UMUR "Inked in Blood" is the 9th full-length studio album by US, Florida based death metal act Obituary. The album was released through Gibtown Music/Relapse Records in October 2014. It´s been 5 years since the release of "Darkest Day (2009)", and there have been a couple of lineup changes since as guitarist Ralph Santolla has been replaced by Kenny Andrews and longtime bassist Frank Watkins has been replaced by Terry Butler (Death, Massacre, Six Feet Under). "Inked in Blood" is available in a regular 12 track, 49:04 minutes long version, and in a deluxe edition featuring 2 bonus tracks.

Stylistically there can be 5 or 10 years between Obituary releasing a new album, it´s always going to sound unmistakably like them. That´s certainly the case with "Inked in Blood" too, which features classic Obituary virtues in gory lyrics/cover artwork, ultra heavy yet groove laden downtuned riffs, the occasional screaming whammy bar solo, heavy rhythms (and occasionally faster ones), and John Tardy´s signature brutal growling vocals in front. There´s very little new here (which is probably great news to most fans of the band) besides John Tardy singing a clean vocal line in the opening minute of "Back on Top", but considering the usual musical conservatism of Obituary, that actually is what I´d characterize as a jaw dropping moment.

The material on the album are generally of high quality and to my ears "Inked in Blood" is one of the more varied and memorable Obituary releases. Some of the standout tracks are "Centuries of Lies", "Visions in My Head", "Deny You" and "Minds of the World". The sound production is overall of high quality. It´s powerful, raw, and brutal although the triggered bass drum sound could have prospered from a more organic tone. So upon conclusion "Inked in Blood" is yet another quality release by one of the legends of the genre and a 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Time Signature Violence...

Genre: death metal

After a five-year gap, the death metal veterans in Obituary released their ninth full-length album "Inked in Blood". I've seen some reviews criticizing Obituary for having stagnated on this album, while others praise them for sticking to their guns.

The thing is, there are bands that we expect to reinvent themselves with every release, like Cynic, but there are also bands that we do not expect to reinvent themselves with each new album - bands that we don't want to change - like AC/DC and, indeed, Obituary. These are bands whose strength is that they can consistently deliver strong material without resorting to radical style changes.

Obviously, I belong to the group of people who praise Obituary for consistency. This album sounds like an Obituary album to the point that the band uses the same formula of opening the album with a fast song and then delivering heavier tracks with a couple of fast ones every now and then. As one can only expect, the music on this album is primitive death metal with faster tracks taking on a bit of a thrashy feel, while the heavier tracks are crushing and devastating. So, yeah, this sounds like Obituary always sounds, and I wouldn't have it any other way. That said, the guitar solos strike me as being a bit more melodic and a tad more technical than usual, which is about as innovative as this album gets. That's fine. Innovation in smaller doses is the Obituary way.

Production-wise, I think the album sounds a bit thin, and with less bottom than I would usually expect from Obituary, but this is nothing that detracts from the listening experience.

Recommended to fans of Obituary. If you want innovation from Obituary, then you are not a fan of Obituary. :-P