Gig Review: Death To All But Death Metal, But Also Smiles All Around - Obituary Delivers The Goods, Looks Fucking Stoked About It And Everyone Generally Has A Very Good Time
Gig reviews where did they go? They died. I’m bringing them back. Well, doing my best. I went and saw Obituary. Death Metal pioneers. Still wonderful, y’all!
Obituary
San Fran, Wellington
Sunday, January 7
Look, I’m a fair weather fan when it comes to metal. I love it. I have listened to it on and off my whole life - but that’s the big clue right there: On AND Off. I can go months without listening to metal, and there are only a small handful of bands where I collected up a lot of the music. So, I’m a tourist, I guess. I want to acknowledge that at the top. But I was pumped to see Obituary. A band I know, mostly from their first three - monumental - albums, and a band that I connected up with again via 2023’s very strong new album. I had never seen them on their previous visits, and, technically this is the band’s 40th anniversary - so that was another good reason to get along. They only started using the name Obituary in the late 80s, but it was 1984 when Trevor Peres and brothers John and Donald Tardy first formed a band with the idea of somewhat inventing death metal.
It’s a full crowd, and of course they’re into it. Big time. They’ve had Aussie death metal stalwarts Psycroptic do a fine job of warming them by finding the middle line between power metal and thrash - maybe Psycroptic‘s lead singer was a bit too confident that this was truly a double bill, and a bit too banter-y, but hey, best intentions.
But it’s most certainly a whole other level when Obituary takes the stage. They are laidback, but totally into it from the get go. They open with an instrumental Red Neck Stomp from 2005’s Frozen In Time (their first ‘comeback’ record). It is largely a last-minute soundcheck but it is also the right vibe instantly. And when singer John Tardy joins the other four, we’re almost at fever pitch for Sentence Day from 2017’s eponymous record.
It’s basically the AC/DC of death metal. And only in the very best way of course. A real stick-to-the-knitting/does the job approach as lead guitarist Kenny Andrews (in the band now for over a decade, but still the pup of this lineup) drips wah-infected solos over Perez’s stoic riffs. Drummer, Donald Tardy keeps things tight, and has some of the best tuned drums in metal. Not for him the train-track double-bass and military snare line, instead there’s real warmth and depth from his kit. He’s like a less pleased with himself Tommy Aldridge as he rounds the toms and clutches at cymbals mid-sentence. Every component of his kit so clearly, beautifully defined.
And as they move through strong selections from last year’s Dying of Everything (The Wrong Time, Barely Alive, My Will To Live, the title track) there’s barely a dip in energy from band or audience. In fact, what is always palpable is the interconnection, these musicians taking that energy that is given from the audience and using it to chisel down into their instruments, to channel into the outputted sound.
It’s a glorious night of death metal. Every riff a goldmine, every song with just the right swagger and strut. A lot of new stuff, and that’s mostly to protect the voice I’m sure. And also, dur, albums to sell…but it never once felt like a cop out or compromise. This is a band that has rebuilt itself and sounds spectacular in its current configuration.
Of course, John Tardy can’t quite sing or shriek or scream or growl like he once could. But for the most part he wasn’t far off at all. And this included going all the way back to 1990’s monumental Cause of Death for Chopped in Half and closing the night with Slowly We Rot, the title track of their still-phenomenal 1989 debut.
What a thrill to see and feel and partake in the urgency and humility of this band. They were there because we were. We were there for them. It was the perfect symbiotic band/audience relationship. More bands should be like this. More gigs should happen in just this way.
