Death metal legends, Obituary, formed in 1984 under the name Executioner, later shortened to Xecutioner, and in 1988 changed to Obituary. They’ve gone through a few changes since the inception, and currently is made up of three founding members and three new members, with John Tardy on vocals, Trevor Peres in the guitar, Donald Tardy on the drums, Terry Butler on bass, and Kenny Andrews on the Guitar.
Obituary’s first album since 2009’s Darkest Day, Inked in Blood, will release next month on October 27th on Relapse Records.
The band is currently on tour but they took some time off to chat with us at Rock Revolt Magazine. Check out our conversation with Donald Tardy!
Nowadays it’s common for long time bands change their sound after some time. What do you see in Death Metal that, even after so many years, you haven’t got bored with it?
We are metal fans. We still love doing what we do. We are definitely not in it for the money. If we were, we would have retired long ago. The metal is in our blood. It is all we know and we still love playing it and writing it for the fans.
Have you ever thought of playing something besides death metal?
No.
With Gene Simmons recently stating that Rock is finally dead, where do you think about the Death Metal music scene is going, or is it going anywhere?
I can’t speak for Gene Simmons and I don’t know about rock music, but Metal seems to be bigger than it has been in a long time. The scene is growing; the crowds are growing and it seems as though there is a new demand for metal and old-school death metal. This makes us proud because we have been doing it for a long time and it’s great to see young metalheads still wanting the old school metal. As for the future I can only speak for obituary when I say it is very bright and we are very excited about the possibilities and releases that we are planning for the future.
Your press release states “Inked In Blood is an instant classic” amongst your “already storied catalog”. Tell us why you feel this statement is true.
Inked in Blood is an album we are extremely proud of we have been working for a long time on it and the song style makes it an instant classic. You get a feel of slowly rock and cause of death on some of these songs along with a more modern feel on some of the others. It was three and a half years of writing the songs, so there are different styles and feelings throughout the album which makes it a monster of a record. I believe fans of music that don’t think they like death metal need to listen to Inked in Blood and I believe it will change their opinion of death metal. These are songs with feelings, heartbeat, bloodflow and there is nothing stale about this album.
How is it different from every other album you have already made?
We recorded, mixed and produced this album on our own and, although it was a huge challenge, we are very proud of the final result and super excited for the fans to hear it.
We made sure we kept our original sounds and style with this new album because we know that is what Obituary fans want. No reason to reinvent the wheel and try to do something completely different as our fans would not want or appreciate that.
This will be Obituary’s first studio album to not to feature Frank Watkins on bass since your first album back in 1989 (Slowly We Rot). Being that he’s been on all others, is there any stylistic difference that we can appreciate? How has his not being on this record impacted that sound of Obituary (or has it)?
Actually it was Daniel Tucker that was on Slowly We Rot. Watkins didn’t enter the picture til the cause of death album. Having Terry Butler join the band has brought a new level of excitement and creativity to this outfit and his performance and positive vibe is well accepted. He is a true professional, one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and just an absolute solid bass player.
This is also a first for Kenny Andrews on guitar. What does he bring to the mix?
Just like Terry, he brings a positive attitude and professionalism that makes this band a real joy to be a part of and both of these guys are two of the coolest people I’ve ever met. They both are excited about their opportunity and both understand their role in joining Obituary. Ken is the final piece to the puzzle and we all are having a blast writing and performing music for the metals around the world.
The album cover is brutally visceral. In comparison to the cover art to your previous albums, it is quite gory. We enjoy a mutilated torso as much as the next person, so how does the music support the visual aspect of the artwork?
The album was completed long before the album artwork was so there was no real meaning behind it. We gave the song title being in blood to our artist and he came up with the idea and although after seeing the pencil sketch some of the band members were a bit concerned about the idea but once we saw the final painting we knew immediately it was a perfect cover for this release.
You all used Kickstarter to help fund this album. Tell us about that experience. How different is creating an album supported financially by fans different than albums funded otherwise, or is there any difference?
There was no difference in the approach to song writing but the excitement level was definitely up a few notches knowing that our fans helped fund and support this album and we did everything possible to make it the best recording and released we could to make sure the KS backers Obituary fans around the world would be proud of how and what we did. Times are changing right in front of all of us and this is just a testament to what the future could hold.
You haven’t released a new album or EP since 2009, so why release a new one now?
Why Not?
Brief and eloquent! What has changed since the beginning of the band?
Hair lines. (laughs)
Per Wikipedia, members of Obituary are not all about the music, but are involved with other projects. Tell us about Unation. You’ve been working on that for a couple of years now. What it is, how does it work, and why should I use it?
Unation is a website that had some ideas but never was able to get off the ground.
It also states that you started a Cat Sanctuary organization called Metal Meowlisha? I’m more of a dog person myself, but the concept of a sanctuary for any animal is a vision I can stand behind. Tell us about that project and why you decided to travel down the path of protecting cats.
The homeless cat population in Florida is a real problem because there is no winter time to stop the breeding process so they breed year round. I was tired of seeing homeless cats behind all the houses, apartments, restaurants and tired of seeing kittens be born outside having to fend for themselves so I decided to do something about it in my neighborhood and community. My girlfriend and I educated ourselves and learned of the (TNVR) “trap-neuter-vaccinate-return” program with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. And we started getting involved. First started with just my backyard and around my neighborhood. We saw what a positive impact we made And started getting more involved. We now care for 25 colonies (200 cats) and constantly monitor them, looking for any newcomers and making sure they get TNVR’d as well. We love them all so much that we provide them with food and fresh water daily before the sun goes down. This is something I’m very passionate about because I see the difference I made simply taking care of my neighborhood and I hope that people that read this will help in anyway they possibly can for their community as well and to make sure the next time they are going to get a pet they go to a local shelter and adopt an animal in need of a home.
You all are about to embark on a tour to support this latest album. Where are you all really excited to play at?
Nicaragua and India only because we have never been. Yet!!
What can we expect from Obituary in the future?
The future is very bright for Obituary and Obituary fans. We are extremely excited about this new album and are looking forward to the world tour that brings us to every corner of this planet so metalheads can feel the Florida death metal.
Thank you for the interview!
