Obituary - Inked in Blood
Relapse Records
Death Metal
12 songs (49'04'')
Release year: 2014
Obituary, Relapse Records
Reviewed by Jared
Major event

Obituary is band that needs no introduction as most in the metal world will come to agree. One of the earliest bands often labeled as one of the pioneers of death metal, they have given us classics such as Slowly We Rot and Cause of Death, probably their best to date. It’s hard to believe it’s been a five year wait since their last album Darkest Day, but Obituary is back and ready to deliver a violent slab of metal.

The last experience I can remember fondly of delving into some Obituary was after their long absence and return with Frozen in Time. As much as I wanted to love that record, it came off as a bit tiresome and had a hard time remaining prevalent for any future listening. Obituary has always been pretty consistent in terms of their sound, such as guitar tone, but Inked in Blood is still far as being a classic such as their debut Slowly We Rot. Nonetheless though the newest album is still some solid sounding Obituary with some shining moments.

Centuries of Lies begins with some familiar sounding death metal riffing. It’s a two minute quick and simple run of some heavy death metal to open things up. A more hardened song Violent by Nature emerges with a great and extremely hefty sound that will indeed cause some neck destroying. Visions in my Head is another weighty track with big riffing and some great double bass to boot, but the ending which incorporates some cleaner sounding guitars to give it a more eerie and dark feel was a nice touch. The first solo truly emerges here, and a killer job it does at delivering amongst the madness.

Following later, Back on Top, gets a craftier with guitars, with a bit more leads to mix it up from the same repetitive heavy riff patterns. The album remains pretty consistent throughout, chugging along with some very heavy tracks, such as Deny You and Within a Dying Breed, which will be having some people violently nodding their head to their fierce nature.

All in all, Inked in Blood is a solid release from Obituary. Although some of it may come off as a bit of recycled material, the band has delivered a fun and enjoyable record from start to finish. Their earliest work may still be the band’s best to this day in my opinion, but Inked in Blood is a fitting companion to their discography.

Killing Songs :
Violent by Nature, Visions in my Head, Back on Top, Deny You, Within a Dying Breed
Jared quoted 79 / 100
Other albums by Obituary that we have reviewed:
Obituary - Dying of Everything reviewed by Goat and quoted 70 / 100
Obituary - Obituary reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Obituary - Slowly We Rot reviewed by Charles and quoted CLASSIC
Obituary - The End Complete reviewed by Goat and quoted 86 / 100
Obituary - Darkest Day reviewed by James and quoted 85 / 100
To see all 10 reviews click here
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