RAGINPIT MAGAZINE

They're back. No, not Poltergeist, but Obituary. This quintet from Tampa, Florida, is back with a new release entitled Frozen In Time as well as an upcoming European Tour in January.

Since 1989, this group has persevered and have stayed true to what they believe in and have since maintained a true following in the metal world. I give much props to this band because they didn’t follow any sort of trend, but rather stuck to what they know how to do - provide earsplitting, head banging metal that defined a genre. I recently spoke with John Tardy, lead singer of Obituary, to ask him what’s been going down.

What is Obituary's inspiration and meaning for your newest release Frozen in Time and what is the meaning behind the artwork?

John: Let's not get too deep! We just did what we do and that is play what we want to hear. Every album seems to get labeled in some way, but to us, we just try to be as heavy as we can. We really don't try to do it, it is just something that comes to life, but keeping that Obituary sound is what we like to hear.

Donald and I had an idea for the new artwork and Andreas just took our idea and made it much better, but also set it in a frozen scene. We were originally thinking about self-titling the CD, but after seeing his artwork and with the fact that I say "frozen in time" in the song "On The Floor" - it just all seemed to fit together!

Do you guys have a preference for where you perform, like the U.S. or Europe? What are your thoughts on the U.S. audiences verses the European audiences?

John: Seems to me our fans are the same all over the world. Some places have bigger crowds, some make more noise and some go a little more insane, but at the end of the day we are all the same. Some of the European festivals are a lot of fun because the crowds are so big and you get to play with some really big and awesome bands, but sometimes playing a smaller place somewhere in the U.S. is something special. In either case the travel is what sucks the most, but that is just what you have to do.

What is something that you want to improve on creatively, vocally, personally? In your opinion, what are Obituary's strengths and weaknesses?

John: I really don't think much about that kind of stuff. What is important to us is having a good time. If we are having fun with what we are doing, then our music will show it. If you are trying to think too much and have other motives behind your music, you wind up not sounding like yourself. With Obituary, it is not like any of us are that great individually (with maybe DT being the exception... don't tell him I said that), but as a band it melts together into that special something that makes this band unique and original in what we do.

What bands do you listen to now and why? What other types of music, John, do you listen to besides metal that your fans would be surprised to hear about? I read somewhere that during the time Obituary was split that you were involved in a hip hop project, could you elaborate on that?

John: Can you fit more questions into one? [Laughter] I am a bit old-fashioned and tend to listen to all the old stuff. From Possessed to Skynard, Venom to Led Zeppelin. As soon as I write down a few, I think of several more, so it is hard for me to say. I really don't not like any one. I am not really a fan of some of the male singing groups or classical music, but I can still admire it I guess. Willie Nelson and Stevie Ray Vaughn are a couple of people I really admire though. I think the last album I got was the new Reverend Horton Heat.

I was asked by Necro to be part of his new CD. Trevor was already working with him and Jamie from Hatebreed was going to do the vocals. Turned out that for one reason or another, he couldn't do it, so they asked me. Necro is an old school metal head from "back in the day" and knows more about metal than I do, but he is into this hip hop thing and does it pretty good. I did have a good time and think it came out pretty good.

Going back in history a bit, I always thought that the first Meathook Seed album, Embedded (which featured Don Tardy on drums and Trevor Peres on vocals, along with Mitch Harris and Shane Embury of Napalm Death) was one of the few side project bands that came about in the early 90's that really stood on its own.

The second album did not involve members of Obituary and from the one track I've heard, it really veered away from sounding anything like metal. Is Meathook Seed still an active project and do Don and Trevor have any plans on being involved with creating music with them in the future and bringing it back to its heavier origins?

John: Not sure. We just did a tour with Napalm and I know those guys were talking about it, but not sure what will happen.

Though it's hard to decipher most of the lyrics from the song titles and album covers, it seems the earlier Obituary albums had more of a traditional death metal/horror/gore theme, while the later albums seemed to focus more and more on real life horrors; the gloomy outlook of the world. What were some of your lyrical inspirations for the new album?

John: Our drums/guitars sound is so heavy that with my voice, I just try not to contrast with what they are doing. Because everything else is so heavy, the lyrics must also contain "a less than happy" mood as not to contrast. I really can't sing about love and happiness without sounding strange, so the lyrics are more fictional type horror or just evil in nature.

Metal has evolved in many ways since Obituary first formed. Have you found that the younger metal fans are getting into the crushing death metal style of Obituary?

John: I think so. I always think that if I can get someone (anyone, even if they do not like metal) to come out and see our show, that they will like it. I think our songs have enough meat to a lot of the rhythms that you can really feel it, especially live!

I recently read an article about a DVD put out by a voice coach, Melissa Cross, called The Zen of Screaming that offers instruction and exercises for extreme vocalists so they don't blow out their voice. What do you think of this idea - is it any less "brutal" to take lessons on how to scream? How have you managed to preserve your unique death metal vocal style and do you find it harder to hit this vocal range with the passing of time?

John: I can't imagine that vocal lessons will hurt, but I am not sure how much they will help. I have been doing this a long time and I, so far, have been pretty lucky with my voice. No amount of tea or honey will help. Your vocal cords are just like the muscles in the rest of your body and it is important to strengthen them slowly, know your limits and rest them after use.

Is Obituary still based primarily out of Florida? Was the band affected by the extreme storms that blasted Florida and the rest of the South in 2005?

John: We are. Even though we were affected by several of the storms, where I live in Tampa, we got really lucky. Most of them went around us, leaving us with only the other bands to deal with, but there was one of the storms that caused some damage and left me without power for about 5 days.

What is Obituary's plan once you return stateside after your European tour? What have you got lined up for your fans in the U.S.?

John: We did shows up and down the East Coast and are now trying to set up shows on the West Coast and in the middle of the U.S. Canada and South America are shows we are also trying to get set up.

John, it was a pleasure talking to you and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys again soon. The Bay Area will be waiting for Obituary's arrival and when you guys do come here... let's throw back some beers!

John: Thank you for the support and I look forward to some cool ones when we get out West!

Contributing to this interview: Shoshanna Flach, Former Staff Writer, Raginpit Magazine

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