Editing Obituary (band) (section)

===Early career (1984–1990)===
Founded as Executioner in [[Seffner, Florida|Seffner]], [[Florida]] in 1984, they soon dropped the "E" from their name after discovering another band of the same name, becoming Xecutioner. The band's first lineup was composed of John Tardy (lead vocals), Donald Tardy (drums), [[Trevor Peres]] (rhythm guitar), Jerome Grable (bass) and Jerry Tidwell (lead guitar). The band was inspired by [[Hellhammer]]/[[Celtic Frost]], [[Iron Maiden]], [[Judas Priest]], [[Slayer]],<ref>{{cite web|date= November 3, 2015|title=Interview: Trevor Peres of Obituary|url=https://www.moshville.co.uk/interview/2015/11/interview-trevor-peres-of-obituary/|website=moshville.co.uk|accessdate=January 29, 2025}}</ref> [[Savatage]], [[Nasty Savage]], and bands in the then-burgeoning [[Florida death metal]] scene: [[Death (metal band)|Death]] and [[Morbid Angel]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web|last1=Stevenson|first1=Arielle|date=October 22, 2009|title=The way the music died: The earliest days of Tampa Death Metal|url=http://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027025354/https://www.tampabay.com/features/music/the-way-the-music-died-the-earliest-days-of-tampa-death-metal/1046088/|archive-date=October 27, 2009|website=[[Tampa Bay Times]]|publisher=[[Times Publishing Company]]|accessdate=April 26, 2016}}</ref> The band released demos between 1985 and 1987 (the 1985 demo as Executioner and the 1986 and 1987 demos as Xecutioner). They made their vinyl debut in 1987 with two tracks ("Find the Arise" and "Like the Dead") on the ''Raging Death'' compilation.

Not long after the release of the compilation, bassist Grable was replaced by Daniel Tucker and guitarist Tidwell was replaced by [[Allen West (musician)|Allen West]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} The following year, shortly before the release of the band's first album ''[[Slowly We Rot]]'' (1989), they changed their name to Obituary.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} Soon after the release of the album, however, Tucker and West quit the band and were respectively replaced by [[Frank Watkins (musician)|Frank Watkins]]{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} and then-[[Death (metal band)|Death]] guitarist [[James Murphy (guitarist)|James Murphy]]. This new lineup recorded the band's second album ''[[Cause of Death (album)|Cause of Death]]'', which was released on September 19, 1990,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Birchmeier |first=Jason |title=Cause of Death - Obituary |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/cause-of-death-mw0000690757 |access-date=16 February 2025 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> and is often considered to be one of the most important death metal albums of all time.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rivadavia |first=Eduardo |date=November 1, 2018 |title=11 Florida Death Metal Albums You Need |work=[[Loudwire|Loudwire.com]] |url=https://loudwire.com/11-florida-death-metal-albums-you-need/ |access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Yardley |first=Miranda |date=August 24, 2012 |title=The Terrorizer Friday Death Metal Top 15 |work=[[Terrorizer (magazine)|Terrorizer.com]] |url=http://www.terrorizer.com/news/features-2/the-terrorizer-friday-death-metal-top-15/ |access-date=June 1, 2020}}</ref>