Early career (1984–1990) Founded as Executioner in
Tampa, Florida in 1984, they soon dropped the "E" from their name after discovering another band of the same name, becoming Xecutioner. The band's first lineup was composed of John Tardy (lead vocals), Donald Tardy (drums),
Trevor Peres (rhythm guitar), Jerome Grable (bass), and Jerry Tidwell (lead guitar). The band was inspired by
Hellhammer/
Celtic Frost,
Iron Maiden,
Judas Priest,
Slayer,
Savatage,
Nasty Savage, and bands in the then-burgeoning
Florida death metal scene:
Death and
Morbid Angel. The band released demos between 1985 and 1987 (the 1985 demo as Executioner and the 1986 and 1987 demos as Xecutioner). They made their vinyl debut in 1987 with two tracks ("Find the Arise" and "Like the Dead") on the
Raging Death compilation. Not long after the release of the compilation, bassist Grable was replaced by Daniel Tucker and guitarist Tidwell was replaced by
Allen West. The following year, shortly before the release of the band's first album
Slowly We Rot (1989), they changed their name to Obituary. Soon after the release of the album, however, Tucker and West quit the band and were respectively replaced by
Frank Watkins and former
Death guitarist
James Murphy. This new lineup recorded the band's second album
Cause of Death, which was released on September 19, 1990, and is often considered to be one of the most important death metal albums of all time. Obituary supported
Cause of Death with its first world tour, first North America with
Sacred Reich and
Forced Entry, Europe with
Demolition Hammer and
Morgoth, and then North America again with
Sepultura and
Sadus.
Rise to success (1991–1997) In 1991, just prior to the writing and recording sessions of their third album, Murphy left Obituary to join
Cancer and was replaced by a returning Allen West. The lineup of Peres, Watkins, West and the Tardy brothers recorded the band's next three albums, starting with
The End Complete (1992).
The End Complete was a moderate success for Obituary, having sold more than a hundred thousand copies, This success also resulted in the release of Obituary's first-ever music video "The End Complete", which received significant airplay on
MTV's
Headbangers Ball, and the band toured behind the album in over year (including headlining the Complete Control Tour with
Cannibal Corpse,
Malevolent Creation and
Agnostic Front), going from playing clubs to theaters and arenas. Obituary's fourth studio album,
World Demise, was released in 1994. Although the album did not sell as well as
The End Complete, it still managed to reach the top 100 in several territories, including the United States, United Kingdom, and the Netherlands, Regarding the album's musical direction, John Tardy recalls: "We took a more raw approach with that album. We used a new producer Jaime Locke on that record. We really like the
NY Hardcore sound and those influences came out on that record. I love the album really in your face. Also my friends Skinner T and #1 Diablo did some rapping on it." John Tardy said, "We stopped because there were a lot of politics in the band at the time. We were spending more than we were making, the label stopped supporting us and we were all getting older and for the first time in our lives realized this wasn't going to last forever. So we all had different opinions about our band." Since 2012, the band has been highly involved with the promotion of a new social networking site called Unation, as well as Donald Tardy beginning a Cat Sanctuary organization called Metal Meowlisha, an organization practicing "trap-neuter-vaccinate-return", and caring for 25 cat colonies (200 cats). In April 2010, Obituary began work on new material for their ninth studio album
Inked in Blood, which was not released until 2014. It was the first Obituary album not to be recorded with longtime bassist
Frank Watkins since their 1989 debut album
Slowly We Rot. Though the band raised enough money to self-released, they were still signed to
Relapse Records and partnered with the label for distribution of
Inked In Blood, their first Relapse release.
Death of Frank Watkins, Obituary and Dying of Everything (2015–present) Obituary toured Europe with
Carcass,
Napalm Death,
Voivod and
Herod during the fall of 2015. On October 18, 2015, former and longtime Obituary bassist
Frank Watkins died from cancer. On August 24, 2016, Obituary streamed a new song called "Loathe", a B-side to their then-upcoming single "Ten Thousand Ways to Die", which was released on October 21. The band released its
self-titled tenth studio album on March 17, 2017. A month prior to its release, the band released a song called "No", which appeared on
Decibel magazine's flexi disc series. In November and December 2018, Obituary embarked on a European tour as part of
Slayer's
farewell tour, also featuring
Lamb of God and
Anthrax. When asked in a June 2018 interview about the next Obituary album, drummer Donald Tardy said, "We're always thinking about new songs and writing riffs and this and that. But at this time of our lives and this time of the music industry… This new album has only been out for just over a year now, so we're in no hurry to try and push another album out of us as quick as we can; there's no sense." In an August 2020 interview with Australia's Riff Crew, Donald Tardy revealed that, during the pandemic, Obituary had been working on a "monster" of a new album planned for release in 2021. The band had planned to tour in 2021, specifically Europe, in support of the record. In a March 2021 interview with France's United Rock Nations, vocalist John Tardy reiterated his brother's comments, saying that Obituary had been working on new material during the
COVID-19 pandemic, and added that their new album would be released in 2022, with a tour to follow. On November 10, 2022, Obituary released "The Wrong Time" as the lead single from their then-upcoming eleventh studio album
Dying of Everything, released on January 13, 2023. The band embarked on a headlining tour of North America during the spring of 2023 with
Immolation,
Blood Incantation, and Ingrown as support. This tour included an appearance at
Milwaukee Metal Fest in May. The band performed at the
Sonic Temple music festival in Columbus, Ohio in May 2025. They also played
Maryland Deathfest that year. An Obituary box set, under the title
Godly Beings, was released on July 18, 2025 through Dissonance Productions. It includes the band's first four albums in their entirety with bonus tracks, and is "complimented with the addition of liner notes from writer David Gehlke, who has written
Turned Inside Out, the official biography of Obituary" and "four reproduction postcards featuring classic images of the band." Obituary is currently working on a new album, which, according to bassist
Terry Butler, could be released in 2026 or 2027. The band announced US tour dates for March 2026, with Intoxicated and Castrator supporting.
Acid Bath is set to appear on two dates of this tour. The band is also schedueld to return to
Milwaukee Metal Fest in June 2026. ==Musical style==