Obituary - Darkest Day
Old school death metal beasts, Obituary, have delivered a straight forward, solid album in the classic style that has worked well for them since the late 80's. Their new album, Darkest Day, only slightly lacks the energy of their older material, but it is, by no means, a bad album.
The record starts with a whisper, everything mixed way down with just the midrange in the EQ, then a quick little drum fill and the opening tune, List of Dead, blasts off in full force and within 15 seconds we have our first guitar solo followed by the tried and true vocals of John Tardy, sounding just as strong as ever. Then there's a second solo. Then a third. Then a fourth. Then the song ends... Wait, what's this? Oh yes, a fifth solo, just to wrap things up nicely.
Now, I will have to admit that when I heard the opening riff of the second track, Blood to Give, I was a little disappointed because it is a bit lame, but the song totally redeems itself after just under a minute when the music stops and pounding, tribal tom fills lead into a breakdown so brutal that, were I standing in the pit during a live show, I would fully expect to get punched in the teeth and would actually be a little disappointed if I wasn't. The song winds out with a few more of the thrashy elements that old school death metal is known for.
The third track, Lost, comes right out of the gate with a melodic solo before the vocals and the main riff kick in. Tempo changes ensue and the screaming about, well, being lost, continues. A decent little change up from the first two kicks in the face.
I would have to say that the first real stand out track comes fourth on the album with Outside My Head. In a word, it's brutal. Very brutal. Chugging riffage backed with pounding drum fills and the anguished screams of Tardy. There's a cool little breakdown where the double bass keeps a steady beat with soft rolls on the snare building up into a short solo and a bridge back into the meaty chug and pounding, tom laden drums.
The rest of the album keeps going strong so I'm not going to keep dissecting every song. Tons of awesome solos, tight dynamic drumming, fierce vocals. I will say that they go out strong with the final track, Left to Die, a droning number rife with solos and dark riffage.
Obituary are one of the few OG death metal bands that has stuck to it's roots but if you're just getting to know them, I would suggest looking a little further back in their discography, but I don't think any true death metal fan will be disappointed. Darkest Day isn't great, but it's really fucking good.
Rating System
Thrash Magazine's overall rating system is based on the following criteria. Obituary received a 6.8 because of the following:
Instrumental Rating (1-30): 19
Vocal Rating (1-30): 25
Lyrical Rating (1-25): 14
Presentation Rating (1-15): 10