Ohhh... John Tardy’s voice! Such a blessing! This album is a milestone for everything extreme metal. Undoubtedly John Tardy is currently one of the best and most original vocals in death metal (my favourite, anyway) and this can be witnessed by other important players in the genre, such as Steve Flynn & Kelly Shaefer of Atheist, Patrick Mameli of Pestilence and Paul Masvidal & Sean Reinart of Cynic. Many have tried to imitate him, and even though such imitations sound rather well (the intention is admirable and shows courage), there’s only one John Tardy. On the band’s debut album, Slowly We Rot, Obituary were preparing for what was to become one of the classic albums of death metal, a rock that was so hard to move in extreme metal that it must have influenced at least half of the brutal death, deathcore, grindcore, doom death and even hardcore metal bands we have today. Of course, one of the many hooks of this album is the superb and very well-known cover by Michael Whelan (Sepultura, Soulfly, Cirith Ungol, Meat Loaf, Evile). Another bait that we morbid fishes swim towards is the fact that the album is blessed with the classic death metal sound of the Morrisound studios in Florida, so Scott Burns’s hand on the buttons. Musically, even though it is known that James Murphy has also been in Death, Cancer, Testament, and Disincarnate, he is probably best known for his work on Cause of Death. Obituary have always been one of those bands like AC/DC or Slayer (recently Meshuggah too); bands that seem to have been put to cryogenic sleep in their prime and if someone comes, many years later, to let them go and say “Come on, it is still the 90s! Play as you did!” they still sound good. For Obituary, this moment of glory was Cause of Death, because while they have been releasing good albums ever since, they are all derived from what they did on Cause of Death. It sounds the same, but it sounds damn well! This is not album to listen to in the background. It is to violent not to bring attention to its sound waves. It was the first death metal album that gave out a feeling of... well, let’s call it “rap”, the first to put some groove in this style. After Cause of Death, we have had so many bands that included groove into their sound that there is none that is not influenced directly or indirectly by this record. The clockwork drumming of a Donald Tardy that can’t take his feet of the double kick pedal is simple but devastating (as they about silent farts). Rhythm guitar does not get more complicated than a few chords, but they are destructive as an anvil. In fact, I think they make anvils from Obituary riffs, because whenever I listen to the band I get bruises on my body. The bass of course goes together with the guitar and solos were the first expression of James Murphy’s trademark lead guitar style. About John Tardy...I would need like 7 reviews to sing his praises. John Tardy is so good that even imitators sound good! A strange fact is that everything started with Celtic Frost: all Obituary members, especially John, admit that Tom G. Warrior and the sound of Celtic Frost were the main influence for the band, and this is why the only covers ever played by Obituary are Celtic Frost masterpieces. Ron Broder from Coroner also tried to imitate Tom Warrior... and I think he has an awesome voice, regardless of whether this imitation was successful or ot. So, Cause of Death is like a Morbid Tales/Into The Pandemonium of the 90s and what came since. Most songs are slow and unbearably sombre. Worth remembering the first part of Chopped in Half (something like a Raining Blood of death metal), the time when John Tardy starts to...sing, on Dying, the chorus of Cause of Death...and if I go on I’ll have to mention every moment of the album. Even though after a while you kinda get the idea what this is about, like on Embalmed Existence (Ressurrection) there is a new groove in every song. And how could you grow tired of Tardy’s voice? From what I’ve heard, metal heads either can’t stand his voice or, whenever they hear about him, they go as I did in the beginning: „Ohhh John Tardy’s voice! A blessing!” And so is this album.
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Album de album ! Doar este James Murphy la chitara, a stiut el bine ce are de facut :). Chopped in half......m/
Nu ma omor cu Obituary, dar nu pot sa uit mega-concertul de la Arene de acum 4-5 ani. Pur si simplu au devastat totul in jur, pe o raza de 10 km.
Daca vreti sa va apucati de ascultat metale grele , acesta e albumul perfect. E rupere efectiv. De fiecare data cand ascult Chopped in half , mi se ridica paru pe mana , atat de intens e . Absolut recomandat !