OBITUARY – Darkest Day

Obituary needs no introduction. Since the late 1980s, this band has proved to be one of the most influential and successful groups in the world of Death Metal. Darkest Day is yet another fine album from this Death Metal legend. Adding a new studio album to their rich discography, Obituary demonstrates wicked Traditional Death Metal. They’ve been preserving this tradition for over two decades.

Obituary was founded in 1985 as Xecutioner and participated on the Raging Dead compilation in 1987. Their debut album, Slowly We Rot, released in 1989, introduced John Tardy to Death Metal, one of the first vocalists to use low pitched growls. Their highly rated work is worldly known for their album The End Complete, which was one of the top-selling Death Metal albums ever. In 1997 Obituary disbanded and made its comeback six years later. Up until now the band has released an impressive discography of 8 studio albums, one live album and two projects of video footage.

This album is a successful continuation of a legacy which Obituary has stuck by since their formation 25 years ago. Ultra-heavy distorted guitars and strong drum beats are not everything this band has to offer in Darkest Day. As usual, Tardy provides a generous portion of his low growling voice alongside his new lead guitarist, Ralph Santolla, which explodes with artistic guitar solos that blend well in the overall music feel. Santolla, actually, replaced the band’s former guitar man, Allen West, after the latter was arrested for DUI.

Highlights from this release – Traditional Death Metal at its best: “List of Dead” – Starts the album with pounding riffs and great solos. “Lost” – One of the best songs out there. Tardy performs with excellence on the vocals and his brother makes marvels as usual on the drums. “Darkest Day” – A very heavy and slow tempo track. It has a well-balanced dialog between the different instruments and vocals, which channels the bleak feel that the song possesses. “See Me Now” and “Fields of Pain” have great drum and bass lines, these two serve as the main strong points of the pair tracks.

Darkest Day is a new signature album of Obituary. Heavy riffs, aggressive drumming, low growls and great solos blend together. It’s savage meaning clearly shows what is good in classic old Death Metal. Obviously, this band will continue to influence and nurture the Old School Death Metal scene as much as it had in the past. Check this one out, it’s a Headbangers’ joy.