Don't let the slow, doomy, and repetitive instrumental opener "Redneck Stomp" fool you-Obituary are back with a vengeance, and classic death metal fans can rejoice. These guys have been around since the early 90's when Floridian bands like Morbid Angel, Death, and Deicide were ruling the extreme metal scene, and after a brief break-up are back once again creating some brutal and intense music.
Obituary never tried to be the most techncially inspiring band or the most maniacal, but what they do they do well, which is plow ahead with speedy and chunky death metal creations that features plenty of classic riff-o-rama to mosh or bang your head to. Tunes like "On the Floor" and "Insane" take the best of early Slayer and Death, up the guitar heaviness a bit, and spit it out in your face. Really, it's just one mosh-riddled riff after another, and this album contains so many of them your head will spin. Singer John Tardy has just enough of a hardcore bark mixed with a thrash roar to make things interesting, which sort of sets the band apart from other groups in the genre. His raspy growls mesh perfectly with the churning and doomy guitar dirges on "Mindset", one of the albums more plodding pieces. If you like things a little more frantic, there's the blistering thrash of "Stand Alone" or the raging death metal machine of "Slow Death", one of my personal favorites.
Obituary has been an institution for so long, you would think that their ideas would have run dry by now, but that is clearly not the case. Chalk up another strong release for these cagey veterans, who still know how to break knees and split skulls.
Track Listing
1. Redneck Stomp
2. On The Floor
3. Insane
4. Blindsided
5. Back Inside
6. Mindset
7. Stand Alone
8. Slow Death
9. Denied
10. Lockjaw
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