Obituary - Slowly We Rot (1989)

Critics argued that the death metal genre had always been limited with most bands displaying little intelligence, churning out ghoulish, hyper-fast music and generally having vocalists who spewed out some kind of incomprehensible vomit. However, they'd be wrong, because as Obituary showed on their sickening debut, death metal was more than just pure speed. John Tardy set the tone for extreme vocals, sounding like a possessed man having swallowed a handful of razor-blades, not only that but backed with a set of chainsaw guitars, fuzzed trigger drums and fierce bass assaults.
The death metal exploded into the metal arena via greats such as Death and Possessed but during the late '90s Florida spewed out hundreds of bands all seeking to perfect the 'Morrisound' feel created by Scott Burns. Unfortunately, there were many bands who began to sound the same, the scene becoming saturated, and so us metal fans sought originality elsewhere, looking to Europe and back to the old school records, but in Obituary we certainly had a band without rival. Many bands either wimped out, became very complex, or were at times just a blur of sound but Obituary were all of these things and more, very guttural, 'Slowly We Rot', encased within its almost crude cover art is a monstrous record straight from the sewers.
Whilst John Tardy gurgled through all manner of growls, most of which were not understandable, it was the sheer weight of sound and actual groove which made Obituary what they were.
Unfortunately, like most great debut albums, they are one-offs and after this record the band seemed to become more and more structured and melodic, but if there's one death metal album you need to own, it's this.
8.5/10