Tag Archives: Obituary

Death ’til Death – Day 7: Obituary

Our Death Metal week is coming to an end. With six bands already having been covered over the course of the past six days, some Death Metalheads might have been missing Obituary. I did not forget about this Florida Death Metal giant, and saved the last spot for them.

Obituary was formed, under the name of Executioner (and shortly after that Xecutioner), in 1984. The name-change to Obituary came in 1988, after they released four demos — with one interestingly named Metal Up Your Ass, the original title for Metallica’s debut album Kill ‘Em All. Their first three albums; Slowly We Rot, Cause Of Death and The End Complete; are considered not only Death Metal classics but pioneering works of the scene.

In 1997, the band had grown tired of touring and decided to split up. During their downtime, Allen West, Obituary lead guitarist, famously spend his time playing with Six Feet Under. Their drummer, and brother of vocalist John Tardy, Donald Tardy played with Andrew W.K., including playing on W.K.’s hit album I Get Wet.

The band reformed in 2003, and released three albums since. Obituary still stay true to their roots with their newer material. With their impressive catalogue, they have proved again and again that they’re one of the most important bands of the genre. They have achieved legendary status a long time ago and should never be missed when Death Metal is being discussed.

Obituary – Cause Of Death

Death ’til Death introduction – Day 1: Death – Day 2: Possessed – Day 3: Morbid Angel
Day 4: Cannibal Corpse – Day 5: Nile – Day 6: Hypocrisy – Day 7: Obituary

Interview: Allen West

Allen West was one of the most important people in the early Death Metal scene. As a founding member of Massacre, Obituary, and Six Feet Under, West cemented his place in the history of Death Metal.

In the past couple of years West seemingly dropped out of the public eye when he was imprisoned for 18 months, but he has gotten his life back on track and is back with his new band SouthWicked.

Make the jump to read my interview with Allen West, where we talked about the imprisonment, his departures from Obituary and Six Feet Under, and more.

Weekly Dose of Metal: Obituary

This week’s dose of Metal is Obituary, for no particular reason other than they kind of kick a lot of ass. Well more ass than I kick. Have you seen me? I couldn’t fight my way out of a paper bag.

Obituary are a North American Death Metal band, and as a reader of Dose of Metal, you should know that. You should also know that the band formed in the mid 80’s and are a fundamental act in the development of Death Metal music. A bit like I’m a fundamental  person in the development of awesomeness.

The song ‘Don’t Care’ can be heard below and is taken from 1994’s World Demise. The song has been considered by many as a protest song against Man-made pollution. That’s not a very ‘Death Metal-y’ topic, but the song will desecrate your ears regardless.

17 years ago seems so far away

17 years ago, Pantera’s Far Beyond Driven went to #1 on the US Billboard 200 charts. Currently on #1 on said charts is Adele and I have absolutely no idea who that is but I think it’s safe to say, they (or she?) aren’t metal (it’s worth noticing that the Foo Fighters are on #2 and I absolutely view that as a great thing).

17 years ago, even Kurt Cobain was blown away by the sheer amount of quality metal albums that were released that year. In the year of 1994, many great (and now legendary) albums were released. Make the jump to see the highlights of 1994.

And it all started with Death…

It all started with the man above, Chuck Schuldiner. Death Metal. Some people may argue that it all started with Possessed but to me Chuck Schuldiner and his band Death are the fathers of Death Metal, without wanting to take away anything from Possessed’s legacy.

What I realized is that members of Death went on to form or join other Death Metal bands and in turn members of these bands went on to form or join other DM bands aswell and so on and so forth.

So what I want to do is this: I’ll give you a quick rundown of bands that are in some way related to the fathers of Death Metal. Make the jump for your daily dose of Death Metal.