was Inked in Blood. I was on board from Cause of Death and if you weren't there in the beginning you just can't 'get it' the same way those of us who were around when this stuff was fresh and new. That said I don't know why people don't like World Demise, that album fucking CRUSHES. I also feel like Ralph Santolla was never a great choice for Obituary, his leads, while technically good, seem to have a disconnect between them and the riffs. Its like if Steve Vai tried to play in Motörhead, too polished and musically structured to mesh properly with the sick, swampy riffs that Trevor spews forth.
This is such a weird comment. Like, was I supposed to go back in time and be a 19 year old in 1990 instead of 2014? Should I have written Obituary a letter telling them to stall production on "Inked In Blood" until I heard "Cause Of Death"? I'm not even sure why this matters since I made it clear I dig "Cause Of Death" way more. Weird comment indeed.
This just screams "I'm old and grumpy" like seriously, hearing an album for the first time will be the same no matter the year (or order) unless you are allowing the people around you to influence how you feel about it, then maybe yeah you'd have to have been there to got it. Not to mention to clearly didn't listen well enough to the video
The grumpy old man vibes are very strong for sure. There may be occassions where 'you just had to be there' is a valid thing to say, but I don't feel like somebody talking about when they discovered a band is the right occassion, because realistically we all discover things in very different ways for a multitude of different reasons that we often cannot control (for instance, I can't control the fact that I was born in 1994, four years after "Cause Of Death" came out. I cannot discover Obituary the same way Aaron here did, but that doesn't make any of our experiences more valid than others).
I remember your show about old geezers that should retire. Isn't Obituary on the cusp between destroying motel rooms, and playing checkers in the nursing home?????
Nahh, they're only in their early 50's. Plus they still have so much energy live and consistently are still releasing good music. That being said, I wouldn't object to them retiring eventually, they've nothing left to prove and have more than earned it.
This feels like a dumb question, but why do you list what record label the album is released on? You’re the first (and only) reviewer I’ve seen do that.
I probably listen to Inked in Blood the least of the Obituary discography just because of the bass drum sound alone. Great record but that bass drum production man it’s bad in my opinion
Not my personal favorite of the classic Florida Dm bands, I do find the Discog to be a little inconsistent. But Early and A some amount of Modern Obituary I find to be really good S: Cause of Death A: Slowly we Rot, The End Complete, Obituary (Honestly a pretty great starter Obituary album imo) B: Frozen in Time, Inked in Blood C: Darkest Day D: World Demise, Back from the Dead, Xecutioners Return
Cause of Death is so over rated, its not as catchy and flowing as the other early albums. The End Complete is a 5/5, Slowly we Rot is a 4.5/5 and World Demise is a 4.5/5. They are my top 3.
