Originally formed in 1984, under the name Executioner. Since there was already a band called Executioner in Boston, they changed it to Xecutioner and then finally to Obituary in 1988, after they signed with Roadrunner Records.
Obituary are considered to be one of the pioneering bands of the death metal genre. They started playing music in the vein of Venom and Celtic Frost. Once the band started hearing groups like Possessed, they realized that they want to make music as "sick as these guys."
Their "The End Complete" album is crowned the best selling pure death metal album ever released, selling over 100,000 copies in the US, and over a quarter million worldwide. Also, the new Obituary logo, as can be seen on "The End Complete" has been considered Roadrunner's best selling shirt print in its history.
Obituary had a six year absence between 1997-2003, because the band members had other priorities to turn to like raising new families and getting "real jobs". The reunion is credited to Donald Tardy's time playing in Andrew W.K.'s band, when, during one live performance in Florida, some of the other Obituary members were present and decided to play some Obituary tunes just for fun for the audience, eventually leading to a full-time reunion.
Trevor Peres and John Tardy have collaborated with the Brooklyn-based rapper Necro on his album "The Prefix For Death". The band members know Necro through his days as a bass player for death metal band Injustice.
John Tardy said in a interview that initially there was no message in Obituary's lyrics, just some randoms words and statements about death and the rest is just growling. He started writing "proper" lyrics from "The End Complete" onwards, "mostly fictional kind of stuff, not meant to be taken seriously".
Allen West was sent to prison in 2007. John Tardy later revealed in an interview that West had been jailed for repeated drink driving offenses. Ralph Santolla, shortly after departing Deicide, replaced him for "Xecutioner's Return". West was arrested again in 2013 after the police discovered a meth lab in his home. In a 2014 interview, John and Donald Tardy said they have lost contact with West, since he was released from prison.
For the 2010 South American tour, Obituary's long time friend and Floridian death metal stalwart Terry Butler (Death, Massacre, Six Feet Under, Denial Fiend, Obliterhate) took on bass duties in place of Frank Watkins. Terry Butler permanently replaced Watkins some time later.
Death metal legends OBITUARY return with Ten Thousand Ways To Die, a special two-song single containing a pair of brand new studio tracks plus a bonus live set of classics and fan favorites from the band's storied catalog! Recorded in eleven different cities during the band's highly successful 2015 Inked In Blood world tour, the live tracks capture the incredible performances of a band that has stood atop the death metal pantheon for almost 30 years. Ten Thousand Ways To Die is sure to satisfy new and die-hard OBITUARY fans and will quench the bloodthirst of listeners until the band's new album drops in Spring 2017.
Country of origin:United States
Location:Gibsonton, Florida
Status:Active
Formed in:1988
Genre: Death Metal
Lyrical themes: Death, Gore, Life, Ecology
Current label:Relapse Records
Years active:1984-1986 (as Executioner), 1986-1988 (as Xecutioner), 1988-1997, 2003-present
Donald Tardy-Drums (1988-1997, 2003-present)
See also: Tardy Brothers, ex-Xecutioner, ex-Meathook Seed, ex-Andrew W.K.
Trevor Peres-Guitars (rhythm) (1988-1997, 2003-present)
See also: ex-Catastrophic, ex-Xecutioner, ex-Meathook Seed
John Tardy-Vocals (1988-1997, 2003-present)
See also: Tardy Brothers, ex-Xecutioner
Terry Butler-Bass (2010-present)
See also: Denial Fiend, Hideous, ex-Six Feet Under, ex-Gruesome (live), ex-Death, ex-Massacre, ex-Obliterhate
Kenny Andrews-Guitars (lead) (2012-present)
See also: ex-Azrael, ex-Pain Principle, ex-Andrew W.K.
Obituary - Ten Thousand Ways to Die (2016)
1. Loathe 06:16
2. Ten Thousand Ways to Die 03:17
3. Redneck Stomp (live, The Mayan, Los Angeles) 04:11
4. Centuries of Lie (live, The Masquerade, Atlanta) 02:15
5. Visions in My Head (live, Baltimore Soundstage, Baltimore) 04:18
6. Intoxicated (live, Revolution Center, Boise) 05:41
7. Bloodsoaked (live, Irving Plaza, New York) 03:31
8. Dying (live, Metro, Chicago) 04:38
9. Find the Arise (live, Opera House, Toronto) 02:17
10. 'Til Death (live, House of Blues, San Diego) 04:47
11. Don't Care (live, Club Red, Phoenix) 02:32
12. Chopped in Half / Turned Inside Out (live, The Ritz Ybor, Tampa) 05:44
13. Slowly We Rot (live, Revolution Live, Fort Lauderdale) 05:10
Format : MPEG Audio
Format version : Version 1
Format profile : Layer 3
Mode : Joint stereo
Bit rate mode : Constant
Bit rate : 320 kb/s
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 kHz
Compression mode : Lossy
Genre: Death
Subgenre: USA Death Metal
Bitrate: 320 k
Size: 126.21 MB