Ah, those riffs and those vocals – unmistakable! The kings of groove Obituary are back once again with a hammer of a new album! The appropriately titled Dying Of Everything, their 11th full-length release, comes out January 13th via Relapse Records and is everything an old school death metal fan could dream of. Entering the 25th year of their career, the Florida extreme veterans have lost none of their bite and viciousness. Brothers John and Donald Tardy, along with rhythm guitarist Trevor Peres have steered the ship firmly through all these years, being joined 12 years ago by fellow death metal legend Terry Butler on bass. The “newest” member in the band is lead guitar player Kenny Andrews, who has played on the last three albums (the new one included).
Opener “Barely Alive” plainly tears skin from flesh with unrelenting speed and brutal riffs. The inhuman, tortured performance of John Tardy has to be heard to be believed and, anyway, if you are reading this review, you should be familiar with the impact this guy has had both as frontman and as vocalist in extreme music. The title track, another speedy cut, is also highlight mainly because of its fantastic guitar solo, and being one out of two compositional contributions from Mr. Andrews in the new album. The playing of Andrews is top notch once again, but the solos are even more elaborated and creative this time, adding class and musicality to the songs. If you want speed, you will surely have speed with “Torn Apart” (another Andrews song) or “Weaponize The Hate”, but what Obituary have always excelled in are the mid-tempo stompers and they are not only present here, but are also among the best I’ve heard in their career. “The Wrong Time” (also first single and video), “Without A Conscience”, “By The Dawn” will saw your head off with simple, but hugely effective riffs, built upon a monstrous-sounding rhythm section. When I mentioned “kings of groove” earlier, I mean it – there is no other band capable of starting a violent circle pit with the first chords of even their slowest song. “My Will To Live” is another confident display of all the band’s strengths and a quintessence of a quarter of a decade being at the forefront of the death metal genre.
Dying Of Everything was once again recorded in the band’s own Redneck Studios, but I think the sound and production this time are the best since Frozen In Time, and good words should be said about Joe Cincotta, who has done a fantastic job on the mix. The stunning cover artwork by cover art by Mariusz Lewandowski, who sadly died earlier this year, is the icing on the cake, even further darkening the musical atmosphere. Much like 2022 started with the brutal OSDM hatchet to the head that was the latest Immolation album, now 2023 offers another outburst of classic death metal extremity from Obituary, who have used the almost six years since their latest album to come up with a career highlight, promising to end on a lot of best-of-the-year lists. Hats off to these masters!
10/10
*P.S. It’s not recommendable to play this album in a room with something fragile around (including other family members) – just be alone and don’t be dangerous to the others!
You can order Dying Of Everything from HERE
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