It’s nearly impossible to assess the value of this album without first referencing the classic that preceded it. Despite the almost riskily simplistic style of ‘Cause of Death’, it still remains an undisputed and unmatchedly brutal Death Metal monster. Little had changed since then with the release of ‘The End Complete’ and yet something essential was missing. No, not the haunting, melodic appeal of James Murphy’s lead guitars. Something slightly less tangible, but is terribly apparent when listening to the album. All the components of a quality Obituary album are there, because they are basic enough to reproduce over and over again (how they failed at doing even this with their following albums is a great mystery) but where the magic has gone seems to be due to it’s misplaced sense of rhythm. Obituary were essentially beginning to streamline (read: commodify) their sound, so that none of the parts related to the themes, that of disease, dying and death. Where this was most apparent was in the rhythmic dimension, which just grooved and nothing more. It was catchy but it still sounded like Death Metal to the less discerning of ears, and so it sold more than the average Death Metal album at the time. Although it plays innocent, blame this album for every crime the band has commited since.
Filed under: Death Metal Music Reviews — Tags: Commercialisation of Death Metal, Death Metal, Florida Death Metal — ObscuraHessian @ August 31, 2009 20:54 — Comments (2)
Metal-Archives claims this one is the best selling “pure death metal album” of all time. I guess it’s better than Cannibal Corpse, but I still can not remember a single thing that happens on this album. Listening to Florida wallpaper death metal reminds us why the style all but died.
Comment by Devamitra — August 31, 2009 @ 22:51
[...] to reflect this broader audience. On one hand, there were bands like Cannibal Corpse, Deicide and Obituary dumbing down the music and setting a tradition of thoughtless extremity for musicians to pursue [...]
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