Obituary
Obituary is an American death metal band formed in 1985 in Tampa, Florida under the name Xecutioner and later renamed to Obituary. The band comprises vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, guitarists Trevor Peres and Ralph Santolla and bassist Frank Watkins. The band is a fundamental act in the development of death metal music and one of the most successful bands in its genre.
Contents
History
Obituary is one of the pioneering bands of the death metal genre. Founded as Xecutioner in Seffner, Florida during 1985. At the time the band was composed of John Tardy (vocals), Allen West (lead guitar), Trevor Peres (guitar), Jerome Grable (bass) & Donald Tardy (drums). They made their vinyl debut in 1987 with two tracks (Find The Arise & Like The Dead) on the Raging Death compilation. Not long after its release Grable was replaced with bassist Daniel Tucker. Shortly before the release of its first album the following year, "Slowly We Rot", they changed their name to Obituary. The band still remains an influential band of the Florida death metal movement that arose in the late 1980s. The 1990 release Cause of Death has been described as a seminal album in the genre, and vocalist John Tardy is recognized as one of the first vocalists to use abnormally low growl (compared to the screechy growls used by predecessors Death and Possessed). Obituary is listed by Nielsen Soundscan as the fifth best-selling death metal band of all time and its albums have sold 368,184 copies; their 1992 release The End Complete has sold more than 103,378 copies in the United States alone.
After 1997's Back from the Dead album, the band had grown tired of touring, which led to the band disbanding. During the hiatus, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.'s touring band (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 in Obituary. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001, which released one album, The Cleansing, in that same year. Obituary reformed in 2003 and Catastrophic continued to exist alongside the reformed Obituary. A reunion album, Frozen in Time, was released in 2005. The band's first live DVD, Frozen Alive, was released in January 2007.
Obituary is currently signed with Candlelight Records for its Xecutioner's Return (2007) and an EP, Left to Die (2008). The band has finished recording their next album, Darkest Day, which was released on June 30, 2009. OBITUARY: New Album Details Revealed A concert DVD release was also announced for June 2009.To Release Concert DVD In June - Mar. 13, 2009
Obituary's guitarist, Allen West, was imprisoned for DUI and released in January 2008. During his incarceration, Ralph Santolla served as West's replacement. It is uncertain whether or not West will be returning to the band.
Members
- Current members
- John Tardy - vocals (1984–1997, 2003–present)
- Donald Tardy - drums (1984–1997, 2003–present)
- Trevor Peres - rhythm guitar (1984–1997, 2003–present)
- Frank Watkins - bass guitar (1989–1997, 2003–present)
- Ralph Santolla - lead guitar (2007–present)
- Former members
- Allen West - lead guitar (1984–1989, 1992–1997, 2003–2006)
- Jerome Grable - bass (1984-1988)
- James Murphy - lead guitar (1990)
- Daniel Tucker - bass guitar (1988–1989)
Discography
- Studio albums
- Slowly We Rot (1989)
- Cause of Death (1990)
- The End Complete (1992)
- World Demise (1994)
- Back from the Dead (1997)
- Frozen in Time (2005)
- Xecutioner's Return (2007)
- Darkest Day (2009)
- Live albums
- Dead (1998)
- Compilation albums
- Anthology (2001)
- The Best of Obituary (2008)
- EPs
- Don't Care (1994)
- Left to Die (2008)
- Video albums
- Frozen Alive (2006)
- Live Xecution in Bad Berka 2008 (2009)
