It was hard for Obituary to release another top album after the uncontrollable fury united to the twisted atmospheres of one of the most representative and astonishing albums in death metal and not only; we are talking about Cause Of Death obviously. It was hard and even if they partially failed, this new The End Complete is a fucking good album. It’s quite different anyway from the predecessor in terms of production and atmosphere most of all, but not so if we are talking about the music: it’s always Obituary style death metal, plus in their finest hour!
If in Cause Of Death the main atmosphere was for the intros to the songs, here is from the guitars only. Let me explain: the morbidity in Cause Of Death was also thanks to the inhuman, rotten riffs by the guitars obviously, but in this new effort they lost completely those intros to focus the attention on the sheer guitars heaviness. Their sound here reached the top for malevolence, filthiness with that muddy distortion that made Obituary so famous. Already from a sick opener like “I’m In Pain” we have no doubt about how the CD will be from here ‘till the end.
The atmosphere is murky, rotten and the tempos are really suffocating. Some parts show already some more groovy tempos that would have been lately developed in the following World Demise. The up tempo parts are perfectly balanced with more technical and intricate sections with plenty of doom, rotten riffs. The drumming is perfect and violent enough with that unmistakable way of playing by Tardy. The sound of his drums is clear cut and really essential. In “Back To One” his brother at the vocals is a real animal. He’s the best singer in death metal in this period along with Frank from Suffocation, in my opinion.
Generally, the tempos are a bit less impulsive than in Cause of Death but far more mature without losing anything in terms of brutality and sickness. The guitars draw scenarios of pure gloom with always that stench of rotten carcass inside them. The lead guitar parts by Allen West are perfect for the Obituary sound and even if I did not dislike Santolla in Xecutioner’s Return, I must admit (I’ve always though this) that Allen is the man. He’s perfect for this muddy atmosphere. “Dead Silence”, “In The End Of Life” and “Back To One” alternate fast up tempos to more mid paced parts.
“Sickness” is mostly very fast, while the following “Corrosive” features stomp tempos to “relax” a bit under tons of murky riffs from the cemetery. The same thing could be said for the “Killing Time” song that anyway, doesn’t dislike faster sections in the middle. The title track never amused me so much, maybe for the “melody” on the verse or I don’t know, but it’s sure that the last “Rotting Ways” is one of the most twisted thing that the rednecks ever put out.
At the end, if you’re searching for decay, stench of decomposition and murky riffs, check this out and it won’t disappoint you. It’s another great release by the masters of death metal even if it comes directly after a masterpiece. Recommended!