Cause of Death (album)

Cause of Death
Studio album by Obituary
Released	September 19, 1990 (1990-09-19)
Recorded	1990
Studio	Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida
Genre	Death metal
Length	41:02
Label	Roadrunner
Producer	Scott Burns, Obituary
Obituary chronology
Slowly We Rot (1989) Cause of Death (1990) The End Complete (1992)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	7/10[2]
Select	[3]

Cause of Death is the second album by Florida death metal band Obituary, released on September 19, 1990, through Roadrunner Records.

Along with Slowly We Rot, Cause of Death is considered a landmark in the death metal genre.

Background and promotion

The artwork was done by artist Michael Whelan. It is their first release with longtime member Frank Watkins on bass, and also their first and only album with guitarist James Murphy, previously of Death. Murphy did not contribute to the songwriting as the riffs he showed to the band would end up appearing on Disincarnate's Dreams of the Carrion Kind.[4]

The cover art of this album was used in an H. P. Lovecraft collection, Lovecraft's Nightmare A. It was intended to be used as the cover artwork of Sepultura's album Beneath the Remains which released the year before Cause of Death. However, Roadrunner Records sent the original album cover of Beneath the Remains to Obituary. Monte Conner of Roadrunner forced Sepultura to use another Michael Whelan illustration for Beneath the Remains, Nightmare in Red. The second portion of the painting, Lovecraft's Nightmare B was used by Demolition Hammer for their 1992 album Epidemic of Violence. The incident with Sepultura led to Igor Cavalera becoming upset with Monte Conner, with Cavalera notably having a tattoo of the cover on his arm.[4]

Obituary went on tour in the United States to support Cause of Death in November 1990 together with label mates Sepultura as headliner and Sadus, starting in Florida. They continued their tour activities in Europe in mid-1991.[5]

Style

The album has been described as "gore-infested." John Tardy's vocal performance on the album has been described as "senseless gurgles." Cause of Death contains a cover of Celtic Frost's "Circle of the Tyrants".[6][4]

Legacy

Cause of Death is considered a classic album in the history of death metal.[7] Obituary played Cause of Death in its entirety at the 2019 Decibel Metal & Beer Fest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[8] Celtic Frost frontman Tom G. Warrior has endorsed the cover of "Circle of Tyrants".[4] Chris Krovatin of Kerrang! said, "On their sophomore effort, [Obituary’s] hard work and patience paid off in the form of one of the most gut-wrenching, joint-twisting albums ever written. [...] Cause Of Death is an awesome, brooding journey to the heart of death metal’s development, and one that sums up the fertile burial ground of the 1990s. Only in Florida."[9]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by John Tardy, except where noted; all music is composed by Trevor Peres and Donald Tardy, except where noted

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"Infected"			5:34
2.	"Body Bag"			5:49
3.	"Chopped in Half"			3:43
4.	"Circle of the Tyrants" (Celtic Frost cover)	T. G. Warrior	T. G. Warrior	4:25
5.	"Dying"			4:29
6.	"Find the Arise"			2:51
7.	"Cause of Death"		Allen West, Peres	5:38
8.	"Memories Remain"			3:44
9.	"Turned Inside Out"			4:57

The Obituary Remasters 1997 Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
10.	"Infected" (Demo Version)	4:16
11.	"Memories Remain" (Demo Version)	3:34
12.	"Chopped in Half" (Demo Version)	3:45
Total length:		52:37

Personnel

Obituary

• John Tardy – vocals
• James Murphy – lead guitar
• Trevor Peres – rhythm guitar
• Frank Watkins – bass
• Donald Tardy – drums

Technical personnel

• Obituary – production
• Scott Burns – production, engineering, mixing
• Jeff Daniel – 1997 reissue production
• George Marino – 1997 remastering
• Ponkiesbergh – 1997 design
• Kent Smith – sound effects
• Michael Whelan – cover, illustration
• Rob Mayworth – band logo design
• Carole Segal – back cover photo
• Shaun Clark – 1997 photo
• Tim Hubbard – 1997 photo
• Phil Alexander – 1997 liner notes

References

1. Birchmeier, Jason. Obituary: Cause of Death at AllMusic. Retrieved December 12, 2010.
2. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 323. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
3. Perry, Neil (October 1990). "Obituary: Cause Of Death". Select. No. 4. p. 110.
4. Tardy, Donald; Tardy, John; Peres, Trevor; Watkins, Frank (February 6, 2019). "Memories Remain: The Making of Obituary's "Cause of Death"". Decibel (Interview). Interviewed by Kory Grow. Philadelphia: Red Flag Media. ISSN 1557-2137. OCLC 903245231. Archived from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
5. Alexander, Phil (1997). Cause of Death: A Personal History (booklet). Obituary. New York City: Roadrunner. pp. 4–5.
6. Rivadavia, Eduardo RivadaviaEduardo (November 1, 2018). "11 Florida Death Metal Albums You Need". Loudwire. Retrieved January 15, 2025.
7. Birchmeier, Jason. Obituary: The End Complete at AllMusic. Retrieved September 11, 2011.
8. Kennelty, Greg (October 30, 2018). "Baroness, Obituary, Enslaved & More Announced For Decibel Metal & Beer Fest 2019". Metal Injection. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
9. "The 15 greatest death metal albums of the '90s". Kerrang!. July 20, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2025.