obituary band albums

Ever sat in your garage, cranked up some old-school death metal, and thought, “Wait... how many times did Obituary actually drop the hammer?” Well, buckle up, metalhead—'cause the Florida-bred death metal titans ain’t just about guttural growls and blast beats, they’ve packed quite the discography under their bullet belts. As of 2025, counting studio albums alone, Obituary has released nineobituary band albums, plus a slew of live records, EPs, and compilations that’ll make your vinyl shelf cry in gratitude. From their raw 1989 debut Slowly We Rot to the groove-laced brutality of Obituary (2017) and the skull-splitting precision of Dying of Everything (2023), each obituary band album is a tombstone in the graveyard of extreme metal history.

Y’know how some bands get soft with age? Not Obituary. Their obituary band albums chart a course from swampy, primal death metal to tighter, more refined—but no less savage—sonic executions. In the ‘80s, they were just kids from Tampa with blood in their eyes and distortion in their amps. By the 2020s, they’d become elder statesmen of death metal, yet somehow still sounded like they’d rip your spine out if you played them at a low volume. There’s a reason old-school fans and new-gen headbangers alike keep stacking those obituary band albums on their shelves: evolution without selling out is a rare beast, and Obituary tamed it without losing its fangs.

Ask any true death metal connoisseur about the genesis of obituary band albums, and you’ll get a holy war between Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death. The former dropped in ’89 like a rotten carcass from hell—raw, murky, and absolutely essential. The latter, released just a year later, brought in guitarist James Murphy (RIP, legend) and sharpened the riffage like a butcher honing his cleaver. Both are foundational, both define what obituary band albums mean to the genre, but if you ask us? Cause of Death is where they truly carved their name in bone. That said, skip either, and you’re basically listening to death metal with one ear plugged.

Wait—didn’t they break up? Yeah, for a hot minute in the late ‘90s, Obituary called it quits. Burnout, lineup chaos, and the usual band drama had them scattered like ashes in a hurricane. But unlike most bands that vanish after saying “adios,” Obituary did the metal equivalent of a phoenix rising: they came back swinging in 2003 with Dead*, and hasn’t stopped since. Their post-reunion obituary band albums—like Xecutioner’s Return, Darkest Day, and Inked in Blood—proved they didn’t just rest on nostalgia; they evolved. So no, they didn’t crumble after the split—they sharpened their axes and returned hungrier.

If we had to stack all nine obituary band albums from heaviest to heaviest (ignoring chronological order), here’s how the bones would fall:

• 1. Cause of Death (1990) – That iconic cover alone gives you nightmares
• 2. Slowly We Rot (1989) – The blueprint of American death metal
• 3. Dying of Everything (2023) – Old-school soul with modern muscle
• 4. World Demise (1994) – Underrated but ferocious
• 5. Inked in Blood (2014) – DIY comeback with zero compromises
• 6. Darkest Day (2009) – Groove meets brutality
• 7. Obituary (2017) – Self-titled, self-assured
• 8. Xecutioner’s Return (2007) – Solid, but transitional
• 9. Back from the Dead (1997) – The awkward teen phase

Now, don’t @ us if your list differs—metal ain’t math. But one thing’s for sure: every obituary band album here reeks of authenticity, like swamp gas and leather jackets left in the sun too long.

“Why did Obituary break up?”—a question that haunts many fans who discovered the band post-2003. Truth is, it wasn’t drama or betrayal. It was exhaustion. By ’97, after Back from the Dead, the guys were burnt out from touring, label pressures, and internal friction. They disbanded quietly—no grand announcement, just silence. For six years, the world thought Obituary was just another corpse in the death metal graveyard. But metal never really dies, does it? The obituary band albums hiatus only made the eventual return sweeter. Sometimes, you gotta let the rot set in before the rebirth stinks of glory.

Let’s be real—“best death metal album” is like arguing over which storm hits hardest. But if we’re talkin’ pure influence, atmosphere, and unrelenting heaviness, Cause of Death by Obituary is always in the conversation. That album isn’t just one of the greatest obituary band albums—it’s a cornerstone of the entire genre. With Randy Blythe calling it “the Bible of death metal” and countless bands citing it as their gateway drug, it’s hard to deny its throne. So yes, while Opeth, Death, and Morbid Angel have their claims, Obituary’s 1990 masterpiece remains a dark horse that never stopped galloping through the crypts of extreme music.

People think death metal is all speed and screams. But dig into the obituary band albums, and you’ll hear something else: groove. Yeah, that’s right—groove. Those mid-tempo breakdowns in Redneck Stomp or the swampy swing of Don’t Care prove Obituary ain’t just about blasting. They’ve got a swagger, a Southern stomp buried under the distortion. It’s like if Lynyrd Skynyrd got possessed by Beelzebub and learned to palm-mute. That’s the secret sauce in their obituary band albums: brutality with bounce, decay with rhythm. You don’t just headbang—you kinda sway like a zombie at a honky-tonk.

Back in the day, you had to drive 40 miles to some dingy record store just to find a tape of Slowly We Rot. Now? One click, and boom—every obituary band album is in your pocket. Streaming’s changed everything. Bandcamp Fridays, vinyl reissues, digital deluxe editions… Obituary’s catalog’s never been more accessible. But here’s the twist: physical sales of their obituary band albums are still strong. In 2023, Dying of Everything sold over 8,500 copies in its first week—mostly vinyl and CD. Why? ‘Cause metalheads still crave that tactile ritual: peeling the shrink wrap, reading the liner notes in dim light, feeling the weight of doom in your hands. Digital’s convenient, but death metal demands ceremony.

With Dying of Everything proving Obituary’s still got the gnash, fans are buzzing: “What’s next?” At this rate, don’t be surprised if they drop a tenth obituary band album before the decade’s out. The Tardy brothers (John and Donald) show no signs of slowing, and their live energy’s as feral as ever. Plus, younger fans are discovering them through festivals like Hellfest and Metallica’s Orion events. For deeper dives, check out Arisen From Nothing for the latest buzz. You can also browse the full archive in the Media section. And if you’re into similar thrash-meets-death vibes, don’t sleep on our breakdown of Megadeth Rust In Peace Songs Guide. One thing’s clear: as long as there’s rage in the world, there’ll be new obituary band albums to soundtrack it.

References

• https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-death-metal-albums-of-all-time-1234567890
• https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Obituary/239
• https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-metal-albums-ever/
• https://www.revolvermag.com/music/obituary-interview-dying-of-everything