Obituary Album: “Frozen in Time”

There is nothing progressive or revolutionary here, but if you're interested in buying the new Obituary, you're probably glad to hear that. Gone is the pseudo-politics of WORLD DEMISE, and the abyssmal experimentation of BACK FROM THE DEAD. On FROZEN IN TIME, Obituary is doing what they do best, straight forward, mid-90s Florida death metal. Think THE END COMPLETE with the spunk of SLOWLY WE ROT. John Tardy's voice is as ghoulish as ever, and, while the song writing is very formulaic, it seems fresh and more energetic then their previous 2 efforts. Highlights include the relentless "On the Floor," the Celtic Frost-style "Stand Alone," and the incredible closer "Lockjaw" which is quite possibly one of my favorite Obituary songs of all time. Death Metal lives!

Obituary's new album "Frozen in Time" lives up to the title. I have been listening to Obituary since "Cause of Death" in 1990. Their first 3 albums are all classics (Slowly We Rot, Cause of Death & The End Complete). When Obituary released "World Demise" in 1994 I started to lose interest as they tried the "political" route, which was a stretch for them. Anyway, they released a half ass album in 1997 with "Back From the Dead" and I gave up hope. 2005: Obituary is back! Their new album takes up where "The End Complete" left off. They are similar to AC/DC & Bolt Thrower in the fact that they don't change too much from their formula music wise. Each song is filled with crushing riffs that are redundant but catchy. John's vocals are still just as brutal as ever. All the songs are mid-paced straightforward death metal with a production from Scott Burns that is also from 1992. If you have been a long time Obituary fan, the only thing that will disappoint you will be that the riffs are not quite as memorable as their first 3 albums, but is still well worth a listen for the money. I was actually surprised that Obituary could still pull off an album like this after Back From the Dead. The album stands up against any of the newer Death Metal CDs out there. For someone like me who grew up on this style, I was excited to hear the album and was not let down. A good pick overall. If you are more into technical death metal, you will want to stay away and pick up the new HATE ETERNAL.

This is an aptly titled release for the second coming of these death metal legends. They basically

ignored every single trend in metal in the last 8 years and came out with an album that absolutely

reeks of vintage early 90's Obituary. That means crushing, detuned menaces whose thick

grooves creep along only to speed up and break their barriers like a swollen river overflowing the

banks. And don't forget the tortured screams of John Tardy who has to be one of the most

memorable vocalists in all of metal.

Never has there been a band, not even kindred spirits Grave, that can take relatively simple chord

progressions and make them sound so brutal. And brutal it is. Thanks to modern production

techniques this album absolutely kills it when it comes to low end punishment. That's what

makes Frozen In Time such a great addition to the Obituary catalog. For those of us with the

original releases we never really got to here Obituary sound this good so to come out with a

classic album that almost tops their earlier work is pretty stunning.

Of course this stick to the knitting approach, even more so than their last couple albums, means

you won't find any surprises on here. That might be something to complain about if Obituary had

steadily put out albums in the last decade but, seeing as no one has been able to match this

sound, I think it's a perfect move to come out with an old school album to rally the fans. Whether

this is a one off or the start of another slew of albums remains to be seen but this is a great start

to a new chapter in the history of Obituary.

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Obituary is back & it's like they never left. This is a very strong effort especially in light of the lengthy hiatus since their last, somewhat uneven effort, "Back from The Dead". They're not simply thrashing through the motions here, "FIT" more than holds its own and is a very worthy addition to the lengendary Obituary catalog.

BONE CRUSHING! You won't have ears after cranking this! I thought Obituary were dead after "Back From The Dead" (irony there) but 'Frozen In Time' is a marked return to form. This sounds like 'Slowly We Rot" on steroids. I am telling you Obituary fans, this is as good maybe fricken better than 'Slowly We Rot'... I am not kidding! This blows doors! Album art is really cool as well. A huge poster of the cover would look awesome over the fire place.