Beginning their career as Xecutioner in 1984, Obituary remains one of the most influential and groundbreaking bands in the death metal genre, one which they helped to create. Hailing from the sunny state of Florida with a bevy of bands with a decidedly un-sunny take on metal Obituary along with Death, Morbid Angel, and Deicide, combined hyper-speed guitar riffing, complex arrangements and guttural screams to create a bleak and violent soundscape that defined a genre. Unlike their peers though, Obituary avoided the more common trappings of this style of music shunning the Satanic bent of the lyrics and the breakneck pace of the dual guitar assault.
     
      In 1989 Obituary released their debut album, Slowly We Rot, a death metal milestone. Brilliant in both its complexity and brutality, Slowly We Rot gave us but a glimpse of things to come. They followed it up in 1990 with Cause of Death, which saw Allen West replaced by former Death guitarist James Murphy (Cancer, Disincarnate) and bassist Daniel Tucker replaced by Frank Watkins (Hellwitch). 1992 saw the release of The End Com... (More OBITUARY Biography)