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Obituary (band)

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Obituary
Obituary at Hellfest 2017
Obituary at Hellfest 2017
Background information
Also known as
  • Executioner (1984–1986)
  • Xecutioner (1986–1988)
OriginTampa, Florida, U.S.
GenresDeath metal
DiscographyObituary discography
Years active
  • 1984–1998
  • 2003–present
Labels
Members
Past members
Websiteobituary.cc

Obituary is an American death metal band formed in Tampa, Florida, in 1984. Initially called Executioner, they were one of the fundamental acts in the development of the death metal genre,[1] and are one of the genre's most successful bands of all time.[2] Obituary has released eleven studio albums and, with the exception of a five-year hiatus from 1998 to 2003, they continue to perform live.

Obituary's current lineup consists of vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, rhythm guitarist Trevor Peres, bassist Terry Butler, and lead guitarist Ken Andrews. The band has gone through several lineup changes, with the Tardy brothers and Peres being the only constant members. Their music is based on heavy groove guitar and drum riffs along with John Tardy's growling vocals, creating one of the signature sounds of death metal.

History

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Early career (1984–1990)

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Founded as Executioner in Seffner, Florida in 1984, they soon dropped the "E" from their name after discovering another band of the same name, becoming Xecutioner. The band's first lineup was composed of John Tardy (lead vocals), Donald Tardy (drums), Trevor Peres (rhythm guitar), Jerome Grable (bass) and Jerry Tidwell (lead guitar). The band was inspired by Savatage, Nasty Savage and bands in the then-burgeoning Florida death metal scene: Death, and Morbid Angel.[3] The band released demos between 1985 and 1987 (the 1985 demo as Executioner and the 1986 and 1987 demos as Xecutioner). They made their vinyl debut in 1987 with two tracks ("Find the Arise" and "Like the Dead") on the Raging Death compilation.

Not long after the release of the compilation, bassist Grable was replaced by Daniel Tucker and guitarist Tidwell was replaced by Allen West. The following year, shortly before the release of the band's first album Slowly We Rot (1989), they changed their name to Obituary. Soon after the release of the album, however, Tucker and West quit the band and were respectively replaced by Frank Watkins and then-Death guitarist James Murphy. This new lineup recorded the band's second album Cause of Death, which was released in September 1990,[4] and is often considered to be one of the most important death metal albums of all time.[5][6] Obituary supported Cause of Death with its first world tour, first North America with Sacred Reich and Forced Entry, Europe with Demolition Hammer and Morgoth and then North America again with Sepultura and Sadus.[4]

Rise to success (1991–1997)

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In 1991, just prior to the writing and recording sessions of their third album, Murphy left Obituary to join Cancer and was replaced by a returning Allen West. The lineup of Peres, Watkins, West and the Tardy brothers recorded the band's next three albums, starting with The End Complete (1992). The End Complete was a moderate success for Obituary, having sold more than a hundred thousand copies,[2] and it was the band's first album to chart in the United States and Europe.[7][8][9][10] This success also resulted in the release of Obituary's first-ever music video "The End Complete", which received significant airplay on MTV's Headbangers Ball,[11] and the band toured behind the album in over year, going from playing clubs to theaters and arenas.[4]

Obituary's fourth studio album, World Demise, was released in September 1994.[4] Although the album did not sell as well as The End Complete, it still managed to reach the top 100 in several territories, including the United States,[12] United Kingdom,[8] Germany,[9] Switzerland[13] and the Netherlands,[10] and a music video for "Don't Care" was shot.[11] In support of World Demise, the band toured North America with Napalm Death and a then-unknown Machine Head, and Europe with Pitchshifter and Eyehategod.[4]

After a two-and-a-half year break from touring and recording, Obituary released their fifth studio album Back from the Dead in 1997. While the band did not abandon the death metal sound it had become known for with its previous albums, Back from the Dead is noted for being Obituary's most diverse record, incorporating elements of groove metal, hardcore punk, and in particular, its closing track "Bullituary" is played in a rap/nu metal style.[14][15] Regarding the album's musical direction, John Tardy recalls: "We took a more raw approach with that album. We used a new producer Jaime Locke on that record. We really like the NY Hardcore sound and those influences came out on that record. I love the album really in your face. Also my friends Skinner T and #1 Diablo did some rapping on it."[15]

Breakup and comeback (1998–2014)

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Obituary in 2009

By 1998, Obituary had disbanded due to exhaustion from touring, lack of support from their label, and its band members getting jobs and raising families of their own.[15][16] John Tardy said, "We stopped because there were a lot of politics in the band at the time. We were spending more than we were making, the label stopped supporting us and we were all getting older and for the first time in our lives realized this wasn't going to last forever. So we all had different opinions about our band."[15] Guitarist Trevor Peres later claimed that one of the reasons Obituary broke up was because they "had been together since we were teenagers, and then all of a sudden it turned into a professional thing and we were touring and for like 10 years we didn't live like normal people, we were like animals, like monkeys in a cage."[16]

Following Obituary's breakup, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.'s touring band (during W.K.'s appearance on Saturday Night Live Tardy wore an Obituary shirt). Allen West focused on his two projects, Lowbrow and Six Feet Under. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001, which released one album, The Cleansing, in that same year. Obituary reformed in 2003 and Catastrophic continued to exist alongside the reformed Obituary. A reunion album, Frozen in Time, was released in 2005. The band's first live DVD, Frozen Alive, was released in January 2007.

Obituary was signed with Candlelight Records for its next three releases, Xecutioner's Return (2007), Darkest Day (2009), and the EP Left to Die (2008). A concert DVD release was also announced for January 2010.[17] Since 2012, the band has been highly involved with the promotion of a new social networking site called Unation, as well as Donald Tardy beginning a Cat Sanctuary organization called Metal Meowlisha, an organization practicing "trap-neuter-vaccinate-return", and caring for 25 cat colonies (200 cats).[18]

In April 2010, Obituary began work on new material for their ninth studio album Inked in Blood, which was not released until 2014.[19][20][21] It was the first Obituary album not to be recorded with longtime bassist Frank Watkins since their 1989 debut album Slowly We Rot.[21] On August 2, 2013, the band launched a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of raising $10,000.00; the money raised was promised to allow Obituary to record and release their ninth album independently. The goal was met on August 3. When interviewed by metal webzine All About the Rock, John Tardy said of the Kickstarter campaign, "This campaign has been awesome and just confirms again what we already know and that is that we have the greatest fans in the world. We are using Kickstarter to raise enough money to release an album on our own. This is not a bash against record companies, it is just what we want to do. Years ago this would not even be a thought, but today we feel everything is in place for us, for better or worse, give it a shot.".[22] Though the band raised enough money to self-released, they were still signed to Relapse Records and partnered with the label for distribution of Inked In Blood, their first Relapse release.[23]

Subsequent events (2015–present)

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On October 18, 2015, former and longtime Obituary bassist Frank Watkins died from cancer.[24]

On August 24, 2016, Obituary streamed a new song called "Loathe", a B-side to their then-upcoming single "Ten Thousand Ways to Die", which was released on October 21.[25] The band released their self-titled tenth studio album on March 17, 2017.[26] A month prior to its release, the band released a song called "No", which appeared on Decibel magazine's flexi disc series.[27]

In November and December 2018, Obituary embarked on a European tour as part of Slayer's farewell tour, also featuring Lamb of God and Anthrax.[28] When asked in a June 2018 interview about the next Obituary album, drummer Donald Tardy said, "We're always thinking about new songs and writing riffs and this and that. But at this time of our lives and this time of the music industry… This new album has only been out for just over a year now, so we're in no hurry to try and push another album out of us as quick as we can; there's no sense."[29] In an August 2020 interview with Australia's Riff Crew, Donald Tardy revealed that, during the pandemic, Obituary had been working on a "monster" of a new album planned for release in 2021.[30] The band had planned to tour in 2021, specifically Europe, in support of the record.[31] In a March 2021 interview with France's United Rock Nations, vocalist John Tardy reiterated his brother's comments, saying that Obituary had been working on new material during the COVID-19 pandemic, and added that their new album would be released in 2022, with a tour to follow.[32] On November 10, 2022, Obituary released "The Wrong Time" as the lead single from their then-upcoming eleventh studio album Dying of Everything, released on January 13, 2023.[33][34]

Band members

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  • John Tardy
    John Tardy
  • Donald Tardy
    Donald Tardy
  • Trevor Peres
    Trevor Peres
  • Terry Butler
    Terry Butler
  • Kenny Andrews
    Kenny Andrews

Timeline

Discography

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Main article: Obituary discography

References

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  1. ^ Birchmeier, Jason. "Obituary | Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "It's Official: CANNIBAL CORPSE Are The Top-Selling Death Metal Band Of The SoundScan Era". Blabbermouth.net. November 17, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Stevenson, Arielle (October 22, 2009). "The way the music died: The earliest days of Tampa Death Metal". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on October 27, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Obituary". metallipromo.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Rivadavia, Eduardo (November 1, 2018). "11 Florida Death Metal Albums You Need". Loudwire.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Yardley, Miranda (August 24, 2012). "The Terrorizer Friday Death Metal Top 15". Terrorizer.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  7. ^ "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "OBITUARY | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts". Musicline.de. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Headbangers Ball- The Unofficial Tribute Site - Episode Database". headbangersballunofficialtributesite.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Heatseekers Albums Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  13. ^ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  14. ^ Bromley, Adrian (July 6, 1997). "CoC : Obituary - Back from the Dead : Review". Chronicles of Chaos. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  15. ^ a b c d Dávid, László. "Voices From The Darkside". Voices from the Dark Side. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Salmeron, J. (July 13, 2012). "The killer sounds of Obituary - by J. Salmeron". promethean.substack.com. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  17. ^ "OBITUARY: 'Live Xecution' DVD Trailer Available - Dec. 4, 2009". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2009.
  18. ^ Oliveira, Victoria (September 23, 2014). "INTERVIEW: OBITUARY'". RockRevolt Magazine.
  19. ^ "OBITUARY Begins Work On New Material - Apr. 20, 2010". Blabbermouth.net. Archived from the original on May 26, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2010.
  20. ^ "OBITUARY To Perform First Three Albums During Live Pay-Per-Event - May 31, 2013". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved May 31, 2010.
  21. ^ a b "OBITUARY: New Album Title Revealed - July 28, 2014". Blabbermouth.net. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
  22. ^ Hogan, Craig (August 13, 2013). "Interview with Obituary frontman John Tardy". All About the Rock. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  23. ^ "Obituary - Obituary and Relapse Records Join Forces; Band Finalizing New Album - Relapse Records". saladdaysmag.com. June 9, 2014. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  24. ^ "Former Obituary Bassist Frank Watkins Dies At 47". Blabbermouth.net. October 18, 2015. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
  25. ^ "Obituary To Release 'Ten Thousand Ways To Die' Single In October; New Song 'Loathe' Streaming". Blabbermouth.net. August 24, 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
  26. ^ "Obituary To Release Self-Titled Tenth Album In March". Blabbermouth.net. January 11, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  27. ^ "Obituary Premieres New Track 'No'". Blabbermouth.net. February 15, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  28. ^ "SLAYER Announces Final European Tour With LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX And OBITUARY". Blabbermouth.net. May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  29. ^ "OBITUARY Is In No Rush To Make New Studio Album". Blabbermouth.net. June 15, 2018. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  30. ^ "OBITUARY Is Working On 'Monster' New Album While In Quarantine". Blabbermouth.net. August 6, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  31. ^ "OBITUARY Is 'Knee Deep In Writing New Music', Says DONALD TARDY". Blabbermouth.net. October 15, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  32. ^ "OBITUARY Fans Shouldn't Expect Surprises On Next Album: 'We Don't Like To Evolve Too Much'". Blabbermouth.net. March 29, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  33. ^ Amanda Hatfield (November 10, 2022). "Obituary announce new LP 'Dying of Everything,' share "The Wrong Time" (exclusive vinyl)". BrooklynVegan. Retrieved November 10, 2022.
  34. ^ "OBITUARY Announces 'Dying Of Everything' Album, Shares 'The Wrong Time' Music Video". Blabbermouth.net. November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 10, 2022.

Further reading

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