OBITUARY
Obituary
Relapse (2017)
Rating: 8/10
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Don’t you just hate it when music fans are keen to tell you that the latest record from one of their favourite, long-standing bands is a “return to form” and then when you hear it you realise it isn’t?
This was certainly the case with me with Obituary fans over previous outings. I adored Obituary during the halcyon days of death metal (up until about 1994), and while I remained faithful, with each album thereafter I found myself hearing a band bereft of its edge, attempting to re-create the sounds of the past. I stuck by this feeling right up until the generic strains of 2014’s Inked In Blood, but remained aware of the fact that those joyous, summery days of Floridian death metal just couldn’t be replicated. But even so, I still expected more.
And so we come to this self-titled platter; album number ten from the death metal stalwarts, and a record which I’ve been reliably informed by many is a “return to form”. And y’know what? To some extent, it is. Of course, we still know what we’re gonna get – John Tardy’s grizzly vocal snipes, Trevor Peres’ gnarled rhythm guitar, complemented by Kenny Andrews scorching leads, and behind that the distinctive wall of Terry Butler’s infectious mouldy basslines and Donald Tardy’s ravenous percussion. But this time there seems to be an edge about proceedings, and there’s a less of a watered down, tired and generic feel.
From the off we’re scalped by the horrific strains of ‘Brave’ and then ‘Sentence Day’, the duo being the shortest tracks on the opus, but boy, what a way to start – both being bone-crunching, searing hot waves of anguish and ghastly horror only punctuated by Peres’ nasty swamp grooves and Andrews’ knifing solo swirls. John Tardy is still barking out the fluff, but again there’s an extra whip to his voice, although the band still tend to create more of a thrashier, rather than deathlier gurgle.
However, just when you begin to feel concern that Obituary is going to puke out a set of forgettable whippersnappers, we get the mid-tempo glug of ‘A Lesson In Vengeance’; a sordid stomp of epic proportions reliant on Donald Tardy’s spearing nods and that distinctive Peres fuzz. Sure, it’s not ‘Slowly We Rot’ or even ‘World Demise’, but there’s a real stench of melody with this one as Andrews supplies another classy solo and John Tardy’s far-reaching yawns of ghastly horror offend the ears.
‘End It Now’ brings another full-pelt fetid barrage; this is one of the album’s most instant moments, again featuring a pulverising groove. it also offers that rich, full-bodied sound that Obituary made their own all those years ago. The same could also be said for ‘Betrayed’, with its catchy chug, and ‘Turned To Stone’, another favourite, particularly with its ghoulish riffage. Elsewhere we find ourselves splattered by trudging ‘It Lives’, the twisted, decaying guffaw of ‘Ten Thousand Ways To Die’, and the infected bludgeoning of ‘No Hope’. The latter a bonus track on the deluxe edition of the album.
So, a “return to form” then? Well, not quite, because the cadaverous days of Slowly We Rot (1989), Cause Of Death (1990) etc. will never be matched. But for those thinking that Obituary’s new opus is just another chore, think again. This is in fact a return to the band giving us what we want; something vibrant, edgy, punchy, and above all not lacklustre. With its variety of tempos, moods and grooves, this self-titled opus should regain all that festering faith we had that made us such fervent followers in the first place.
Neil Arnold
