Current Lineup:
John Tardy - Vocals
Donald Tardy - Drums
Trever Peres - Guitars
Allen West - Guitars
Frank Watkins - Bass
Obituary was one of the first
full-fledged death-metal bands,
emerging around the same time
that enough like-minded bands were
forging death metal into a
recognizably distinct subgenre. Like
their peers Death, Morbid Angel,
and Deicide, Obituary was formed in
Florida (the town of Brandon in
1985); their sound eschews the
intellectual lyrics of the former, the
religious Satanism of the latter two,
and the hyperspeed riffing of all
three in favor of a dark, slow,
monstrously heavy Black
Sabbath-like murk with morbid,
often gruesome lyrics -- when lyrics
were used. In the band's earlier
days, vocalist John Tardy generally
preferred to use his voice to make
outfit of the same name; at first
Desecration and finally Obituary was
chosen, and the band secured a
deal with Roadrunner Records.
Their 1989 debut, Slowly We Rot,
was a death-metal milestone,
pushing Tardy's idiosyncratic vocals
to the fore and offering a different
source of intensity than many of the
fledgling genre's bands. West left
the band for 1990's Cause of Death
and was replaced by former Death
guitarist James Murphy (later of
Cancer and Disincarnate); Murphy's
fellow ex-Death bandmate Frank
Watkins took over for Tucker and
eventually became his permanent
replacement. West returned to the
fold for 1992's The End Complete
and 1994's World Demise, which
found John Tardy's vocals growing
more intelligible. After a recording
hiatus of three years, Obituary
returned in 1997 with Back From the
Dead.
