Death metal legends Obituary are currently celebrating the 15th anniversary of ‘Back From the Dead,’ the band’s last album before their six-year hiatus from 1997 to 2003. In a recent interview with Roadrunner Records, drummer Donald Tardy explained the process of creating ‘Back From the Dead’ and the importance of the album in the career of Obituary.

Tardy explained the mindset of the band while recording ‘Back From the Dead.’ “Obituary has never been a band that tries to focus on what we think fans would want from a new album, nor did we ever try too hard to change things just to change things,” says Tardy. “‘Back from the Dead’ had enough changes in what we did before, because of the approach we took to recording with a different producer in a new studio setting; that alone was the big change we agreed to and focused on. Other than that, we stuck to our game plan when it came to writing songs and recording them – which was, write songs we will be proud of and ones we want to play for ourselves.”

He continues, “We always kept the mindset that if we liked them, we believed our fans would like them. We never allowed outside influences to creep into our brains while creating new material. We have always been that way as individuals and as a band in full – Obituary took on a life of its own, and is bigger than any one member. So as soldiers, we go with the flow and write songs we love that truly represent the Obituary style.”

The drummer added, “Today, still, when listening back to the album, I am very proud not only of the production but the songwriting and performance.”

Check out the full interview with Obituary drummer Donald Tardy on the Roadrunner Records website.

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