Obituary
Wywiad przeprowadził Wouter Roemers
Florida death metal veterans are on the verge of recording the follow-up to their formidable 2005 come-back album "Frozen In Time". Prior to these sessions the band finalized their first ever live DVD "Frozen Alive", which captured the band on stage at Stodola Club in Warsaw, Poland. With the DVD being an incredible success for the band, we caught up with Obituary vocalist John Tardy to talk about the reception of the live DVD, the new material the band will soon put to tape and the importance of their fans, both new and old.
Hi John! Thanks for taking time out to talk to us. How are you doing at the moment?
I am doing great! It feels good to have the DVD done and out and we are looking forward to start recording the newest Obituary CD!
What is presently going on with the band? What new things are happening for Obituary right now?
The most important thing is we are done with the writing of the new CD and are preparing for the studio! It is hard to imagine, but once again this thing is as heavy as anything!!!
You recently released the "Frozen Alive" DVD in Europe through Metal Mind Productions. How have the preliminary reactions been to the DVD so far?
It is released worldwide! It is doing great. Not only does it look great but the sound is amazing! Really it is the best DVD I ever heard.
Tell us something more about the new live DVD. What kind of features does it contain and how long did it take to set up and produce?
It took a lot or work. More work than I thought! We were in Poland only a couple of days to get it done, but it was all the work to put it together afterwards that was a pain in the ass! The show is a typical Obituary show. This is what we wanted. They are so many people around the world that have never seen us and that is what we wanted to show. A typical night! Some of the extras are backstage footage from that night, the world release of the 'On the Floor' video, the making of the 'Insane' video and a bunch of other stuff! Not to mention we played 20 songs that night!
When we spoke with you last time, September 2004, you were in the latter stages of finalizing the material for your come-back record "Frozen In Time". Did you expect the scene to react as warmly and receptive to the new material as they did?
I did, but I really didn't know what to expect. The death metal scene was really quiet at the time, but has since come back from the dead! I think once we heard the new songs ourselves that we instantly got excited with what was going to happen! It has been great!
Since the release of the record, you have been touring the US and Europe virtually non-stop. With the DVD being already available in Europe and soon to be released in the US, can you tell us something about the touring plans Obituary has currently scheduled in coming weeks and months?
We have shows in the U.S., Europe, Mexico, South America. Hopefully, Japan soon and we will be going to Australia for the first time. Our website, obituary.cc, is the best place to see all the dates we have planned!
If I'm informed correctly, Frank Watkins is a mortgage banker, and you, John Tardy run a computer-networking business. How difficult is it for yourself and bassist Frank Watkins to get time off from work to do these lengthy tours?
It just seems to work out! We both have put the band in front of anything else right now. When I am at home and not on the road I need something to do or I will go crazy! Computer, for me, is challenging and keeps me thinking.
Does your voice ever get strained from screaming and growling so much? What do you do to take care of your vocal chords? Any secrets like drinking lots of water, sleeping enough, etc.?
Like any sing on long stretches it does get tired, but you have to just sing through it. There is not much you can do but rest the voice as much as possible. Drinking a lot of water helps!
Could you recall some of your most recent live shows and the fans' reception? How do you feel the newer material sits with the old material in the live setting?
We have had so many good shows it is hard to do. We did play in Russia and Romania for the first time and they were really good to us. We play like 7 songs off the new CD and everyone goes crazy for them.
The Creature logo-figure was included in a few of your earlier albums. What was the idea behind it? How many tattoos with this symbol have you seen inked on fans while touring the world?
The Creature came out on "The End Complete" CD and has been around ever since. It was the work of Andreas Marschall! On the website you can see the many tattoos that people get of it. There are also a lot of "Cause Of Death" tattoos!
"Frozen In Time" was the last album Obituary was contractually obliged for Roadrunner Records. You had your share of bad luck with them in the past. How has this cooperation worked out, I can't shake the impression that "Frozen In Time" wasn't really promoted by the label either?
Well, we are done with RR and glad to be. I am not sure why they did not anything for the new record. I just wish they would let us go before, so a company that wanted to work with us could. We are excited to go with a new record company that wants to work with us.
Are there any significant (f.i. Relapse, Nuclear Blast, Century Media, Metal Blade) offers already for the next Obituary record?
We have been talking with a handful of labels and can't wait to move forward.
The recording for the follow-up to "Frozen In Time" has begun, if I'm not mistaken? If so, how is it going and what can we expect?
It is actually done and we should start recording in a couple of weeks. What you can expect is Obituary! Fast, slow and heavy!!!
What has changed about how you write new material since starting out with Obituary; the inspirational sources, the process, the intentions, the abilities?
I think "Frozen in Time" is a perfect example of how we really have not changed much over the years! We like doing what we do and will continue to do it as long as we are having fun. As long as we are happy with the music we write I think our fans will like it also!
As one of the ambassadors of the "old school" death metal movement - alongside bands as Bolt Thrower, Deicide, Incantation, Morbid Angel, Suffocation and Vader – how do you feel about the current crop of so-called "new school" death metal bands?
I am still stuck listening to my old Slayer, Venom and [Celtic, ed] Frost records. It takes me a while to move on!
Tell us a bit about the early Florida death metal scene and how it was that Obituary got first formed.
Obituary was started because Donald, Trevor and I just wanted to jam! We had so much fun just jamming in the garage that that is all we wanted to do. RR came to us, we did "Slowly…" and the whole Florida thing started happening. Our early influences were the guys in our neighbourhood... Savatage and Nasty Savage. Hearing them is what got us started. Shortly after you then had bands like Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide and more all coming out. It was an interesting time around here!
Can you tell us a bit about the short stint the band had as Xecutioner? When you had changed moniker to Obituary and released the now-classic "Slowly We Rot" album, former bassist Daniel Tucker went missing-in-action at a certain point, I read somewhere.
Executioner was just our first name. We are the same band, without Daniel. We changed the name before "Slowly" because Executioner was just not really original. I am sure there were many other Executioners around the world. Daniel recorded "Slowly" with us and then we have not seen him since. Disappeared!
During the mid/end '80s the Florida scene really started to blossom and boom. Tell us a bit about the people, supporters and bands of the scene in those legendary formative genre days.
Like I said earlier, it was a great time. So many heavy bands that carved an entire music scene all from the same area! Death, Morbid, Deicide, Cannibal [Corpse, ed]...it goes on and on and good to see a lot of these bands still around. It is always fund to play a show around here because backstage is a who's who of band members!
Florida was the centre of the early death metal movement at that time. What elements would you say made it that central nucleus of the genre?
The Florida Death Metal sound! It was new and kids all over the world paid attention to quiet, sunny Florida!!! Beaches, fishing, sunsets and DEATH METAL!!!!!
Having been in the death metal scene for some time now - how has the scene changed from your perspective over the past decade? What would you highlight as positives and negatives of these changes?
The best thing for us has been our fans! That is the only thing that keeps this band and this music going. Everything just seems to be the same as it always was around here! It is great! The worst thing turned out to be Roadrunner Records! What a disappointment!
How have the recent passing of Jared Anderson (Hate Eternal / Internecine), Bryan Hipp (Diabolic / Brutality) and Jesse Pintado (Terrorizer / Napalm Death) affected the band?
We sing a lot about dying and death, but it is in a fictional way. It always sucks to hear about fellow musicians leaving us. Jesse in particular was a good friend and we will miss him!
So, Obituary now finally has an official website in obituary.cc – how has that worked out? I reckon the response must have been overwhelming. How are the reactions towards the recent re-vamp?
The website is vital to connecting with our fans. The best thing about the website is that you can contact the band. Through the website or on our message board you can get to us. Not too many bands make themselves available to their fans, but we do. Most people don't believe it but when you email a band member gets back with you! The new look of the website was over due so it is nice to have it, well almost, done!
Apart from the band - what do you do when you are at home: do you have time for hobbies?
I like being outdoors! Boating, motorcycles (on and off road), camping, fishing and all sports!!!! Love watching football (NFL) and motorsports!!!!
To conclude, what can we expect from Obituary in the next twelve to eighteen months?
A new CD and lot of touring!!! Looking forward to it and the new stuff is as heavy as ever!!!!!! Thanks for the support!
Booking: booking@obituary.cc
Site: www.obituary.cc
