Hearing Aide: Obituary ‘Inked In Blood’

albumTampa, FL based death metal veterans Obituary will release Inked In Blood on October 27 via Relapse Records making it their first album release in over five years. This, next to Cannibal Corpse’s A Skeletal Domain, is one of the biggest death metal releases of 2014. Last year, Obituary successfully crowd funded this album, but does the music deliver back to what the fans invested in?

Right away the album kicks into high gear with “Century Of Lies” The drums and rhythm guitars sound clutch as ever, vocalist John Tardy may not have the pipes he had twenty years ago, but still delivers the haunting and monster-like vocals that still fit with the music and atmosphere. But his best vocals are showcased in the title track in the middle of the album.

By the time we get to “Violent By Nature” and “Pain Inside,” the pace slows down a tad but still brings the traditional Obituary sound that we are still used to with blazing guitar solos in between verses. I will say the studio quality isn’t the greatest, but it adds a charm to the album giving it a more raw, old school sound.

The drumming of Donald Tardy is still blazing fast, giving the band a true back-bone to keep the tunes running. The track “Visions In My Head” really showcase his talent with the all the tempo changes.

When “Violence” starts, the tempo moves fast like it did at the beginning of the album, but the guitar tracks stand out more than they did previously with bone-crushing riffs and solos. That trend continues with the tracks “Deny You” and “Within A Dying Breed.” It’s clear the album’s best tracks are the longer songs that are deeper into the album.

The album ends tastefully with” Paralyzed With Fear” making you want more from this band. Obituary has put out a death metal masterpiece and showing their as vital as ever.

Overall, a fantastic album that really takes the listener back into the nasty swamps of Tampa and showcase what true death metal is all about. Clearly the Kickstarter campaign worked out quite nicely for both the band and the fans.

You can purchase the album here.

Key Tracks: Back On Top, Violence, Inked In Blood, Deny You

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