Obituary is one of the greats. They are one of the pillars of death metal. Obituary was extremely important to me when growing up. A young boy, a teenager, young adult, Obituary had a special place in my heart and still do. They changed my life. This band is classic. But like all other bands, they are not above criticism and scrutiny that holds them to high standards. Few years ago I attended their concert. And I came back with this, "Obituary have been so conservative through the years that one wonders if they are interested in creating music at all" (read the show review in its entirety here). But when new Obituary hits, we must listen and listen carefully. We had a quick round table discussion about "Visions in My Head" off of Inked In Blood out on Relapse Records October 28, 2014 (NA) / October 24 (Ger/Benelux/Finland) / October 27 (UK/World) on CD/Deluxe CD/2xLP/Digital/Deluxe Digital
Eyvindur: Sounds like it's business as usual. Not much has changed since I last heard the band, almost a decade ago. John Tardy's vocals aren't as guttural as they used to be but besides that it's just like the guys never left.
Birkir: I'm trying to remember an old Obituary song with acoustic guitars but I can't. Which means they rarely or never used it, or that my memory is shot. Also, there's some going off on the bass in the final moments of the songs, which is something Frank never did. I like the vocals. There's something to report but the main news is that this song is forgettable.
Eyvindur: Ouch! Was that a burn I felt? The acoustic guitar? I just thought it was a tribute to "Under Siege". Yeah, I guess they can't all play the bass the same. So, what you're getting at is that the old masters are going to get lost in the forest? Is there nothing that can save them?
Birkir: I don't think they are coming back from dead. I like the bass noodling in the end. Like that bass noodling by the end of Dismember's "Dreaming In Red." Nice touch. No established and respected uses the same frets via power chords as often as Obituary. That tank dried up long time ago.
Eyvindur: Well, you'd be surprised how long those old tanks can go on the fumes. Some twenty years, by the looks of it.
Birkir: People that demand very little of their music keep dragging this horse and many others onwards. Even though the horse is facing backwards. Isn't that something?
Eyvindur: Yeah, people want to experience the past all over again. Is it "demanding very little" or "being caught up in nostalgia"?
Birkir: For the most part I think it's idolism and the fear of not liking something nostalgia and respect tells you to like whatever the case. In other words, one is afraid to tell the truth because the spectre of greatness is all encompassing and you don't want to offend it.
Eyvindur: You might be on to something there. The vocals aren't there, though.
Sigurður: The songwriting in Obituary has never been adventurous. What made them good is heaviness and ugliness of the riffs. At first listening this riffing sounds to mechanical and somewhat clean. I don't mind the development for the vocals. Old men just can't keep on stretching their vocal cords. This is a fine song, just a slightly flatter version of the Obituary that touched our souls back in the day.
Birkir: I like the vocals.
Bogi: Tardy is fine if a little "generic", the song is uninspired, flat and like Big-B said... forgettable. It's just a chugga-chugga bing bang riff-riff-lead-gimmick (classical guitar followed by wailing guitar solo that goes nowhere) zero points scored.
Eyvindur: More groove than death?
Flø: Is it just me or does this sound like recent Earth Crisis.
Birkir: The last Earth Crisis (review) is good. It kicks ass. It's far more interesting than this. There's a World Demise vibe to this song though.
Flø: I am all with Siggi Pönk and my other predecessors.. Most of the song sounds like the cliché of death metal. Sure, there is double bass and growls, but it seems just like the blueprint. The arrangement is lacking the abysmal and gripping depth that the band managed to evoke on earlier records using creepy rhytm, down-tuned guitars and vocal overdubs. What made Obituary unique for me that the sound crept and writhed with sudden outbursts of speed. In contrast to that, this track seems calculated and assembled of standard-elements.
The bass thing - I guess here is something similar @ 01:37 (listen), "Chopped in Half."
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It needs more brutality, it´s just like Diet-Obituary......also the frequent breaks in the song are just...too frequent...
ReplyDeleteI love the diet-obituary comment. Spot on. At 1:37, how weak was that? Not a fan at all.
ReplyDeleteThe song isn't fresh or incredible but it does it's job. Did anyone hear the last two Obituary albums? Way worse than this. And Earth Crisis? Really? Nah.
ReplyDelete