Search - Obituary :: Darkest Day

This is what you want

znodog | nyc, usa | 07/01/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you're reading this,than most likely you are an old fan. And I got great news for you. This belongs right beside "The End Complete" and "Cause Of Death". Right from the opener and throughout this is the Obits in all their glory. Crunchy rhythm guitar clanging away, drums galloping along and of course the voice of John Tardy just the way you remembered it from Tampa Florida's glory days. In these days with the Sweden sound dominating the death metal scene its great to remember the late 80's early 90's period. And this Obituary's Darkest Days is right on and puts you in that time capsule. Obituary never put out that many albums so this is another fine treat and addition to their catalog. Anybody intrested in this band can start right here and work your way backwards and enjoy it all classic death, by one of the originators of the genre."

OBITUARY!!!!

Taylor Nordberg | Gorelando, Florida | 07/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Obituary has yet again, shocked me with another great album! First of all, I'd like to say that I love the fact that they have released so much material over the past few years [Xecutioner's Return, Left To Die ep, Tardy Brothers, Darkest Day]. I have all the Obituary albums and I can honestly say I love every one. This one included. People wonder how the new album sounds? It's Obituary. nothing more. nothing less.



First of all, the sound:

Recorded at their own Redneck Studios, Obituary has improved their sound since their last album. The guitars are more crunchy, almost of a 'modern' World Demise-esque tone. John's vocals on this album are of course amazing. To me, one of the most consistent death metal vocalists. The album seems to have a small amount of vocals, but when they kick in, there's no mistaking who it is. Ralph Santolla's leads on this album are the most creative I've ever heard him play. Extremely complex, extremely fast, extremely tasty. The drums on the album are my favorite part. Donald's kick drum and his toms sound similar to the Cause of Death [Scott Burns' infamous drum sound] sound. Overall, very well produced and mixed.



The tracks:

Some classic Obituary style riffing, some that are nauseatingly fast/brutal for them. Also on this record are some of the heaviest riffs I've heard them put out since "Dying" off of Cause of Death. Towards the middle/end of Payback is an excellent example of this as well as all of Outside My Head. List Of Dead, the opening track is a major kick in the testicles. Totally brutal, and crushing throughout. Your Darkest Day stood out to me as well, while being slow and ominous reminiscent of Slowly We Rot. Violent Dreams is my personal favorite because it's extremely thrashing death metal, that sounds straight off of Slowly We Rot. Of course, you also get Forces Realign and Left To Die from their last EP [both goodies!]



Overall, an extremely solid Obituary album. I recommend for any classic death metal head, or anyone interested in finding out what the word "HEAVY" means."

Another afterthought that chugs along endless and without pu

Zander Haberstaft | Miami, Florida | 07/16/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"There is always a problem when a band takes the [...] comments of supposed fans seriously, it sometimes ends up screwing up the product. Both "Frozen in Time" and "Xecutioner's Return" were more than decent efforts, especially the latter which gave that band a new guitarist who added another (welcome) dimension to the band. Apparently, some fans didn't like Ralph Santolla's guitar musings either on the album or in concert.



We know find ourselves with "Darker Days" an album that chugs along endlessly with maybe one or two decent solos pushed into the background. The band seems to actively be channeling such duds as "World Demise" or the even more pitiful "Back from the Dead". The songs are played at this kind of hardcore-meets-alternative-rock pace without any catchy hooks or solos or even dirge parts that this band was know for a la "Cause of Death" or "Slowly We Rot". You listen to a song that sounds like it's been playing for ten minutes and realize the track is only three. The only decent songs are the first track and maybe 'This Life' as well as some of the tracks that were already previously included in the "Left to Die" EP -so those don't really count. Really, I'm missing the constant mid-paced tempos with a slow dirge part here or there with an awesome solo (hint: there are no tracks on the "Evil Ways" level here.)



A lame product from a band that could better. Let Ralph Santolla be Ralph Santolla and concentrate on making well-written-to-the-point songs."