After almost thirty years and nine full-length albums, Obituary is still at the forefront of the death metal genre and show no sign of slowing down. The band’s latest album, ‘Inked In Blood’ was unleashed last week and is already shaping up to be one of their most celebrated offerings to date. As well as receiving critical acclaim, the album has sold almost 5 times as many copies as their 2009 release, ‘Darkest Day’ and cracked the Billboard Top 100, coming in at #75 (the band’s highest chart number to date). The album has also been embraced by Obituatry’s international fans, coming in at #56 in Germany (2nd Highest German Chart Entrance in Band History), #81 in The Netherlands, #139 in Belgium, #174 in the UK and #65 in Switzerland.
All Axess recently caught up with Obituary’s drummer extraordinaire, Don Tardy to ask how the band is still capable of delivering the most brutal music known to man without compromising their trademark sound. We also discussed Obituary’s long-awaited tour with fellow death metal legends Carcass, got the latest on how the band’s two new members, bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Kenny Andrews are fitting into the mix and who Tardy believes is leading the way on the current metal scene. Check it out below.
Your new album, ‘Inked In Blood’ is slated to be an “instant classic,” how would you say it compares to your back catalog?
— i think it’s heavier and catchier than ever with that Classic Obituary style. The first couple albums we were so young and it was so long ago it’s hard to compare them but we could not be more excited about this new album and to finally get it into the hands of our fans..We really took our time during the writing process to make sure that every song was relevant and each had its own feel and individuality.Fans have already had the chance to hear a number of tracks from the album, how has the response been so far?
—- Everyone seems to be digging it and we are blown away by the crowds’ reactions to the new songs so far. We’ve been playing a few of the new songs live earlier this year in Europe with great responses from the festival crowds and now it’s great that we have the chance to let the American and Canadian fans experience it as well with these two US Tours (carcass/DTA).‘Inked In Blood’ comes as your ninth full length album, after so many years in the industry is it becoming more difficult to continue writing relevant songs?
— we’ve never been the band to worry about anything outside of the jam room when it comes time to write. We write songs because we love writing songs and blasting on albums and onstage. Doesn’t matter what’s going on with the record industry or the Internet for us. It’s all about having a good time and writing songs that we love and want to hear. If we do that I believe our fans will dig it too. We write for our fans not for anyone else.The album is your Relapse Records debut, what made you decide to make the shift?
—- They were the label that showed us they understood what we were looking for with this release, our product and our future in mind. They laid out the release/distribution/marketing plan very methodically with us and have executed everything very well so far. We have become a powerful team very quickly and it feels like they have made this their Album as well and it’s the first time in a long time it’s seem like a “label” truly appreciate us, loves the songs and has our backs…that feels great. We knew this was a Monster Album and needed a label that saw that as clear as the band.‘Inked In Blood’ is also Obituary’s first album with bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Kenny Andrews, how have they fitted into the fray?
—- Terry has been a good friend of ours forever so it’s great to actually be in a band together and Ken is one of my best friends who took his role very serious, knowing the shoes he was trying to fill. He did and amazing job at bring back a little bit of James Murphy feel along with keeping that wammy bar Florida-Metal-Style solos that Allen West was known for……could not have been a better addition.Did they contribute to the writing process of the album?
—- Terry and Ken both brought great ideas and vibe to the studio and the recording. Their performance on this record I think help contributed to make the album bigger and badder. Look out man!You recorded, mixed and produced the album yourselves; did that present any new challenges?
— more challenges than you can imagine but it’s something we’ve always wanted to do and are so proud of now that we finally pulled it off. We also made sure we kept this recording very old-school and did not rely on much technology at all just the instruments the microphones and the bandmembers. There was no sound replacement, triggering of bass drums for any post recording edits. We made sure we were happy with the songs before we even hit the record button so it made the recording process very smooth and easy. Keep it simple stupid.Are you happy with the final result?
—- Happier than a puppy with two peters.
Will there be a video?
—- Yes we are working two different music videos right now and can’t wait to see the fans reactions. The RedNecks are stepping outside of our comfort zone….that’s all I can say at this point.What is your personal favorite song on the album?
—- Man…throw a dart at the song titles and which ever it hits is cool with me. Love the whole album and really hope everyone does too.What new songs should fans expect to hear on your upcoming tour with Carcass, Exhumed and Noisem?
—- We are blasting the Classics off the first 3 Albums along with performing some of the New Songs on this US/Canada Tour.Is there anything else you can tell us about your upcoming tours?
—- This could be the one and only chance for fans to witness Obituary and Carcass tour together so don’t miss it if we are coming through your town.How would you rate the current death metal scene, what bands are you listening too?
—- 7.5 rating
Psycroptic
Benighted
Danko Jones
Dust Bolt
…are in my CD player right now but I always fall back to my roots:
Lynyrd Synyrd
Outlaws
Molly Hatchet
And of coarse Ronnie James DioWhat would you say the main difference is between the music industry now compared to when you started out?
—- who cares!!!!!!!!What does the future hold for Obituary? How long are you planning on sticking around?
—- We are having a blast right now and are looking forward to many more moons if possible. We are very fortunate to be able to do what we do and are having too much fun to stop now!!Is there anything else you would like to add?
— Yeah 5 last words:
Go buy the f***ing album!
‘Inked In Blood’ is available now from Relapse Records HERE and via iTunes HERE. The album is available as CD/Deluxe CD/2xLP/Digital/Deluxe Digital. The limited edition, one time press deluxe CD includes two exclusive bonus songs and is packaged in a 3D embossed digipak along with a die-cut album cover sticker. The bonus songs, available on the deluxe CD and digital verisons, are two classic tracks (‘Intoxicated’ and ‘Bloodsoaked’), from ‘Slowly We Rot,’ re-recorded this year live out of Morrisound Studios in Tampa, FL and engineered by legendary death metal producer Jim Morris. A special vinyl color will be available exclusively via each of the following means: North American Indie Stores, Florida record stores, Relapse.com and for Kickstarter backers.
The album can be streamed in its entirety via bandcamp and Sound Cloud.
In support of their new album, Obituary will be touring extensively through North America and Europe throughout 2014 and 2015. Their dates with Carcass and Exhumed begin tomorrow night October 28th in Tucson, AZ followed by a North American run with Death (DTA) and Massacre from November 14th through December 7th. Then the band heads to Europe for a two week headlining tour in January.