Obituary

Back From the Dead (Roadrunner)
by Dave Bone

They are part of an elite task force of rebels that goes from town to town, saving America’s youth from the jaws of capitalist plots. No, they’re not the A-Team. They are the few and the proud. They will make you eat your own guts and ask for seconds. They are Obituary. When most people think of them, they either recall the ratty hessian that wore their shirts every day in high school, seeing their name carved into all the desks you sat at in Auto Shop or, for those who have actually heard them, “Eeeegghhaaaarrrrrr!” John Tardy’s trademark vocals are…well, pretty unique. The band awakes from a stoney slumber to dish the death once again on their fifth full-length album,Back From The Dead. Despite rumors and the abnormally long wait from World Demise, they hasten to say that this is not a reunion – they have always been together. The title Back From The Dead just “sounded cool.” With a genre throwback album and classic zombie cover art by Bernie Wrightson of Swamp Thing fame, they fill the emaciated Obituary fan’s plate with a heapin’ serving of down-home death metal pride. “Threatening Skies” starts the album off with hardcore inspired jams paired with galloping drums, giving Obituary the start they need after a long break. As the album progresses and listeners make their way through the usual Obituary filler, the flesh really starts to fly on “Platonic Disease,” “Feed On The Weak” (the album’s original title) and “Lockdown.” There is only one really sore point on the album, the rap/metal “Bullituary.” It’s bad laughs in the vein of the Biohazard/Onyx crossover. That aside, the album delivers a pretty strong punch for 1997 death metal and, in a live setting, will keep you from heading to the bathroom during the new material.