Release Date- 13th January 2023
Label - Relapse
Words - Chris Fletcher
There are certain bands that need no introduction, such is their standing within the realms of their genre. When it comes to death metal, Obituary certainly fit that bill - regardless of what happens with the rest of their career, they will go down as one of the best to ever do it. That being said, the Florida five-piece is no nostalgia act, proving with their eleventh studio album Dying Of Everything that they still have plenty left in the tank.
Kicking off with the misleading ‘Barely Alive’, the band roar out the traps and straight into the relentless stomp that they’ve made their name with. Air guitar and head-banging are sure to follow, leaving you with no mistake at all as to who you’re listening to. A bit further along third track ‘Without A Conscience’ begins with a slower build, showing the versatility that’s helped them secure their seat at the top table for so long. This is before the guitar solo cuts through the noise like a dentist's, drill to the skull.
Later on we get the buzz-saw-like guitars and quickening of the pace that incorporate a real thrash edge, seen best on ‘By The Dawn’ which pummels you with a lightning-fast riff and drummer Donald Tardy keeping up with an exceptional display of blast beats. We finish the record on ‘Be Warned’, which could be taken as a challenge to every other death metal band around - a slower, more creeping sound managing to introduce a real soul-like feeling to the album.
Obituary have always written great death metal tracks and the ten on offer here are no exception. During the pandemic, the band have upgraded their personal studios (which is where this record was laid down and self-produced) and those enhancements certainly pay dividends. It goes without saying that the riffs are a vital component, but aside from this John Tardy’s trademark vocals are clearly audible yet harsh as ever, giving this a familiar feeling, whilst Terry Butler’s bass gives the whole affair a real thick low-end. The drumming alternates between huge pounding rhythms and blast beats that keep things interesting. What we have here is an album that sounds raw and punchy (much like their classic LP’s) but also manages to be absolutely massive due to a production job that seems intent on caving in your head.
Coming so soon in the year the band have thrown down the gauntlet early to everybody else in the scene. Offering so much replay factor that, like a punch drunk boxer, you’ll keep stumbling back for more, not only are Obituary still one of the best around, they are aging like a fine wine. Dying Of Everything is a death metal triumph by every metric.
9/10.
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