OBITUARY — World Demise (review)

Album · 1994 · Death Metal

3.5/5 · 2017-10-14
voila_la_scorie

So what do you do when you decide to pick up a first-time album by an established band with a decent-sized catalogue? Do you buy the debut or the most recent album? Do you buy the classic album or sift around on YouTube and buy the album you think sounds best? For Obituary, I decided on the fourth option, and based on sound alone, I decided that "World Demise" would be my first acquisition even though I knew the first three albums were generally held in higher regard.

My first two impressions were, "Man, there are a lot of blatant signs of Celtic Frost influence here," and "Why does John Tardy's vocal style remind me of an angry wrestler crying like a little boy?"

The first is easy to address. Obituary are influenced heavily by Celtic Frost and they don't hide it. The album is chock full of slow and medium-tempo ultra heavy riffs. The guitar sound too is heavy enough to sink wide holes into the pavement. It's this sound (let's credit the drums and bass for the music, too) that makes the album worth-while having, in my opinion. It's just consistent, brain-mulching, bone-crunching music.

But how about those vocals? I get where he's taking the vocals. They're rough and angry and slightly maniacal. However, I find a similarity to how Tardy delivers the words in many songs. It's like the second and fourth syllable have to be emphasized but in a way that really resembles an angry little boy but vocalizing like a WWF wrestler. Some variety would surely help this album, at least in the vocal department. "the woAARRlld deMIIIEEZZ..."

Though most of the songs follow a similar sound and style, honourable mention must go to "Redefine", which breaks the trend by having a radio broadcast, funky tune which gets treated over by the drums and bass. This gives the song a unique feel on the album. The other is the final track, "Kill for Me" because it includes sounds and music sampled from an album of African music. It doesn't mean that the song is freaking awesome but there is that different thing about it.

I'd say this is a pretty solid album. Even as a casual fan of the band, this album delivers a very satisfactory sonic atmosphere. I find I can listen this album without paying total attention. It just has a great sound to it from front to back. And those riffs!

I might have thought I don't need any more Obituary albums but I have now opened up the option to get "Cause of Death" or "The End Complete".

more than 2 years ago
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voila_la_scorie wrote:

more than 2 years ago

daOUnt caAAARre! Yes, I like that song, too. I’m glad to hear some love for this album. I liked the overall sound enough to get Darkest Day and thought that I would have enough Obituary. But after listening to World Demise again I’m ready to consider a third and maybe even fourth album.

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

The best Obituary album imo, though I love every Obituary album. Don't Care is just one of the most brutally crushing yet catchy songs.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

This album does not get enough love or respect. For me, Slowly We Rot will always be my favourite, followed by the End Complete and then this. Don't Care from this album was their first single too. The thing with Obituary's vocals is you shouldn't regard them as vocals, but as another instrument. For most of their career, the songs didn't even have fixed lyrics. They were mostly John Tardy making whatever noises best suited the song.