CD Review - Obituary
Darkest Day
Candlelight Records
Veterans of death metal Obituary are back in the game with their new and highly anticipated album Darkest Day. Fans have been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting patiently since 2007 for this album and it shows to be nothing less than what is expected from one of Florida’s most successful metal bands. Keeping things true to their roots Obituary has mastered the instrumentals for this album. The sound presented can be considered cleaner but just as heavy as previous albums. Darkest Day has shown to be more than just another album for Obituary it is a demonstration of what 20 years of hard work, playing kick ass metal and having the time to find the desired sound can do.
Ralph Santolla and Trevor Peres give this album a fast and heavy sound, many of the riffs on songs like “Outside my Head” and “Fields of Pain” show both the abilities of lighting fast shredding and the pure raw heaviness of death metal come into play to create something new but familiar to Obituary. It is not just the guitars that are noticed through out this album. Donald Tardy’s drums make a strong appearance from the start to finish; complex drum riffs and perfectly timed beats bring all the pieces together. Bassist’s Daniel Tucker adds the finishing touches with thick and heavy bass lines that keep Obituary at the forefront.
With all the instrumentals in the right place for this album vocalist John Tardy matches it all perfectly with his vocal style sounding how it has from day one. John’s inhales and growls can impress anyone and keep the die hard fans of Obituary happy with what they hear.
Darkest Day shows old and new fans that Obituary is still alive and ready to play what they play best pure, raw and all-American Death Metal.