Album Reviews Archives - Thrash Metal IQ

Obituary Band Dying Of Everything Lineup

What can you say about Florida’s Obituary that has never been said? The band has one of the most consistent streaks in death metal and has never released a sub-par album. While you could argue the band peaked on their debut album, “Slowly We Rot” — nothing that they have released subsequently has sucked. Is it time to break that streak as the band hurdles into their mid-fifties? I’m glad to report the answer is a resounding “no.”

One of the main reasons the band has retained its unique sound is that its core has remained intact with few changes over the decades. Trevor Perez and the Tardy brothers have been original members since 1984. The lead guitar spot has rotated four times through the years, and I’m sure the original bassist would still be in the band had he not succumbed to cancer in 2015 and been replaced by Death’s Terry Butler.

Listen To Full Album Below

The production of “Dying Of Everything” is crisp and clear, with the mix dialed where it needs to be without sounding overproduced. Overproduction is a common pitfall of many modern metal records, and I’m sure the band had the budget to go nuts (as opposed to “Slowly We Rot” which was recorded for $4000). In particular, the drums cut through the mix great and do not sound over-sampled or excessively corrected by Beat Detective. Likewise, the guitar sound is warm and natural and perfectly captures Trevor’s unique sound. “New” guitarist Ken Andrews delivers some great solo work with the guitar leads frequently placed toward the beginning of the songs, which is quite refreshing!

Obituary is not a band that relies on speed or crazy technicality to deliver their brutal sound. Instead, Trevor’s riffs are solid meat and potatoes and retain an almost hardcore punk character. However, these nearly simplistic riffs become monsters when meshed with drummer/cat activist Donald Tardy’s unique approach to rhythmic grooves and John’s guttural vocals: The result is unmistakably Obituary!

Speaking of John Tardy, that man’s growling vocals haven’t lost anything with age, which is extremely impressive. In addition, you hear a bit more annunciation and can understand a lot of the lyrics; the singer admits some songs consisted of guttural sounds that were not even actual words in some early efforts.

Banger Tracks

I recommend listening to this album in track order, as it seems they spent a good time developing the track sequence, which is a lost art these days. The album starts with arguably the fastest track on the album, “Barely Alive”. This song rips and includes a few note-heavy passages you don’t typically hear from this band.

The following track, “Wrong Time,” is a single that had been out for a few months, and I have to admit I wasn’t crazy about it at first, but then changed my mind when I saw how well it worked live. “Without Conscience” shows the benefits of Tardy’s more controlled approach to vocals and creates an insanely catchy chorus. The title track, “Dying Of Everything” is a banger and is reminiscent of the band’s mid-nineties output. There is no filler on the record, but I have to talk about the album closer, “Be Warned” which is tied with the opening track as my favorite but for different reasons. The 5:47 minute epic boasts some brutal Tom G Warrion/Celtic Frost-type riffing, is a perfect low-tempo closer and is the heaviest song on the album. This bookend is one of the main reasons I suggest listening to this album in track order from start to finish; you won’t regret it.

Verdict

With “Dying Of Everything,” Obituary retains their spot as the AC/DC of Florida Death metal, and if you are a fan like I am, I highly suggest picking this up; you won’t be disappointed!

Obituary – Dying Of Everything
Label: Relapse Records
Released: Jan 13, 2023

Reviewed by: Jason Quinlan

Reviews of albums are not something I typically delve into on this site. However, when bands issue new albums that are essential metal, I will drop an album review. The last one I did was for Mastodon’s Hushed and Grim. This time in the crosshairs is Midnight’s Let Ther Be Witchery.

Let Ther Be Witchery is the 6th official studio album from the Ohio punk/black metal trio Midnight. The easiest way to explain Midnight’s sound is they are a modern-day Venom. I love Midnight because they bring back the first wave of black metal — explored in the early 80s by bands like Venom, Sodom, and Celtic Frost with a tinge of punk added to the mix.

The band’s 2011 Satanic Royalty is a 100% metal classic, in my opinion, and sets a high bar. So let’s see how the new album stacks up to previous efforts.

First off, the production is solid. Everything is dialed correctly, and the sound is crisp and clean without being overproduced while still retaining the band’s dirty sound.

Let There Be Witchery Track By Track Review

The opener “Telepathic Nightmare” does a great job setting the tone for the album and includes some excellent Tom G. Warrior-style guitar bends. Track 2 is “Frothing Foulness”, a heavily Venom-influenced number that clocks in at less than 3 minutes. None of the ten songs pass the 4-minute mark, so this isn’t an album for fans of epic-length nerd metal.

“In Sinful Secrecy” comes next and has an Omicron-catchy riff with an almost classic rock feel that will stick in your head for sure. Unfortunately, “Nocturnal Molestation” comes next and is one of the weaker tracks on the album. One criticism of Midnight is sometimes their tongue-in-cheek lyrics work, and other times they do not.

Track 5 is “More Torment” and is easily my favorite track on the album. The song features a memorable ultra-heavy riff that reminds me of Celtic Frost in their prime. Unfortunately, I recently saw Midnight in Los Angeles, and while they played many songs from this album, this song was inexplicably omitted from the setlist! If someone in the band is reading this review, this is something you should fix!

Track 6, “Let There Be Sodomy” is the second-best track, even though the lyrics are silly. The main riff is incredible and reminds me of my favorite song from this band, “You Can’t Stop Steele.” Next, in track 7, “Dead Virgin.” the band goes into some Merciful Fate territory – with some traditional heavy metal riffs and even one riff that sounds lifted directly from “Black Funeral” on Melissa.

Next is “Snake Obsession” and is a Motorhead sounding track. It is one of the more forgettable tracks on the album. The second to last track, “Villany Wretched Villany,” is a fun, memorable song that stands out on the album with some Tunbonegro and Scorpions influences.

The final track, “Szex Witchery” is a great way to end the album and will undoubtedly leave the listener wanting more. It features some excellent NWOBHM style riffs and ends with a doomy harmony guitar outro. Interestingly, one thing common to Midnight albums is that even though the band is a trio, there are many overdubs on the guitar parts. However, having just seen the band live, guitarist Shaun Vanek is skilled enough to make it sound whole in concert. Props to him on that.

Midnight Final Verdict

All and all, Let Ther Be Witchery is a great album and is well worth checking out, especially if you are a fan of first-wave black metal like I am. It’s not as good as Satanic Royalty, which seems to be the band’s high-water mark to this point, but is much better than 2019’s Rebirth by Blasphemy (also on Metal Blade).

The only place I can take points away from Midnight is: 90% of what they do has already been done by Venom in the 80s. There are even recordings of Midnight covering Venom songs in outtakes, so it’s not like they try to hide the influence. That said, they take everything Venom did and bring it up a notch for the 2020s, and that alone makes Midnight my favorite “new” band playing metal today!