Obituary’s second album, Cause of Death, confirmed in 1990 the Florida band’s standing among the great names of death metal. More accomplished than its debut, it fuses crushing heaviness, morbid groove and an atmosphere of decay that would become the group’s signature. A record that reeks of death, in the best sense, and that firmly establishes the band’s identity.
Heaviness above all
Where others bet on pure speed, Obituary favors weight and tension. The tempos often slow to let massive, menace-soaked riffs breathe. That approach gives the record a peculiar, almost suffocating color, where each song seems to crawl rather than run.
Recorded at Morrisound Studios with Scott Burns, the album benefits from a thick, organic sound perfectly suited to this aesthetic of putrefaction. The production pushes the bass and the low guitars forward, reinforcing the sense of a sonic mass advancing inexorably, like a steamroller.
James Murphy, the melodic touch
The arrival of lead guitarist James Murphy brings a new dimension. His solos, melodic and expressive, contrast with the surrounding brutality and enrich the compositions considerably, adding an unexpected color to so dark a world.
He lights up tracks like Chopped in Half and the title cut, without ever betraying the band’s spirit. Where the rhythm section digs a dark tunnel, his interventions bring an unexpected glimmer, a breath that keeps the whole from sinking into monotony and gives the record an added depth.
John Tardy’s inimitable voice
John Tardy delivers a unique vocal performance: twisted gutturals, often stripped of articulated words, that work as an instrument of terror in their own right. His voice embodies pain and rot better than any lyric ever could.
The band also covers Celtic Frost’s Circle of the Tyrants, a tribute that reveals its roots and a nod to the pioneers who cleared the path. That cover fits perfectly into the album’s world, as if it had always been part of Obituary’s repertoire, so completely does the band make it its own.
Cause of Death is often named as Obituary’s peak, and the case holds. It captures the band at its creative apex, where heaviness, atmosphere and melody finally meet. A death metal classic, as sickening as it is irresistible, that has lost none of its smothering force.
