I really love Obituary, but man they never changes, i always feels like that am listning to the same song(most of their songs) and that's makes me bored every time!
They are akin to Bolt Thrower in that regard, only BT tightened up, refined, and improved with age, whereas Obituary has flagged a bit. but i love their stuff through and including "The End Complete".
Next to DEATH, Obituary is my all-time favorite death metal band. "Slowly We Rot" was a great album but I have to go with "Cause of Death" as my favorite. The presence of guitar god James Murphy makes such a difference and really elevates the quality of the band as a whole. I was very pleased to hear that Obituary had a return to form of sorts on their latest, "Darkest Day". While it isn't anything groundbreaking at least it is heavy as fuck.
Obituary is included in my 7.5 hour death metal mix mentioned in my signature.
----
I created a 7 part, 7.5 hour mix called "Survey of the First Generation of Death Metal". I cover death metal music from 1981-1993. It is free to listen on Mixcloud. Start the journey here: http://i.mixcloud.com/Cmo5d
Just came home from an Obituary gig. Lost count of how many times I watched them live. Each time they deliver. I have to say I was surprised to see the lead singer help pack away drums and equipment after a full set of yelling his lungs out. I know the drummer is his brother and all but I thought such a great band would get to relax after such an intense set. Props to these guys. Truly a band that is not recognized enough in the world of death metal.