Obituary - The End Complete

Obituary could've just called this album 'The End' as that's pretty much what it was, for them. I know a big deal is made about how many copies of this album that were sold but has it ever occurred to anyone that majority of the folks who initially vamped this album, did so on the strength of the two albums before it? Had anyone coveted an inclination of just how lame this album was to going be, I'm sure that the head count would have been significantly lower. Sure, there are plenty of unenlightened idiots out there that somehow believe that this is a high point in the band's career, but I have learned the hard way through the years that the majority of human denizens that swarm about the planet are total fucking retards, helmet clad and otherwise.

The very first note is promising enough and, I have to say, it isn't until the second song that you begin to wonder to yourself "does this suck, or am I just bugging out?", well, I've come to realize that if you have to sit there and question yourself whether or not something is good, chances are, it is not.

The main problem is that most of the riffs are just flat out fucking boring. There is no shocking abandonment of their death metal roots as the rapping and jungle booty samples were still a few years away. No, this just sounded tired and uninspired. El-fucking-lame-o in extremis. But how could that be? Up until that point Obituary had released not one, but two DEVASTATING slabs of death metal, and I'm not fucking around when I say d-e-v-a-s-t-a-t-i-n-g!! What went wrong?? Two words: Allen fucking West. Anyone who doubts this can go listen to the first two Six Feet Under albums as a reference point as he was the sole guitarist and riff writer for each of those records. I understand that little Allen West was Obituary's buddy and original lead guitarist but boy oh boy did they royally fuck things up in welcoming him back into the fold as it has been a long and downward spiral since.

I remember a big deal being made about the fact that vocalist John Tardy was actually singing lyrics this time around. I honestly didn't give a fuck either way as I figured his voice was so sick, he could do no wrong, which, surprisingly enough, has pretty much been the case throughout the years, despite the fact that the music that he's sung over has been consistently worthless. If anything, I felt that a fraction of his "mystique" had been forever wiped away as a result of his increasing prominence on each album. Nevertheless, he has remained just as powerful, vocally, as he had so many years ago.

Donald Tardy's drumming on here is typically amazing. Like Nicke of Entombed, Donald was one of those guys that could do a whole lot without mindlessly blasting through each and every song.

This is surely not the worst album the band has released as they have had some bonafide stinkers throughout the years, but it is also a bittersweet reminder whenever I listen to this album, that it was indeed "the end" after all as they have consistently proven with each album since, their incapability of truly grasping the power of old.