Tag: Obituary

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Obituary, Immolation, and Blood Incantation Show Review May 19th Fonda Theatre Hollywood

obituary band 2023

On May 19th, 2023, the killer triple bill of Obituary, Immolation, and Blood Incantation came to the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, a fantastic venue. I would love it if they hosted more metal shows there. Unfortunately, the concert started exceptionally early, so I missed the fourth band on the bill.

Blood Incantation

I got there just as Colorodo’s Blood Incantation took the stage. It was my second time seeing them (the first was Psycho Vegas), and I got there early to catch their set as they are one of my favorite “new” death metal bands. So if you ever get to catch Blood Incantation, you absolutely should. Even though their most recent experimental ambient album, Timewave Zero, was a misstep, their previous efforts are top-notch.

Live, this quartet is even better than recorded and much heavier than you’d expect. Blood Incantation’s music has a lot of dynamics, and the fact they are not blaring at ten through the set and splitting the brutality up with guitar harmonies, cleaner sections, and psychedelic parts makes the neck breaker riffs hit much harder.

I can’t say enough good things about this band, and they should have been higher on the bill.

Blood Incantation Setlist

  1. Starspawn
  2. Chaoplasm
  3. The Giza Power Plant
  4. Slave Species of the Gods
  5. Hovering Lifeless

Immolation

New York’s Immolation has been around forever and, in my opinion, has never been much more than a third-tier death metal band. I had seen them previously opening for Exhorder as a three-piece. Sadly, their performance that night did little to change my mind. 

Their riffs got the crowd going, but their set was still boring, aside from a few songs they played from Dawn of Possession. The band has an awkward stage presence, with one guitar player looking like he’s falling asleep, flanked by another with some of the most ridiculous stage moves I’ve ever seen. 

Immolation Setlist

  1. Abandoned
  2. An Act of God
  3. The Age of No Light
  4. Harnessing Ruin
  5. Despondent Souls
  6. Blooded
  7. World Agony
  8. Destructive Currents
  9. Providence
  10. Under the Supreme
  11. Let the Darkness In
Obituary Band Dying Of Everything Lineup

Obituary

Obituary took the stage early, around 9:30. The Fonda had the sound dialed perfectly. Unlike many death metal bands with blast beats and riffs with a million notes, Obituary’s music is meat and potatoes, almost bordering on punk. Still, when mixed correctly, it is devastating.

John Tardy’s voice was as brutal as usual. It’s incredible at 50+; the guy can still deliver as he does. There were a few points when he missed a line or two, but the fact that he pulls extreme vocals like this off is miraculous, although it’s worth noting he does so with a lot of reverb and delay. 

As always, the band played like a juggernaut, with Donald and Terry holding down the rhythm for Kenny and Trever to assault the crowd with their signature guitar twin attack. In addition, Kenny Andew’s guitar solos improve as his tenure in the band continues. 

The only downer was much of the set consisted of songs on the new album, which is top-notch, but the new songs are more verse/chorus structures and get a little boring live. On the other hand, the older material was extraordinary because, at times, it didn’t even make sense other than it was one riff heavier than the last.

But this is just a minor complaint. Come see this tour if it reaches a city near you!!

Obituary Setlist

  1. Redneck Stomp
  2. Sentence Day
  3. A Lesson in Vengeance
  4. Visions in My Head
  5. The Wrong Time
  6. Barely Alive
  7. Slow Death
  8. Find the Arise
  9. Weaponize the Hate
  10. My Will to Live
  11. Chopped in Half
  12. Turned Inside Out
  13. War
  14. Dying of Everything
  15. I’m in Pain
  16. Slowly We Rot
  17. Cat Scratch Fever

Tour Dates

Apr 28 – Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
Apr 29 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Elevation 27
May 01 – Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage
May 02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Brooklyn Bowl
May 04 – New York, NY @ Irving Plaza
May 05 – Boston, MA @ The Middle East
May 06 – Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount
May 07 – Toronto, ON @ The Phoenix Concert Theatre
May 09 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
May 10 – Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
May 11 – Omaha, NE @ The Waiting Room *
May 12 – Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre *
May 13 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Complex
May 15 – Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
May 16 – Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theatre
May 18 – Berkley, CA @ UC Theatre
May 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre
May 20 – Mesa, AZ @ Nile Theater
May 22 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
May 23 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
May 24 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
May 26 – St. Louis, MO @ Red Flag
May 28 – Louisville, KY @ Headliner Music Hall

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Obituary “Dying Of Everything” Album Review

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

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Obituary, Carcass, and Amon Amarth Show Review: Kia Forum Los Angeles 12/17/2022

armon armoth show review

This past weekend I caught the recent Obituary, Carcass, and Amon Armoth show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, and here is a quick review of it. 

Obituary

As always, Obituary was incredible, and they opened on the bill. However, there was a giant fly in the ointment. Their set was WAY TOO SHORT and consisted only of the following:

  1. Redneck Stomp
  2. Sentence Day
  3. A Lesson in Vengeance
  4. Visions in My Head
  5. Circle of the Tyrants
  6. The Wrong Time

Given that “Redneck Stomp” is an instrumental, “Circle of the Tyrants” is a Celtic Frost cover, and “The Wrong Time” is a new song, it left the crowd starved for that brutal classic material from albums such as “Cause of Death” and “Slowly We Rot“. I wasn’t a massive fan of their latest single, “The Wrong Time,” but the material works live, so the song has grown on me.

Here is a video shot by a fan that does a reasonably good job of summing up the night.

Carcass

The Kia show was my second time seeing Carcass in recent months. Unfortunately, the band’s set was much shorter and less inspiring than their show at Psycho Fest. Aside from “Incarnated Solvent Abuse” the set consisted of all post-Heartwork era material, forgoing the early grindcore period, and their short setlist was as follows:

Buried Dreams

  1. Kelly’s Meat Emporium
  2. Incarnated Solvent Abuse
  3. This Mortal Coil
  4. Dance of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1 in B)
  5. The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing
  6. Corporal Jigsore Quandary
  7. Heartwork

Amon Armoth

Amon Armoth’s production demands were the primary cause of Obituary’s and Carcass’s truncated sets. I knew Amon Armoth was big, but I never realized the monsters they’d become. Their production was insane and matched the greatness of Iron Maiden’s 1985 Powerslave tour (which was the first show I ever saw). Amon Armoth is trying to take the mantle of this generation’s Iron Maiden, and that’s big money. 

Amon Armoth sounded great — even too great. The drums we played tight to a click track, the vocals had backing tracks coming in, and I suspect there was even some augmentation of the guitars at points. 

Despite how incredible the production was, how great the sound was, and how crazy the stage show was when metal reaches this level of perfection, it also loses much of its grit. Unfortunately, this was the case here. I would rather see an underground band sweating it out, playing on stage volume, and killing it in a bar than see some over-polished corporate metal show.

 I didn’t even make it through the entire set, but it was as follows:

  1. Guardians of Asgaard
  2. Raven’s Flight
  3. Deceiver of the Gods
  4. Oden Owns You All
  5. The Pursuit of Vikings
  6. The Great Heathen Army
  7. Find a Way or Make One
  8. Destroyer of the Universe
  9. Put Your Back Into the Oar
  10. Cry of the Black Birds
  11. The Way of Vikings
  12. First Kill
  13. Shield Wall
  14. Raise Your Horns
  15. Twilight of the Thunder God

The Kia Forum

The Kia Forum is a rebranded version of the original Forum in Inglewood and a poor choice for this show. Possibly because of the size of Amon Armoth’s set, they required a space this massive. YouTube Theatre or Hollywood Palladium would have been better for this event. The forum was built in 1987 but seemed much older: Factor in $60 parking and $28 self-serve beers, and it’s going to take a lot of work to get me back to Kia Forum – unless it’s something completely mind-blowing.

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Killer New First Press UK Thrash Metal Collection I Just Bought

BOLT-THROWER-Realm-of-Chaos-MOSH13

In the video and listed below on this post is a thrash metal vinyl collection I just bought from a guy in the United Kingdom. All of these are LPs first pressing from the 1980s and 1990s. Since the start of COVID-19, I have more frequently been buying collections without ever meeting the actual owner, at times never even talking to them. Instead, the deals are all worked out over email. So far, so good. All of the transactions have gone off without a hitch.

Here is a video of all of the awesome LPs I picked up on this awesome deal.

Photos

Here are some photos of some of my favorite LPs from this haul. One of my favorites is the cult classic “History Of A Time To Come” by Sabbat. The 2 Bolt Thrower “Warmaster” and “Realms Of Chaos” are both excellent and very hard to find as well. The rarest and expensive album is the first press Sadus “Illusions” album that is self-released. I’m sure how many copies of that were pressed, but it wasn’t very many. It was later reissued as “Chemical Exposure” by Roadracer Records (also included in this collection). Also great was the Metallica “Ride The Lightning” 1987 reissue limited edition DMM master – super rare…I’ve never even had one of these before.

List OF All Titles

LP’S

Bolt-thrower      In Battle there is no law. (LC7871)

 Warmaster. (MOSH29)

 Realm of Chaos (MOSH13)

D.R.I.                  4 of a kind. (RR95381)

Death Angel      The Ultra Violence. (FLAG14)

Exodus              Fabulous Disaster. (MFN90)

Megadeth          So Far, So Good, So What? (EST2053)

Metallica            Master of Puppets (MFN60) (THIS IS THE LP).                        

                            Master of Puppets.(MFN60DM) (2 x 12”)   

                            Ride the Lightning.(MFN27DM)

Napalm Death    From enslavement to obliteration (MOSH8)

                            Harmony Corruption (MOSH1925)

                            Scum (MOSH3)

Nuclear Assault  Handle With Care. (FLAG35)

                            Out of Order. (FLAG64)

   Survive.(FLAG21)

Obituary              The End Complete. (RC9201)

Paradise Lost     Gothic  (RED VINYL) – (VILE26)

S.O.D.                  Speak English or Die. (RR9725)

Sabbat.                Dreamweaver.                 

                             History of a time to come  08-445516

   Mourning has broken.       NO162-1

Sadus.                 Illusions.(DTP2112)

                             Chemical Exposure (R09259)

Slayer.                 Hell Awaits (RR9795)

                             Live undead (RR9574)

                             Reign In Blood (LONLP34)

                             Relentless (NB3359) (black vinyl – this has never been                                                                           opened it’s still sealed in. The cellophane cover)

                             Show No Mercy (RR9868)

                             South of Heaven (LONLP63)

Testament.          Return of the Apocalyptic City (075678248719)

Venom.                Possessed (MX8022)

                              Prime Evil (FLAG36)

                              Tear Your Soul Apart (MFLA950) 

Various.               Speed Kills, But Who’s Dying? (FLAG33)

HAIR BAND HARD ROCK STUFF

12” W.A.S.P. – SCREAM UNTIL YOU LIKE IT (12CL458)

12” W.A.S.P. – ANIMAL 

W.A.S.P. – W.A.S.P. (EJ240195)

W.A.S.P. – HEADLESS CHILDREN (EST2087)

W.A.S.P. – THE LAST COMMAND (UKWASP2)

MOTOTHEAD – BOMBER (BRON523)

MOTOTHEAD – ACE OF SPADES (BRON531)

MOTOTHEAD – ORGASMATRON (GWLP1)

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Death – Leprosy LP 1988: Was It The Best Death Album?

death leprosy band photo

Leprosy is the second studio album by Tampa’s Death, released on August 12, 1988 on Combat Records. It is best known for the track “Pull the Plug“, which is about as close to a hit song as a band like death can get. Leprosy was much more progressive than the “Scream Bloody Gore” album. Much of this can be assigned to the engineering work of Scott Burns, who was the go-to thrash metal producer of the time.

The Many Early Death Line-Ups

death leprosy band photo
death leprosy band photo 1986
death leprosy band photo
death leprosy band photo
death leprosy

The only constant thing about Death is a continually changing lineup. Each album has almost an entirely different group of players on it outside of founder Chuck Schuldiner. This album “featured” Terry Butler, who now plays bass, and Obituary but froze up in the studio actually didn’t play on the album. Chuck Schuldiner recorded his bass parts.

Many critics and fans alike consider Leprosy to be Death’s best album. Metal radio stations and even MTV played the song “Pull the Plug” relatively frequently (at least as extreme music goes). By the time the subsequent album “Spiritual Healing” was released, almost the entire band was replaced with a new group of players outside of Chuck Schuldiner,


LeporasyTracklist

“Leprosy” 6:19
“Born Dead” 3:25
“Forgotten Past” 4:33
“Left to Die” 4:35
“Pull the Plug” 4:25
“Open Casket” 4:53
“Primitive Ways” 4:33
“Choke on It” 5:54



Death leprosy line-up:

Chuck Schuldiner – guitar, bass, vocals
Rick Rozz – guitar
Bill Andrews – drums
Terry Butler – credited with bass but did not actually play on the album
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The Heaviest Album Of All Time Is Obituary’s “Slowly We Rot” 1989 – That is a Fact.

Obituary 1986

Why Slowly We Rot Is Metal That Rips Your Head Off

“Slowly We Rot” by the Tampa, Florida band Obituary is the heaviest album of all time. That isn’t just my opinion. That is a fact. What makes the album even more intense is the band does not rely on “down tuning.” The play in E 440 concert pitch, but it sure doesn’t sound like it!

Obituary 2019 band photo
Obituary 1986
Obituary 2019 band photo

Rhythm guitar player, Trevor Perez, is known for omitting most of the high-end on his guitar by turning the tone knob all the way down. Trevor also plays a Fender Stratocaster with a maple neck, which is far from a typical death metal guitar. The rest of the patented Obituary sound comes courtesy of a RAT pedal and a vintage Marchall JCM 800. This leads to his signature guitar sound, which is often imitated but never duplicated. However, it’s worth noting Trevor’s tone is reminiscent of Tom G Warrior and Celtic Frost in some ways.

The band released a series of highly influential death metal albums through the 90s before disbanding from 1998-2005.

Listen To Slowly We Rot On Youtube

The guys in the band were barely eighteen when the album was produced for a budget of $4000! It’s hard to believe that such an epic slab of metal that stands the test of time could’ve been produced in 1989 under the circumstances! In April 2013, Obituary started recording thier their ninth studio collection “Inked in Blood” before bassist Frank Watkins died from cancer on October 18, 2015. They released self tited 2017 and have a new album “Dying Of Everything” slated for release in January 2022.

obituary slowly we rot

Obituary is still touring and Terry Butler is handling bass (from legendary Florida band Death).

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Obituary – Inked in Blood: Double Album 2014 Red Vinyl (RARE 500 Pressed) NEW!

Jason quinlan / traver Perez

Inked In Blood One Of The Best Newer Obituary Releases

Inked in Blood is the ninth studio album by American death metal band Obituary. It was crowdfunded via Kickstarter and then released on October 28th, 2014 through Gibtown Music/Relapse Records. It is the first studio album with bassist Terry Butler and lead guitarist Kenny Andrews, making this the first Obituary album not to feature Frank Watkins on bass since 1989‘s Slowly We Rot. A deluxe edition of the album was also released containing two bonus tracks. It is their first album to appear on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 5,200 copies in its first week and peaking at 79

Tracklisting

All lyrics written by John Tardy; all music composed by Trevor Peres and Donald Tardy.

No. Title Length

1. “Centuries of Lies” 2:08
2. “Violent by Nature” 4:33
3. “Pain Inside” 4:36
4. “Visions in My Head” 4:14
5. “Back on Top” 4:30
6. “Violence” 2:06
7. “Inked in Blood” 4:13
8. “Deny You” 4:49
9. “Within a Dying Breed” 5:36
10. “Minds of the World” 3:24
11. “Out of Blood” 3:19
12 .”Paralyzed with Fear” 5:38

Total length: 49:11 (SOURCE WIKIPEDIA)

GET INKED IN BLOOD ON VINYL

GET THIS AWESOME RARE SLAB OF HEAVY VINYL ON EBAY WHILE YOU CAN!