THE OBSESSED - The Obsessed

The Obsessed was created in the 70s, but their first studio album was recorded in 1985 and only saw the light of day in 1990, released by Hellhound Records. At a glance, The Obsessed has had a slower development over the years than the bpm’s of doom compared to speed metal. However, this wait was worth it, and The Obsessed had the chance that in 1990 the then tiny record company Hellhound Records offered them a helping hand and decided to release their first studio album, simply titled The Obsessed. This gave their singer Wino the chance to consolidate his status in the metallic underground, after replacing founder Scott Reagers  in Saint Vitus in 1986 and releasing three studio albums with them, Born Too Late (1986), Mournful Cries (1988) and V (1989).

Compared to other doom metal vocalists of that time, who tried more or less to emulate the vocal style introduced by Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath), Wino, like Bobby Liebling of Pentagram or Lee Dorrian (Cathedral), managed to develop his own style that would make many doom metal (or more precisely traditional doom) listeners include The Obsessed, together with Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Saint Vitus, among the most influent names of the genre.

Musically, what the The Obsessed propose on their debut record is a mixture of traditional doom, hard rock/blues and even a little garage rock/punk, sort of like a jam session with Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Stooges. For instance, Forever Midnight would fit like a glove with a vocal part by Ozzy Osbourne, Freedom would undoubtedly find a place on any Lynyrd Skynyrd album, the guitar part of The Way She Fly is reminiscent of the fury emanated by Black Sabbath on their War Pigs, Tombstone Highway has something of Jimi Hendrix’s musicality, and the examples could continue. Where are The Stooges in all this? In the attitude of Wino and his band mates.

H. Nota: 10