Released: January 13, 2023
Obituary are not a band you go to for reinvention. That is not an insult. It might be the whole point.
By the time Dying of Everything came out in 2023, Obituary had been around long enough that nobody needed them to prove what they were. This is one of the bands that helped make Florida death metal sound like Florida death metal: slow rot, thick riffs, ugly grooves, and John Tardy sounding like somebody yelling from somewhere under the floorboards.
So the question is simple: what happens when a death metal band refuses to evolve too much but still sounds alive?
That is where the album works.
Obituary recorded it at their own RedNeck Studios in Gibsonton, Florida, with Joe Cincotta handling production and mixing. That setup matters because the album sounds like a band that knows its room. It is not overly polished. It doesn’t try to compete with modern tech-death records or pretend the last thirty years haven’t happened. It sounds thick, dry, and direct.
Basically, it sounds like Obituary.
“Barely Alive” opens the record with no fancy introduction. The riff just starts chewing. That is still one of Obituary’s best tricks. They do not need speed all the time because the groove does a lot of damage on its own. Donald Tardy’s drums have that loose-but-heavy feel, and Terry Butler’s bass gives everything extra dirt underneath.
“The Wrong Time” is the obvious single because it has that simple, ugly hook that gets stuck without feeling cleaned up. The chorus is almost stupid in the best death metal way. Not dumb. Just blunt. Obituary have always understood that a riff does not need to be complicated if it lands hard enough.
That is the thing this album keeps proving. Dying of Everything isn’t trying to outthink anyone. It is trying to hit the part of your brain that still wants death metal to sound like a swamp with amplifiers in it.
“Without a Conscience” and “War” push a little more thrash into the mix. You can hear Ken Andrews adding sharper edges to the band’s usual stomp. It does not turn Obituary into something else, but it gives the record extra bite. That helps. A full album of mid-tempo punishment can turn into a brick wall if the band is not careful. Here, they shift just enough to keep it moving.
The title track brings the whole attitude into focus. “Dying of Everything” sounds like a phrase only Obituary could make feel both ridiculous and completely believable. John Tardy’s vocals often sound like barely formed words, which adds to the charm of the song. He does not explain the horror. He becomes part of it. His voice works like another texture in the band: rotten, wet, and weirdly catchy.
“My Will to Live” slows things down and lets the band lean into that crawling side they do so well. This is where Obituary still feel separate from a lot of death metal bands. They are not afraid of space. Obituary is not afraid to let a riff linger for an extended period. The heaviness comes from that patience.
“By the Dawn” introduces one of the album’s more unusual moments, particularly with the David Austin solo. It does not suddenly make the record experimental, but it adds a different flavor without breaking the Obituary spell. Then “Weaponize the Hate” and “Torn Apart” pull things back into the dirt.
The album ends with “Be Warned,” which feels right because Obituary have always been better at threat than explanation. The song takes its time. It lets the ugliness sit there. No rush, no panic, no need to prove anything.
That is what makes Dying of Everything more compelling than just another late-career death metal record. Obituary are not frozen in place. They simply understand which aspects of their sound should remain untouched. The riffs still need to stink. The drums still need to swing. John Tardy still needs to sound like language is optional. The whole thing still needs to feel like it crawled out of a humid room in Florida.
So what happens when a death metal band refuses to evolve too much but still sounds alive?You get Dying of Everything. Not a reinvention. Not a nostalgia act. Just Obituary doing what Obituary do, with enough punch left to remind you why that still matters.
Written by Rob Joncas for DeadNoteMedia.
Artist information and music courtesy of the band.
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