Obituary - World Demise (1994)

Out of the two post-golden era Obie LP's that saw the band beginning their long creative decline, I have to say that 'World Demise' is the better of the two and pretty much the best album the band has released since 'Cause of Death' (though make NO mistake about it, WD is absolutely no-fucking-where near the same level as 'Cause of Death' or 'Slowly we Rot'. Nowhere). In fact, I actually find myself listening to this album quite often (with the mandatory skip over 'Don't Care').

The guitar tone here is "sort of" a step or two back towards that which was found on 'Cause of Death'. The band inevitably comes up short but it is still thicker than the dry tones of 'The End Complete'. The riffing is also a bit more colossal than those of TEC, giving World Demise a broader feel similar to 'Cause of Death'. In a weird way, 'World Demise' could be interpreted as being a somewhat "darker" album (exluding, of course, the abominable 'Don't Care') than anything previously released by the band. Sure, there's a greater emphasis on groovier rhythmic fluctuations than ever before and there's even faint shades of industrial metal diligently sprinkled throughout (undoubtedly bled over from Trevor and Donald's involvement in Meathook Seed) but WD is carries with it a sense of foreboding that I'd have to argue is a wee bit more prominent than their first two releases. This doesn't mean that I like this album better than those, but I do have a fondness for WD that goes beyond mere nostalgia.

There's a couple of elements that are sure to get the whiners whining such as the groovy beat at the beginning of 'Redefine' or the tribal incorporation of 'Kill for Me', both of which I dig and always felt to be rather clever intermissions amidst the overall sludge and grime that permeates the majority of the album. 

The one, almost fatal flaw of this album is the gratuitous inclusion of 'Don't Care'. The song absolutely fucking sucks musty balls and the fact that they erroneously placed it as the album opener is an almost guaranteed turnoff to anyone seeking to give this album a shot. The song makes The End Complete sound like a masterpiece by comparison and really has no place among the other tracks that comprise WD. I mean, what the fuck? It was already released as an 'ep' beforehand. Oh well...

Again, this is pretty much the last gasp of creativity for the band, here. I personally don't think that 'Frozen in Time' was that bad of an album, though it was about as exciting as The End Complete, which aint sayin' much, but aside from that one, brief interlude, Obie's career has pretty much been at a stagnant standstill since and I'm fairly convinced that the boys are so out of touch with it all that you can forget a "return" to the band's glory days.

Overall, 'World Demise' is a damn fine album that I will gladly stand up for. No, it's not 'Slowly we Rot' or 'Cause of Death', but that's ok with me.