Darkest Day

The main question about a veteran band is that whether they can or want to follow their original path or if they can make an album as of high standard as their classic releases were. John Tardy's group is a different case becuase the band had been disbanded after releasing their fifth full-length – and many of the fans said that this was the best decision for them. But eight years later they reunited and the question was quite obvious for the Obituary fans: „Would the Obituary name ever shine in its old glory again?”. According to the feedbacks, 'Frozen in Time' was a promising step but the next full-length 'Xecutioner's Return' divided the opinions and was a disappointment for many. So 'Darkest Day' could be the album that regains the veteran fans' love for the one of the most significant band of death metal. I cannot tell that if this album could live up to expectations not even after listening to it many times.

On one hand, this release is a pure old-school material in every aspect, I thought that it should have been produced 20 years ago. It has its advantages and disadvantages. This record benefits from the atmosphere which is just as heavy and wholehearted as it was in the old times. John Tardy's style haven't changed a bit, however, sometimes I cannot feel him as powerful as he could be. We can find on this album some hard rock influences and it also strengthens its old-school image. The downside of this is the quality of the songs, most of the guitar riffs are simply not too creative, I think they were based on the pure genuine death metal feeling and sometimes it turns out to be good – for instance in the opener 'List of Dead' - but sometimes it makes some parts of the songs sink into mediocrity. The guitar solos are nice and catchy though, however, it's not an expectation from a death metal band with this style.

On the other hand, I don't really like the pace of this album, there are too many slow songs on it. I know, the slow severe riffs are the trademarks of Obituary but the tempo here is absolutely moderate even according to them (or maybe just I got unused to listen to them). Beside the opener only two tracks have faster moments than the mid-tempo, most of the tracks don't obtain this level either. But of course, there are songs which are more heavy with that low speed (as is good for 'Blood to Give'), and there are some where only the feeling keeps the interest alive.

All in all, I have ambivalent feelings of this record. On the one hand, this album has the great Obituary essence, on the other hand, in my opinion, they went too far with the quantity of the severe parts. Of course, making a new revolutionary classic isn't their goal, they've done it already with their first releases, so what the listeners usually expect is a correct work of high standard and this full-length is living up to expectations with no doubt. But who knows, maybe some listeners will fall in love with them (again) because of this. Veteran fans should give it a try, maybe this feeling was the component what they lacked from the previous records of the reunited Obituary. For those who want to get acquainted with this band, I still recommend their earlier releases.

( Originally written for: http://kronosmortus.hu )

Unfortunately, I haven’t been present during the years following OBITUARY’s rise from the grave. I’d given fleeting moments of attention to their Roadrunner days, where the likes of “Cause of Death”, “The End Complete” and “World Demise” stormed the Floridian swamps like so many Jason Vorhees clones, and I even enjoyed the more thrash-ish “Back from the Dead” (I hardly consider it the group’s nadir), and so, upon hearing that the group decided to TRULY come back from the dead, I was interested but wasn’t able to commit.

And with this, I’m finally able to see if OBITUARY still has what it takes to run with the big dogs of death metal once again.

With this new work, “Darkest Days”, this listener is able to once again partake in the deathrash riff factory that has been the OBITUARY way of life since their inception, if with a touch more truncated and, dare I say, acceptability this time around. If nothing else think the ugliness of “Slowly They Rot” mixed with the everyday decency of “Back from the Dead” into an amalgam of bitter, heavy hymns that is old-school to the core. All of what has made these fellas so enjoyable in the past is back in as full fruition as possible; the grinding riffs, the punchy percussion blasts, the tasty solo-ocity, and the ever-present vocal nonsense of John Tardy, ye of no lyrics and the strange, twisted yelping that’s become his unofficial trademark, in nice, small helpings that definitely don’t overstay their welcome. Sometimes all it takes is short, fist-in-the-face odes to violent fantasies to get the blood flowing, as evidenced with the likes of “Blood to Give”, “Outside My Head”, and “This Life”.

All in all OBITUARY serve up yet another enjoyable platter of death metal monstrousness that further shows their place in the metallic world. Bust out your ripped jeans, the denim vest with all those patches, and bang your head like it’s the 1980s.

If there is one death metal band which has managed to keep me interested in their music Obituary is the one. These guys, even with the obnoxious ‘Back from the Dead’ have maintained me buying their recordings and although it is quite obvious they will never again achieve the grandiose of ‘Slowly’ or ‘Cause’ it is indeed obvious that they have sort of re-freshened their sound, but I will detail on this below.

I am fan of the band and I will always because they entertain me. I say this because with such big pile of silly fusions nowadays (brutal death, brutal technical death, blackened-death, blackened thrash-death and such) there are few bands that will capture me. Most of them rely on simple sheer brutality or relentless speed to call themselves ‘metal’. However, as proved with doom metal, speed is not necessarily a requirement, especially when not performed well. Of course, if you become boring because of the slow pace you can drive listeners away (Back from the Dead again) and certainly that has been of their sins lately.

Darkest Day has definitely good moments like the killer opener ‘List of Dead’ with its fast tempo and down tuned heaviness. Nevertheless it drowns again (just like ‘Back from the Dead’ and ‘Frozen in Time’) with its overwhelming amount of slow songs like ‘Blood to give’, ‘Payback’ and ‘Lost inside’. That would be its first flaw. I clearly understand the fact they are no longer interested in crushing speed but more on the more-than-obvious groove death metal. That is certainly enjoyable and makes the album (s) interesting for me but I understand that it can become rapidly boring with ‘more of the same’ as one of the other guys appointed.

Second problem: the recycled riffs used. Ever since ‘Back from the dead’ when they decided to disband, according to them, it was mainly because at that time they had other interests in life, but when you listen to the last 3 albums, it was clear that they ran out of ideas. Thus, when you listen to End Complete, Back from the Dead, World Demise, Frozen in time and Darkest Day you see a big pile of riffs which sound the same. In other words, they (Trevor who is the responsible for the riffs) change a few chords here and there and some of the progressions so they can sound different, but seriously, they all sound the same over and over. Examples of this, carefully listened are: ‘List of dead’ resembles remarkably to ‘back to one’ but a little faster. ‘Blood to give’ sounds very similar to ‘Download’. That is such you could actually place the lyrics of the first one into ‘Download’, oh and ‘lost inside’ sounds very much like ‘Lockjaw’, ‘Insane’ has the same riff as ‘Inverted’ and so we can go on and even deeper, but there is no point, any good listener could see the riffs are now sounding the same song after song, album after album.

Certainly these are the main complaints I have with last Obis albums. Other than that, I must say the down tuned distortion to D- doesn’t bother me at all and I actually think it helps a lot to get this dark atmosphere, being the current vibe they have been capturing lately. On the other things they concentrate on short songs but concise enough to put an album (just like the Cannibals) straight to the point and good enough to avoid becoming a headache-full length experience (such is the case for me with Nile).

The guys don’t have to prove anything to anybody. They are the metal legends they well deserve so what they are doing now is jut for the pure of fun but please try to come up with new ideas and stop re-using the same riffs all over on each album. Certainly this album is darker but is somber as well and not in a good sense. It is somber because it is not adding something new to the table; neither is refreshing their sound or anything. If this continues this way, why bothering of purchasing another album? And more important, the ‘dead’ words combination might reach to an end. How is the next album going to be named? Is it going to be ‘Long live the dead’, ‘Dead back to life’, ‘dead undead’? C’mon guys, make out something new!

The mighty Floridians Obituary define solid reliable DM more than anyone else in the genres' long and storied history, where upon the release of album number 8, "Darkest Day" any past fan will know exactly what they are going to be served - solid meat and potatoes Celtic Frost-inspired death metal. The only question is, will it be Michelin star rated meat and spuds or Tesco value after a couple of albums following reformation that were not of the previous inspired Obituary ilk?

Such is their resolute determination in sticking to the same sound Obituary have, in my opinion, become quite a challenge for the listener in seeing if one can still stomach more of the same. After all, Bolt Thrower haven't changed a great deal, but enough to keep going and pushing each album forward. The differences between Obituary records can be smaller than that. The last couple of albums have benefitted through the presence of Ralph Santolla, ex of Deicide among others, who's skills on the axe add greater dynamism and presence in the solos department than those of Allen West ever did. Asides though, you will always know when you hear John Tardy crooning above monolithic crushing death metal just who the band is so you could say their legacy is well secured. But just to be safe lets check in on "Darkest Day".

It begins encouragingly enough with "List of Dead", a tune high on foot-tap-ability and general good time chug. It will also remind, incase you'd forgotten, that production values have virtually stalled for Obituary since about 1991 - the band still reek of the Morrisound far unlike any of the other bands who debuted with that sound nigh on two decades ago now. Of course the pace is mixed up where faster tracks like "Lost" intermingle with the grinding DM that Obituary made their name in, such as "Your Darkest Day", a song that sounds very similar to the cult deceased doom band Winter (check out "Eternal Frost"). And good riffs can be found aplenty, "Payback" and "Violent Dreams" both being fine examples of this quality. But as I'm sure you can tell not all is sweet and rosy. The feeling of Obituary going through the motions it at times a little too hard to take, resulting in the fact Obituary are never to produce another truly exciting album, without significant stylistic changes.

The simple summation is "Darkest Day" represents an improvement on the lackluster "Xecutioner's Return" and is a very solid meat 'n' potatoes meal but don't come into this dinner expecting anymore.

Originally written for Rockfreaks.net

Like the previous album, 'Xecutioner's Return', 'Darkest Day' is another attempt at a return to Obituary's roots: pure death metal, with deep grooves and horrifying vocals courtesy of John Tardy. Gone are the hardcore overtures which plagued some of their late 90s albums. Sadly, while it's superior to 2004's abysmal Frozen in Time, this album fails to deliver the quality moments of creepy riffing that permeated their classic albums 'Cause of Death' and 'Slowly We Rot'. 'Xecutioner's Return' was proof that perhaps this horse hadn't been beaten to death, but this album is weak enough to overturn that evidence.

On the surface, this album does possess all the elements that made their old records so great. Even the mix sounds similar, with the band's signature guitar tone and lead outbursts. It just lacks in inspirational riffing. Tracks like "List of Dead" and "Blood to Give" could be outtakes from 'Cause of Death', but they lack the replay value. A few tracks later on the album come close, like the grooving "This Life" and the furious "Violent Dreams", but they fall shy of the mark.

At this point, I can't really call 'Darkest Day' a disappointment. I've been underwhelmed by a number of the band's previous albums ('The End Complete', 'Frozen in Time'). Perhaps one day, the 'forces realign' and Obituary kicks my ass once again. Not this time around.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

So Obituary’s last album, Xecutioner’s Return was a pretty good album let down by some seriously self indulgent guitar playing from Ralph Santolla. I approached this new album with a fair amount of caution and quite honestly expected another album’s worth of better than average death metal with way too much lead guitar from Santolla. I think the band has managed to make a better album this time around. It’s still not as good as Frozen in Time which really was a kick ass comeback but the band sound a bit more assured on this latest offering and Santolla’s guitar playing isn’t as distracting as it was on the previous album.

List of Dead starts proceedings with a typical Santolla flourish but before I could say more of the same, the band goes off into a Slayer inspired riff with John Tardy doing his trademark vocals. Kickass opener and things are off to a good start. Blood to give has a kickass groove reminding me of Redneck Stomp from Frozen in Time while Lost is pretty much vintage Obituary with its mid paced death metal riff and another manic performance from Tardy. Title song Your Darkest Day is the highlight of the album and reminds me a bit of Infected from Cause of Death with its death metal as a slow dirge.The news isn’t always great though. Truth be Told on the other hand borrows a Six Feet Under riff and sounds pedestrian while This Life, See Me Now and Fields of Pain drag the album along and become background noise very quickly.

Santolla turns in a much more restrained performance this time around and isn’t half as distracting as he was on the last album. For the rest of the band, it’s pretty much business as usual which is a good thing. John Tardy still sounds like he’s coughing up great gobs of phlegm when he’s growling and the rhythm section of Watkins and Tardy are as good as they’ve ever been. Also, the songs benefit from a very sludgy sound that works well and adds to the heaviness.

The album tapers off in the second half and is probably a good three songs longer than it needed to be. Still, overall, this is a pretty enjoyable album from one of the founding fathers of the genre and a bit better than the bands last effort.

Originally written for http://www.kvltsite.com

I was having a look through the record store in the mall the other day and, lo and behold, I came across the new Obituary album, Darkest Day. Having heard mixed opinions on it, and due to Xecutioners Return being so boring, I was a bit skeptical. However, nothing else in the store was of much interest at the moment, and since Obituary was the band that got me to like death metal in the first place, I figured I'd buy their latest output.

The album starts out quite nicely with "List of Dead". Yeah, it's sort of a lame song title, but it's a nice, speedy (well, for Obituary) track with plenty of headbangable riffs and little shred solos. One thing I noticed right away is that the production has been kicked up a notch. Unlike this band's previous offering, the guitar tone is actually heavy. That massive, muddy tone that characterizes Trevor Perez's groovy riffing is still present. The drumming is style is unaltered and sounds like vintage Donald Tardy. Obituary sounds like they are expected to.

"Blood to Give" follows the opener, and it's reminiscent of "The End Complete" in how it shifts between mid-paced grooving and up-tempo thrashiness. As a matter of fact, this entire album is highly derivative of middle-era Obituary. The band doesn't introduce any new concepts; groove-laden riffage accompanied by bizzare vocals and simplistic yet competent drumming are what these guys have been about since their third offering. The material present isn't idealy different from what was on Xecutioner's Return. It's just done with seemingly more effort and more of an adherence to what made their previous albums so celebrated, and that's what makes Darkest Day superior to its predecessor.

I found every track to be of similar quality; there were no real stinkers, but at the same time there weren't really any tracks that stood far out above the rest. That's not to say there aren't any memorable tracks though. "Payback" has a catchy chorus that will implant itself in your memory for days ("Payback by default!"... as always, the lyrics don't make much sense). "Left to Die" is very repetitive, but it's quite catchy and it manages to keep your attention. "Your Darkest Day" is a slow crusher, but unlike the previous release's "Contrast the Dead", it doesn't drag on and break your balls for seven minutes. "Violent Dreams" is a faster track that resembles the classic "Words of Evil" from the debut, with a song structure that is almost identical to that of the aforementioned track. There really aren't any "singles" (technically "Blood to Give" is a single, but I don't find it to be a standout track), but each song has characteristics that distinguish it from the rest.

Ralph Santolla seems to get a lot of flack for not "fitting in" with the rest of the band. Personally, I don't see what the problem is. His leads aren't Murphy's, but I fail to see why Allen West was any better. Santolla's leads may sound a little more "ubeat", and if this were Slowly We Rot, I could see why this may be a problem. However, this album lacks much of the dark atmosphere found in the aforementioned debut, so Santolla's leads don't really cause any issues in that department. Both have contributed neat little shred solos that spice things up and add a little more excitement to the constant groove-laden riffage.

The vocals are almost exactly the same as they were on Frozen in Time, with possibly a little more aggression. Tardy doesn't sound like he did in the early days, but he still sounds like no other. However, he doesn't sound as "tired" as he did on the previous album. It definitely sounds like he is putting forth more effort, and in turn, his growls sound more hostile. Overall, his performance here is fair.

In conclusion, Darkest Day is a solid piece of groovy, mid-paced death metal. It's not Cause of Death, but then again, I wasn't expecting it to be. Those days are long gone, and what we're left with is a solid, old-school death metal band that is still able to churn out quality material.If you're a fan of Obituary, don't hesitate to give this one a listen.

Ah, Obituary. When I think of Obituary’s music I think of dirty swamp water and unmarked graves. A trunk full of body parts, beer bottles and a shovel.

Darkest Days is a true return to form for the Floridian death-dealers Obituary. More pummeling than Xecutioners Return this album manages to touch on the best parts of their previous efforts while adding a youthful urgency that’s palpable. There’s imagery to this album and an unmistakable feeling that hasn’t been present in awhile. Obituary has taken certain flavors and textures from past work and strewn them within new material and it works quite well. Even though the non-Euclidian guitar work of Cause Of Death isn’t as prevalent it’s still there, lurking at the threshold. While the organic oppressiveness of The End Complete abounds here the dry semi-industrial feel of World Demise looms in the background. The base of this sonic stew is Slowly We Rot, not in sound but in urgency. Obituary hasn’t sounded this dynamic in quite awhile. There’s an unmistakable feeling with this one. It’s oppressive and pummeling, vicious and viscous. The whole album is full of groove and swamp-water. Musically the guitar work is what stands out the most. The guitar tone is thick with menace and reminds you of final transmissions and lost civilizations and solos are at once razor sharp and skitter like deathwatch beetles crawling across moldy bones. Peres and Santolla complement each other perfectly and personally the album sounds more coherent than it did with James Murphy and more dynamic than Allen West’s albums. Not to take anything away from Murphy or West but Santolla just fits.

Vocally not much has changed, it’s Obituary for Cthulhu’s sake, but at times it feels like John is about to come unhinged; particularly on Outside My Head (right at the 3:00 minute mark, especially). Throughout the album his growls and screams charge the atmosphere with menace and remind you just who in the fuck you are dealing with. Frank Watkins and Donald Tardy add muscle to the monster and almost outshine the guitar work with their low-end assault.

The feel of the entire album is hot, humid, heavy and fierce. The oppressive air of Your Darkest Day pulses and slams like a graveborn creature roaming the halls of a darkened hospital while Outside My Head’s tortured screams remind you that the hospital isn’t abandoned. Fields Of Pain grinds bones and bends reality at the edges while conjuring dark things that gibber and dance. Truth Be Told just fucking crushes. There is no filler on this album and every track is pure aggression.

All said and done this is the best Obituary album since Cause Of Death and a definite Death Metal Album Of The Year contender for me. It could very well be my AOTY. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to make a trip to the swamp to unload my trunk.




originally posted at the Treehouse Of Death

The eight Obituary album comes in a period in which the old school death metal isn’t living a good period. The new Pestilence album is so boring too and seems to me that at a certain point, they should stop releasing those outputs just to take money because they are letting the fans down. Darkest Day is the very first weak album by Obituary in my humble opinion even if the albums before were not masterpieces: Frozen in Time and Xecutioner’s Return were fairly simple and “easy” albums, with nothing particular and I came to this idea after more than 10 listening sessions. At first I liked them more than how I do now but this new one shocked me since the first time.

Actually Darkest Day started in a goodish way with the fast “List of the Dead” and the World Demise influenced “Blood to Give” because the excellent drum work on the first one and the dark, industrial atmosphere of the second caught my attention. They are not astounding songs but they are far better than the rest of this album. On these two songs the band plays hard and fast even if the Santolla’s guitar wankery is always ready to piss me off, filling with useless virtuosos each part. The solos are completely detached from the other structures and the more “melodic” or simply fluent technique doesn’t fit the Obituary sound at all. Anyway, it’s a long story and I believe this is one of the most discussed points in death metal in the recent times.

Coming back to the songs, the very first weak points come with the terribly boring “Lost”, “Outside my Head” and “Payback”. A long series of ultra annoying mid-paced songs soon invades our ears and I’m completely shocked for how much the riffs are simply insipid, without ideas and mostly, without that typical morbid touch. The structures are simple, linear, without surprises and without power. Even John Tardy seem tired on these tracks. The title-track is always mid-paced but at times it shows a bit better ideas and the atmosphere takes a bit of power from it. Finally some solos are concentrated on recreating a quite doomy atmosphere, leaving a bit the fast-harmless style.

The acquired dynamism of “This Life” is soon ruined by the guitar solos even if the track itself wasn’t that great. The fast paced break in the middle of “See me Now” is good to bring a bit of air in a stagnant and obvious composition. The mediocrity of a song like “Fields of Pain” is unbelievable and even a fast-paced song like “Violent Dreams” seems so harmless and the only one who’s really pissed-off is John at the screams. I mean, the track is fast and brutal but nothing if compared to the old releases. “Truth to be Told” is another slow, sluggish and with zero ideas track, simulating the old, rotten atmospheres without succeeding.

We go on with the complete inutility of “Forces Realign” and the too long “Left to Die” to end an album of almost complete boredom. These 52 minutes seem neverending and maybe this album should be divided in small parts to be appreciated but I doubt it because when you have just few ideas, miracles don’t happen. Maybe Obituary should think to a future made of concerts and that’s it because going on like this is a risky thing and I think they have already crossed the line.