Obituary

Obituary is a death metal band from Tampa, Florida. They started their career in 1984 under the name Executioner, then changed to Xecutioner, and finally to Obituary in 1988. They are considered a very influential band in the world death metal scene. They are part of the 5 most important bands of the Florida death movement, together with Death, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide. Their 1990 album, Cause of Death, is considered a seminal album in the genre, and singer John Tardy is recognized as one of the first vocalists to use low guttural vocals (compared to the high guttural vocals used by previous bands Death and Possessed).

The band disbanded in 1997 and reconvened in 2003. During this hiatus, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.’s band and wore an Obituary t-shirt during a performance on Saturday Night Live. Allen West, while out of the band, focused on two projects: Lowbrow and Six Feet Under. Trevor Peres formed the band Catastrophic in 2001, which continues to exist in parallel with his main band.

History
Obituary is one of the pioneering death metal groups, founded under the name Executioner in Seffner, Florida in 1984. They soon removed the “E” from the name because another band was already using that name, becoming Xecutioner. At the time the band consisted of John Tardy (vocals), Allen West (guitar), JP Chartier (guitar), Jerome Grable (bass) & Donald Tardy (drums). The band released demos in 1985, 1986, and 1987 – the 1985 demo as Executioner and the other two as Xecutioner. They produced their debut vinyl in 1987 with two tracks (“Find The Arise” & “Like The Dead”) on the Raging Death compilation. Not long after this release, Grable was replaced by bassist Daniel Tucker. Shortly before the release of their debut album the following year, Slowly We Rot, they changed their name to Obituary. The band still remains an influential group of the Florida death metal movement that emerged in the late 1980s.

After the 1997 album Back from the Dead, the quintet had grown tired of touring, which led to the breakup. During the hiatus, Donald Tardy played with Andrew W.K. (during W.K.’s appearance on Saturday Night Live, Tardy wore an Obituary shirt). Allen West focused on his two projects, Lowbrow and Six Feet Under while not playing Obituary. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001, with whom he released The Cleansing the same year. Obituary returned to the scene in 2003, and Catastrophic continued to exist in parallel. The reunion album Frozen in Time was released in 2005. The band’s first official DVD, Frozen Alive, came out in January 2007. Commenting on the concert schedule for Yahoo!, Regis Tadeu published a positive review for the band in 2012, saying that they are one of the “pioneers of what we know today as death metal” and without “a bad song.” The band’s music was not bad.