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Obituary
Background information
Origin	Tampa, Florida, USA
Genre(s)	Death metal
Years active	1985 – 1997 2003 – present
Label(s)	Roadrunner Records Candlelight Records
Website	obituary.cc
Members
John Tardy Ralph Santolla Trevor Peres Frank Watkins Donald Tardy
Former members
James Murphy Daniel Tucker Allen West

Obituary are one of the pioneering bands of the death metal genre. The band hailed from Tampa, Florida, founded as Xecutioner in 1985. Shortly before the release of their debut album, they changed their name to Obituary. They still remain an influential band of the Florida death metal movement that arose in the late 1980s. Their 1990 release Cause of Death has been hailed as a seminal album in the genre, and vocalist John Tardy is recognized as one of the first vocalists to use an abnormally low growl (compared to the screechy growls used by predecessors Death and Possessed)^{[citation needed]}. Obituary are listed by Nielsen Soundscan as the fifth best-selling death metal band of all time and their albums have sold 368,184 copies.^[1] Their 1992 release The End Complete has also more than 103,378 copies in the United States alone.^[1].

After, 1997's unnimpressive Back from the Dead album, Obituary's huge fanbase began to desert them which led to the band disbanding in 1997. During the hiatus, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.'s touring band (during W.K.'s appearance on Saturday Night Live Tardy wore an Obituary shirt). Allen West focused on his two projects, Lowbrow and Six Feet Under while not playing in Obituary. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001. The band reformed in 2003 and Catastrophic continued to exist alongside the reformed Obituary. Catastrophic released one album, The Cleansing, in 2001. Obituary's reunion album, Frozen in Time, was released in 2005. The band's first live DVD, Frozen Alive, was released in January of 2007.

Obituary are currently signed with Candlelight Records for their seventh album Xecutioner's Return, which was released on August 28, 2007.

Obituary's guitarist, Allen West, has been incarcerated for DUI (driving under influence), his release is set for February 2008. Ralph Santolla has been announced as a fill in for West while he is in unable to record and tour.^[2]

Contents 1 Line-up 1.1 Former members 2 Discography 2.1 Studio Albums 2.2 EPs And Singles 2.3 Compilations 2.4 Live Albums 2.5 DVDs 3 References 4 External links

• John Tardy - Vocals (1985-1997, 2003-present)
• Ralph Santolla - Lead Guitar (2007-present)
• Trevor Peres - Rhythm guitar (1985-1997, 2003-present)
• Frank Watkins - Bass (1989-1997, 2003-present)
• Donald Tardy - Drums (see also Andrew W.K.) (1985-1997, 2003-present)

• Allen West - Lead guitar (see also Six Feet Under) (1985-1989, 1992-1997, 2003-2006)
• James Murphy - Lead guitar (1990-1992) (see also Death, Disincarnate, Cancer, Testament)
• Daniel Tucker - Bass (1988-1989)
• Peter Klavinger - Lead guitar (1999 show)
• Jack Owen - Lead Guitar (one live show 2007)

• Slowly We Rot (1989)
• Cause of Death (1990)
• The End Complete (1992)
• World Demise (1994)
• Back from the Dead (1997)
• Frozen in Time (2005)
• Xecutioner's Return (2007)

• Don't Care (1994)

• Anthology (2001)

• Dead (1998)

• Frozen Alive (2006)

• Obituary at MySpace
• Obituary page at Roadrunner Records

v • d • e Obituary
John Tardy | Ralph Santolla | Trevor Peres | Frank Watkins | Donald Tardy
Former members: Allen West | James Murphy | Daniel Tucker
Discography
Studio albums: Slowly We Rot (1989) | Cause of Death (1990) | The End Complete (1992) | World Demise (1994) | Back from the Dead (1997) | Frozen in Time (2005) | Xecutioner's Return (2007)
Live albums: Dead (1998) | Frozen Alive (2006)
Other releases: Don't Care (1994) | Anthology (2001)
Related articles
Catastrophic | Death | Lowbrow | Six Feet Under | Death metal