History

Obituary officially began under the Executioner moniker in 1984, playing thrash metal that was heavily inspired by Celtic Frost and Slayer.

In 1986, Executioner morphed into Xecutioner and released a couple of demos, which had the old school death metal sound of Obituary.

In 1988, Xecutioner changed their name to Obituary and under the direction of Roadrunner records (yes, the same label that now has *cough* Slipknot), the band released their debut album 'Slowly We Rot' in 1989. 'Slowly We Rot' was different from the other Florida death metal albums because it showcased a wider range of tempos.

The band continued to forge their sound on their next album, 'Cause of Death', which was released in 1990. Like the previous album, 'Cause of Death' was also hailed as a classic. 'Cause of Death' had the guitarist from Death's 'Spiritual Healing' (1990), James Murphy.

Two years later, Obituary, with Alan West back in the band, released 'The End Complete', which is one of the best selling death metal albums of all time. This third death metal classic cemented Obituary's place in the history books. The band's first EP, 'Don't Care' was cut off this album.

Though the core of Obituary's sound remained the same, their next album 'World Demise' (1994) was noticeably less crushing and more soft in some places. Though 'World Demise' didn't make as big an impact as their first 3 albums, it was accepted by the Obituary fanbase.

After a 3 year hiatus, the band released 'Back from the Dead', which is considered to be their worst album. The band split up soon after that album. Live album 'Dead', recorded on 'Back from the Dead' tour, was released in 1998.

In 2005, Obituary returned and released 'Frozen in Time'. The album was almost universally hailed as a great return, but some of the response was lukewarm. Obituary left Roadrunner after 'Frozen in Time' because of the bad promotion they received from the label. The Tardy brothers felt that they put Roadrunner on the map back in the day and Roadrunner should give them respect. 'Frozen in Time's live activities were released in 2006 as 'Frozen Alive' DVD, released by Metal Mind Productions.

Obituary signed to Candlelight and released 'Xecutioner's Return' (2007), which is their most controversial album yet. The response has been mixed, with many praising the album, but many calling it a disaster as well." Allen West was replaced by ex-Deicide axe-wielder Ralph Santolla.

In 2008, Obituary released new material on 'Left to Die' EP, which includes a couple of new songs from the band, the Celtic Frost cover ('Dethroned Emperor') and the re-recording of the song 'Slowly We Rot'.

(biography written by MegaHassan / AM, January 2009)
(discography incomplete)