As we often say—and keep saying—Death Metal has changed drastically. Forget the new generation of bands, even the old ones have slowly started to deteriorate or transform. Pestilence, at one point Gorefest and Carcass, Dismember, and a few others I can't recall right now have unfortunately contributed to the decline of old school death metal rather than preserving its honor. But one of the old guards, Obituary, even though they sometimes repeat themselves and get boring, has always managed to remain raw and true to old school death metal—they never compromised. This review is about Darkest Day, the 2009 release by Obituary, who I believe are the greatest death metal band after Death itself.
Darkest Day was an album met with some prejudice after the dull Xecutioner's Return from 2007. To me, although it's certainly not another Slowly We Rot or Cause of Death, it’s a much stronger record than Xecutioner’s Return.
Tracklist:
List of Dead
Blood to Give
Lost
Outside My Head
Payback
Your Darkest Day
This Life
See Me Now
Fields of Pain
Violent Dreams
Truth Be Told
Forces Realign
Left to Die
The album opens with "List of Dead", which begins with ominous tak-tak-tak hits reminiscent of Von’s inferno. And thus, the dark days begin—with thundering bass and a solo leading us into the slightly softened vocals of the great John Tardy. Followed by "Blood to Give", these first two tracks carry a distinct new school vibe, heavily influenced by new guitarist Ralph Santolla. A peculiar figure, Santolla has played in both the chaotic Deicide and the more structured Iced Earth—and he brings Iced Earth’s melodic elements into Obituary.
Though the album starts off somewhat melodically and modern, the darkness gradually thickens with "Lost". Opening with another melodic solo, the song soon gives way to the Obituary we’ve been longing for—John pleading, Donald pounding, Trevor and Ralph darkening the skies. Donald's signature off-tempo, heavy drumming—just like 20 years ago—once again pierces deep. One of this album's notable qualities is that it actually has lyrics. In earlier Obituary records, the vocals were more like grunts, growls, and roars with very few actual words. That still holds to some extent here, but this time the lyrics are more substantial. Personally, despite being a language student, I can never understand Obituary lyrics without reading them—because John Tardy doesn’t exactly sing them. I usually find them online or in the booklet if I own the album. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my hands on this one, nor did I find full lyrics online, so my commentary on that front is limited. But it’s safe to assume the usual death, violence, and cause-effect themes are still present.
"Outside My Head" is a classic Obituary track. It builds tension slowly—riffs and drums creeping in ominously. It makes my arms go numb as I listen, the kind of physical anticipation you get when you just want to burst out of your seat and wreck something. This track deserves a spot in any future Obituary best-of compilation.
"Payback" is the track where John truly awakens. After mumbling his way through the first four songs, he finally opens his eyes to the darkness and begins to plead, growl, and roar with fury. It takes me back to the Slowly We Rot days. As I mentioned before, the album begins with the thought, “Is this going to be another letdown?”—but as the days progress, we travel back in time, to years long past. From what I can gather, Payback tells a tale of retribution—"what goes around comes around".
Next comes "Your Darkest Day", and Donald enters with thunderous "boom, boom, boom" beats, Trevor and Ralph unleash shrieking guitars, and the day slowly turns pitch-black. A deep growl rises from the void and evolves into a roar. The song maintains a slow tempo and almost no rhythm in the first half—but when the darkness is complete, Obituary reveals the full power and glory of Death Metal, aided by bassist Frank Watkins, who I’ve yet to mention. Frank deserves credit—his bass playing forced me to turn down the bass on my sound system. (!) This track is easily one of the album’s best.
"This Life" contrasts with Your Darkest Day by being faster and leaning heavily into thrash metal. Tardy’s raspy, strong—yet strangely thinner—vocals continue, possibly a result of modern production. It’s a song that pays homage to old classics: few lyrics, killer drums, searing guitars, anguished howls. At 2:07, there’s a drum fill followed by a solo that kills. This Life is the album’s greatest weapon. Absolutely worship-worthy.
With Your Darkest Day, the album had balanced out, leaning toward slower tempos. But from that point on, the pace and fury intensify—because the world is now completely dark and utterly destroyed. See Me Now and Fields of Pain are murder tracks—free of melody and fully immersed in filthy old school death metal, completely different from the album’s opener. Violent Dreams is the fastest song here, giving a nod to early grindcore. It’s the album’s most savage, most crushing, most violent piece.
As we approach the end, "Truth Be Told" arrives and gives a masterclass on how to close an album. "Forces Realign" adds support, and finally, with the six-minute-long "Left to Die", everything is swallowed by darkness—and in that darkness, we are "left to die" and exit this world.
Overall, my take is this: if you removed the first 3 or 4 tracks and kept it a tight 8–9 song record, Darkest Day could’ve been one of the top 3–5 Obituary albums. I don’t know how they managed to make an album with such extremes, but I’m glad they didn’t alternate good and bad songs—because that would have been a mess. The first few songs aren’t bad, just not up to Obituary’s legendary standards. Once again, the masters show us how Death Metal is played, written, and how it's meant to be screamed. Hails to Tampa.