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Without a doubt, Obituary is one of the pioneering bands
of death metal. Their slower, chugging, low-end sound matched
with John Tardy's sickening growl has never been duplicated,
and they have influenced hundreds of extreme metal bands.
To think that they began their career way back in 1985 (then
called Xecutioner) is almost unimaginable. After splitting
in 1997, the members took part in other projects, then reformed
in 2003 and released the comeback album Frozen
in Time two years later. In 2007, Candlelight Records
made perhaps their biggest signing ever, inking the band for
the release of their new album, Xecutioner's Return, which
is surely one of the most anticipated death metal releases
of the year.
From reading press clippings and seeing news blurbs all over
Internet metal sites, Candlelight would have you believe that
Xecutioner's Return will be one of the most important
and best albums ever released in the death metal genre. Well,
the end result is definitely trademark Obituary, but I just
don't see how anything new or different has been added to
their sound over the years. Maybe the band has upped the tempo
here and there (most likely to keep pace with all of the other
extreme metal in this day and age), but nothing else immediately
grabs you by the throat like you'd think. The main problem
seems to be that the guitar sound, though represented in the
band's trademark fuzz, doesn't cut and shred through the speakers
as it should. For a pioneering band, you'd think this would
be one of their main focuses. Everything isn't all bad, though.
Every song has power chords with some nifty soloing intertwined
and Tardy's vocals haven't changed one bit. Twenty years
into the game, he is still everything you would want in an
extreme metal vocalist. His growled lyrics don't vary at all,
but they never did in the first place.
Though solid, this is no Cause of Death, Slowly
We Rot or The End Complete, though I would put
it slightly ahead of Frozen in Time. As for these
early albums, they now seem untouchable. “Face Your
God” starts the disc at a surprisingly fast tempo, and
“Evil Ways” is another standout due to Tardy's
memorable performance. The one song that grabbed me from the
first riff was “Bloodshot.” The rhythm and synchronized
double bass in this track is the closest in sound to the band's
earlier material and had me headbanging in my car. Everything
else makes the cut for quality death metal, but Obituary
is capable of more.
Don't get me wrong, it is good to have Obituary back and
their sound is instantly recognizable. It just seems that
after all these years many bands have surpassed them. Xecutioner's
Return is almost like the kid that is picked last for
his sports team—he's over in the corner, shaking and
raising his hand saying, “Remember me? Pick me! Pick
me!”
®2007 Live-Metal.net
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