Obituary at Garret Udagawa, January 10th 2020

The first extreme metal show of the year was a special one because it showcased one of the pioneer bands of the genre. Still going strong, Obituary was at the forefront of the Florida death metal movement along with bands like Morbid Angel, Death and Deicide. This specific show was the first one of a tour celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of their landmark sophomore album Cause of Death. The tour will take them to Osaka, New Zealand and several cities around Australia.

It took place at a venue that I think just reopened maybe a couple of months ago, Garret Udagawa. I got there barely on time for the opener because I kind of got lost and ended up at a different place instead. Luckily I made it to the sold out venue and stood in the back for World End Man’s set. It was my second time seeing them, the first one being as openers of the Suffocation show last year. As at that time they were solid and fun to watch. Their brand of groovy death metal was definitely a better match this time around. They even acknowledged the headliners as their senpai, sort of mentors in Japanese. 

Some spots opened up during the thirty minutes break and I ventured myself near the front. I got close enough to get a view of the whole stage. Garret Udagawa is the kind of tiny low ceiling venue in which the stage is almost at the audience level. Nonetheless I got myself a decent spot on the side as always, to avoid the moshpit madness. In this regard the efforts were in vain, because as soon as Obituary hit the stage the place went mad and the pit was -to a certain extent- relentless.

The hilarious Pat Travers’ song Snorting Whiskey (“snorting whiskey / drinking cocaine”) played through the venue’s PA as the band walked to the stage and went straight to their instrumental Redneck Stomp. Speaking of getting a crow pumped. At the end of that song the vocalist John Tardy joined them for three numbers of their most recent self-tiled album. For the most part the fist-pumping nature of these songs contrasted with the more somber mood of what was about to come. They also highlighted how underrated there most recent material is.

What was about to come was a full of rendition of the whole Cause of Death album. It was a trip to see those first three songs performed back to back: Infected, Body Bag and Chopped in Half. These songs are a strong argument against the idea that speed equals brutality. Their slower tempo build up an energy that is relentless and cathartic. I worried about Tardy vocals now compared to the recording from thirty years ago, but they were definitely up to the task.

As in the record, the cover of Celtic Frost’s Circle of the Tyrants followed. And then my personal favorite Dying. Tardy took a break during the long instrumental introduction while his brother Don on drums, founding member Trevor Peres on guitar, Terry Butler on bass and Kenny Andrews on lead guitar shredded like it’s supposed to be done. The live rendition of this tune didn’t disappoint at all. John’s entrance (“we’re dying / for our souls to burn!”) sounded as bloodcurdling as it does in the record. At the end the transition to Find the Arise and its vocal introduction was flawless. After playing the title track and Memories Remain, they finished the main set with the awesome closer Turned Inside Out.

I’m not a big fan of how in Japan it seems like not applauding is a sign of coolness or something, but it is what it is. This cultural aspect made it seem as if some people in the audience didn’t care. I’m glad the band didn’t take it that way, that was definitely not the case, I’d say that everyone was aware that we witnessed an amazing show. But I got to admit that I was worry for a minute that we might end up not getting an encore. They eventually came back and, as expected, delivered. First with a song from their third album I’m in Pain. Then with a single released last year A Dying World. They closed with the classic title track from their first album, Slowly We Rot. The pit went wild as some staff member was trying to get the crowd surfers away from the stage. The show lasted about ninety minutes and it was a master class of prime old school death metal.
  
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