This is a re-recorded collection of TOD's earlier songs, which were written between 1992 and 1995 and previously appeared on some of their demos like "Unearthly Agitator" and "Absorbing Destinies." Naturally, there is a certain disparity about the songs, and they are different enough musically from the later TOD works because in retrospect the band were still trying out the ground under their feet and deciding which direction they should take. "Obliteration Allegory" lacks the consummation and sharp song writing of something like "Dismissed," but that is not to say that it is a bad album. On the contrary, the songs are still quite good. More old school I suppose, but also much faster in some instances ("Liquidator") than the band's later stuff. They can be quite brutal ("Embraced by Death"), sometimes even venturing into the crusty/grindish territory (as on "Shame Label" with its refrain "I like to vomit, vomit"), but also technical. Just check out the ability bass player Shirl displays, or his string-snapping skill on tracks like "Land Of The Damned" and the above mentioned "Shame Label," or hear all the great, melodic solos (some even displaying a classic metal feel), which, if you listen to TOD's subsequent works, became the band's specialty. Another solid brick into the great death metal wall.

© 2001 boris