«Slowly We Rot» is Obituary’s first album and it came out in 1989 on R/C Records. It was recorded at Morrisound in Tampa, Florida, with Scott Burns producing. The line-up is John Tardy on vocals, Allen West and Trevor Peres on guitars, Daniel Tucker on bass and Donald Tardy on drums.
“`Country: USA
Style: Death Metal
For fans of: Death, Morbid Angel, Deicide
It is one of the first albums that gave death metal its final form, with extreme vocals, blast beats and double bass. Its sound, though, is slower and heavier than that of its contemporaries, with tempo changes and dark, heavy passages.
Many see it as the next step after the work of Death and Possessed, which took the genre to a new level of heaviness. John Tardy’s vocals stand out for their deep, pained sound, while Scott Burns’ production is deliberately rough.
The tempo changes and the slower, heavy passages give the album a character that stood apart from the straight speed metal sound of the others. Donald Tardy’s drums hold the tracks with double bass and blast beats, while the guitars are tuned to E Standard, which gives the sound a particular clarity inside the heaviness.
«Internal Bleeding», «Godly Beings» and the title track «Slowly We Rot», which closes with one of the most recognisable growls of the era, stand out.
It is Obituary’s only release with bassist Daniel Tucker, while guitarist Allen West left shortly after and returned on their third album.
The album was reissued in 1997 with remastered sound and extra tracks, while in 2022 a full live performance of it came out, titled «Slowly We Rot: Live & Rotting». Producer Scott Burns later became a key collaborator of the Tampa scene and put his name to dozens of records in the genre.
See also: Obituary – Cause of Death | Metal Territory and Morbid Angel – Covenant | Metal Territory.
