World Demise

Death metal practitioners Obituary take their detuned sludge riffing to its crushing apogee on their fourth full-length release, World Demise. With a lineup that includes John Tardy on vocals, guitarists Allen West (lead) and Trevor Peres (rhythm), Donald Tardy on drums, and bassist Frank Watkins, the group continued to tighten and intensify their death meets doom metal sound. While Obituary tended toward a slower approach when compared to fellow Florida death metal outfits like Death and Morbid Angel, Tardy shows off some tasty double bass playing in fevered spurts. The drumming is formidable, indeed, but West and Peres' incessant riffing is Obituary's main attraction. The two guitarists distribute their low-slung grooves nicely inside Tardy's hard-fought pocket with an oppressive singularity. Highlight cuts include the energetic opener "Don't Care" and the slow pounding "Splattered" and "Final Thoughts." Listeners unfamiliar with the genre might not withstand the one-note sonic texture and extreme vocals, but open-minded metal fans with a taste for doom grooves and hoarse vocal growls should enjoy the persistent, well-executed riffage of World Demise.