Released: January 13, 2023
Dying of Everything arrives without ceremony. No grand reinvention, no misdirection. Obituary sound exactly like themselves — and that’s the point. After nearly four decades, the band understand something many of their peers never quite grasped: death metal doesn’t need to evolve forward to remain dangerous. It needs weight, patience, and conviction.
From the opening seconds of “Barely Alive,” the album establishes its posture. The riffs are blunt, almost impatient, but never sloppy. Trevor Peres and Kenny Andrews lock into a push-and-pull between momentum and restraint, letting the riffs drag just enough to feel oppressive without stalling. John Tardy’s vocal delivery doesn’t dominate the mix so much as seep into it — less a frontman, more another instrument grinding against the low end.
That sense of control defines much of the record. “The Wrong Time” leans hard into Obituary’s long-standing relationship with groove, but it’s a groove that feels earned rather than flashy. The rhythm section doesn’t swing — it lurches. Donald Tardy’s drumming favors impact over flourish, reinforcing the idea that every beat exists to serve the riff, not decorate it.
Mid-album cuts like “Without a Conscience” and “War” highlight Obituary’s mastery of pacing. These tracks thrive in the spaces between notes. Instead of filling every moment with speed or density, the band let repetition do the damage. Riffs cycle, decay, and reassert themselves, creating a physical sense of pressure that’s more effective than constant escalation.
The title track, “Dying of Everything,” feels like the album’s emotional and structural core. It doesn’t attempt to summarize the record so much as embody its mood — exhaustion without surrender. There’s a subtle tension here, a sense that the band are less interested in confrontation than endurance. This isn’t rage; it’s attrition.
Later tracks expand that atmosphere without breaking it. “My Will to Live” flirts with urgency, briefly lifting the tempo before pulling itself back into the mud. “By the Dawn” stretches out, allowing melody and rhythm to bleed together in a way that feels almost reflective by Obituary standards. Meanwhile, “Weaponize the Hate” and “Torn Apart” strip things back to their most functional elements — riffs, drums, voice — no excess, no ornamentation.
The closing track, “Be Warned,” is where the album fully exhales. Slower, darker, and more suffocating, it feels less like a finale and more like a descent — a final reminder that Obituary’s greatest strength has always been their refusal to rush. They don’t chase climaxes. They let songs collapse under their own mass.
What Dying of Everything ultimately proves is that Obituary aren’t interested in nostalgia or legacy maintenance. This record doesn’t celebrate the past; it simply continues it. The band sound comfortable, focused, and unbothered by expectations. There’s no sense of proving anything here — just the quiet confidence of musicians who know exactly how heavy they are, and exactly how long they can hold you there.
For a genre that often confuses intensity with excess, Dying of Everything is a reminder that restraint can be just as crushing. Obituary don’t overwhelm — they grind you down. Slowly. Deliberately. Completely.
Written by Rob Joncas for DeadNoteMedia.
Artist information and music courtesy of the band.
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