OBITUARY — Darkest Day (review)

OBITUARY — Darkest Day album cover Album · 2009 · Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
UMUR
"Darkest Day" is the 8th full-length studio album by US death metal act Obituary. The album was released through Candlelight Records in June 2009.

The music on the album is in the trademark simple, groove based and brutal death metal style that Obituary have practised since day one. The addition of lead guitarist Ralph Santolla on "Xecutioner's Return (2007)" boosted the band´s sound with his many and varied guitar solos. The same can be said about his contributions to "Darkest Day", which takes a similar approach, with loads of solos from Santolla. As always the impressive growls by John Tardy and the downtuned and brutal yet groove based riffing is the basis in the music though. Fans of the band will probably love this album, while those who never enjoyed Obituary won´t have a reason to check them out now. They basically sound the same as they have done since "Slowly We Rot (1989)" with only moderate tweaks to their songwriting and overall sound. Obituary are one of the few death metal acts out there with a completely distinct sound though and they always deliver their music with great conviction and fierce energy. That also counts for "Darkest Day", which is another lesson in why the band are counted among the elite death metal acts on the scene. The album kicks in gear with the fast paced (there are no blast beating on the album, which has never been a part of the band´s sound) "List of Dead" and just never lets go of your throat while it´s spinning. Aggressive, sneering, heavy and brutal as few, Obituary are not even close to sounding tired. It´s obvious they still have an unstoppable appetite for playing their music.

Like it´s predecessor "Darkest Day" feature a very bass heavy sound production, that suits the music well.

While "Darkest Day" is hardly a revelation when it comes to the evolution of the death metal genre, it´s another high quality release by Obituary fully deserving a 4 star (80%) rating. Even after 20 years they are still on top of their game.
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