Obituary is a death metal band from Tampa, Florida. They started their career as Xecutioner in 1984 and still remain a very influential band in the genre. They are considered one of the big five bands ( Death, Morbid Angel, Cannibal Corpse, and Deicide being the other four) of the Florida Death Metal movement that arose in the late 1980's. Their 1990 release Cause of Death is 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).
The band disbanded in 1997, and reformed in 2003. During the hiatus, Donald Tardy played in Andrew W.K.'s touring band, going as far as to wear an Obituary shirt during W.K.'s appearance on Saturday Night Live, Allen West focused on his two projects, Lowbrow and Six Feet Under. Trevor Peres formed Catastrophic in 2001, which will continue to exist concurrently with the reformed Obituary.
John Tardy - Vocals Allen West - Lead guitar (see also Six Feet Under) Trevor Peres - Rhythm guitar Frank Watkins - Bass Donald Tardy - Drums (see also Andrew W.K.)
James Murphy - Lead guitar (1989-1992) (see also Death and Testament) Daniel Tucker - Bass (1988-1989)
