Brett CallwoodFloridian dead metal pioneers Obituary play The Observatory on Friday, so we chatted with drummer Donald Tardy about what we can expect…
L.A. WEEKLY: It’s been a couple of years since the last album — is there another one coming?
DONALD TARDY: YEEEES!! There is new music being made and we are super excited to give the fans what they are waiting for… a new Obituary album. So we released a new single “A Dying World” to keep them happy until we have the next LP ready to go.
Why did you self-title the 2017 album?
Why not? 🙂
Yeah we just thought it was perfect time to have a “self titled” album and were more than proud of that release and we were so glad the fans gave us such positive reactions and compliments.
A new beginning…?
It does feel like a new beginning for us and having Terry [Butler, bass] and Ken [Andrews, lead guitar] in the band as solid members we are happier, stronger and more confident than ever and looking forward to a long, amazing future ahead.
What do you think of the current state of death metal?
I am probably NOT the person to ask that question as I don’t venture out too too much with searching for what’s new and out there. I tend to stick to my roots and am happy listening to music I love and always have worshiped. Old Slayer, HellHammer, Celtic Frost, Venom and of coarse Dio. Lots of the newer music/bands I’ve heard has been incredible and I think metal is still very much alive and well. The past three Dustbolt albums have blown me away and they are my favorite young thrash metal band right now, and my boys Psycroptic from down under proved with their new album that they are probably the baddest metal band on the planet in my opinion. I don’t even understand what the fuck the brothers are doing but I absolutely love it!
What can we expect from this L.A. show?
We are celebrating the 30th anniversary of Slowly we Rot so fans can expect a set list heavily dosed with Slowly… songs along with the classics from the other albums. Expect and prepare for an ass-kicking... you have been warned!
When this run of gigs is over, what else do you have coming up?
We have tons of touring plans in the making right now which will take us to all corners of the planet and keep us busy which is always a good thing. Lots of dates/tours/festivals/
Obituary plays with Abbath, Midnight and Devil Master at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 4 at the Observatory.
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