Patrick Stott | Rolleston, Canterbury, New Zealand | 07/29/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Obituary were victims of their own success. With the stunning combination of a legendary debut, a follow up album which many rate better than the first, and a third album which was the highest selling Death Metal album of all time, it was bound to come a little unstuck on the fourth album.There is nothing obviously wrong with 'World Demise'. It takes the raw brutality of 'Slowly We Rot', the Celtic Frost worship of 'Cause Of Death', and the clinical precision of 'The End Complete' to a new level. Everything Obituary made their name with is here - thunderous guitars, assault and battery of the drum kit and of course Donald Tardy's trademark vomitory death grunt.Obituary developed a very tight sound, which first became evident on 'The End Complete', and became fully operational here. A lot of the fuzzier, less distinct parts of Trevor Peres' rhythm guitar were sharpened up. Some of the charm of early Obituary was the fact it was recorded primitively, giving it a warm "feel". Crisper production, and improvements in playing technique took a lot of that feel and character away from the band's sound. In its place is a more precise, colder, almost robotic feel, more synthetic than natural. Everything seems exact, deliberate, planned, and faultless. Many former fans were put off.What better than a mechanical sound for decrying pollution and industrialisation though? Opener "Don't Care" and "Solid State" particularly demand instant respect for exacting execution. Like an automated Orwellian nightmare, they stamp on your conscious mind remorselessly. Escaping the nightmare, "Final Thoughts" explores the last flickers of neurons through the brain before you pull the trigger.Death Metal can be a very restrictive genre to work within. A lot of fans expect things to be exactly right, with little room for deviation. Obituary tried something a little different here. There are vocal samples mumbling away under a lot of the tracks. Who knows what they are saying, but the almost subliminal effect on the sound is engaging. Also, on final track "Kill For Me", there are African tribal percussion samples. The loop adds an interesting percussive effect. It is unfortunate the band did not explore this avenue further.Time hasn't been terribly kind to this album. The first three are fondly remembered by most fans, but not this for some reason. It is really a continuation of 'The End Complete'. Perhaps it is because Death Metal had progressed and caught up with where Obituary had been five years earlier."
Excellent Death groove album
L. Bazan | Brownsville, Tx USA | 06/21/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You wouldn't believe how suprised I was to see "World Demise" and "The End Complete" together on one disk for only 15 dollars.What a steal this was and how amazed I was when I heard World Demise. This is an excellent Death metal cd that grooves hard but crunches heavy.I love the brutality of this album, the singer screams his ass off and the guitar work is simple yet fits right in with their style of music. The lead work is great and they prove they ar worthy of their spot in the metal world along with bands like Cannibal Corpse, Death,and Morbid Angel.Five stars for anyone who likes metal that grooves yet kicks serious ass. Their best album"
((_World Demise_))
Mono-Grind | Here | 02/27/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Obituary are a classic Death Metal band. Combining slow death metal riffs, and inhuman vocals. All of these songs are just so perfect. It's hard to fault them.
The album starts off with the awesome groove of "Don't Care". They have a video for this song too, which goes together with the World Demise kind of reality..Because they're playing in a field with dull factories in the background, and black smoke in the air. I especially like John Tardy's vocals on this song too.
The second song, "World Demise" is a little faster. But still has a certain 'groove' to it. (Not sure if groove is the right word here, but i hope you know what i mean..) "Burned In", the 3rd song, is definitely one of my favourite Obituary songs. It just has a powerful riff to it, and is hard to explain. Basically, like i said..I can't fault any of these songs as they're all great.
The bonus songs here on this CD are, Killing Victims Found*, Infected* (Live), Godly Beings* (Live) and Body Bag* (Live)..To hear them Live is great too. I hope someday they come out with an Obituary DvD. I'm sure all Obituary fans are hanging out for that. ..The song, Killing Victims Found, just destroys too, by the way.
Honestly, if you are into Death Metal even a little bit..check this band, and this album, out. I doubt after listening to this, that you could fault it either. It's a classic Death Metal album that, i think, doesn't get enough recognition. It's definitely in my Top 10 Death Metal albums, that I own.
Easily 5/5."
Their best work....
Mono-Grind | 07/08/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Obituary come of age here with this MASSIVE, terrifingly brutal slab of death metal. Having hit previous high notes with "The End Complete" and the classic "Cause of Death", on "World Demise", they find the perfect combination of in your face death, a crushingly heavy production, John Tardy's demonically brutal death metal "voice" and social/political lyrics that hit with force and anger (when they are coherent,of course!). "Don't Care" kicks off the disc with brutal simplicity; no double bass drumming, a thick, solid rhythm section and simple, catchy 3 chord progressions that comes together perfectly. The title track, the vicious "Solid State" and the shockingly original "Kill For Me", with its' samples of tribal music, makes this one of the tops death metal releases ever. Spinkled amoungst all the aural carnage, you'll even find a slight industrial overtone, with samples and loops heard all over the songs, to give them that "wall of noise" feel/sound. As a matter of fact, all the songs here are of worthy mention as outstanding tracks. An angry, accusitory attack on humanity and it's lack thereof, this also proves that death metal bands are of high caliber and are genuinely concerned with enviornmental issues/social problems. Obituary have captured man's apparent apathy and general disregard for themselves and other creatures with a sonic detonation so loud, people have to stop to hear this. A brutal excursion into the world of death metal, polished and driven with the force of a sledgehammer. 4 and a half stars."
SOLID METAL
kyle sanders | TAMPA,FL USA | 07/01/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Obitaury is a solid band with killer guitars,thundering drums and
some good bridges to go along with it all.I'm not to sure if Obituary is still rockin I think they re-unite for a show.I
really get into this band they show alot of talent especially on
this one.GO GET IT."