Slowly We Rot

Unlike most of the Florida bands that first defined death metal at the tail end of the ’80s, Obituary didn’t rely strictly on lightning speed. In fact, on songs like “’Til Death” and “Slowly We Rot,” they often sludged in the opposite direction, fabricating rigor mortis like the corpses John Tardy was barking and burping about. He sounds unbelievably malevolent, and between chainsaw guitar solos (check “Suffocation”) and double bass drums that actually roll, he gets all the wicked support he needs.