OBITUARY have announced a comprehensive 35th anniversary reissue of their landmark 1990 album "Cause of Death," widely considered one of the most important and influential albums in death metal history, set for release on September 4, 2026 via Relapse Records — the label with which OBITUARY maintained a longstanding relationship before their recent signing to Metal Blade Records for new material. The anniversary edition is a separate release from any upcoming original OBITUARY material and carries the full blessing and involvement of all surviving members.
"Cause of Death" was a defining moment not only for OBITUARY but for Florida death metal as a whole — an album that stripped the genre DOWN to its most suffocating and essential elements, replacing the guitar theatrics of "Slowly We Rot" (1989) with a heavier, more groove-oriented approach that would become extraordinarily influential. The guest appearance of guitarist James Murphy — who also worked on CANCER and DEATH material — added a technical dimension to OBITUARY's lumbering heaviness that remains distinctive four decades later.
The anniversary edition features a full remaster of the original album by Morrisound Recording engineer Colin Richardson, two discs of supplemental material including previously unreleased outtakes and alternate mixes from the original sessions, a live recording from the band's 1991 European tour (the first major OBITUARY recording from that period available in album format), and an extensive 80-page hardcover book including archival photography, essays by John Tardy, Trevor Peres, and James Murphy, and reprints of contemporary press materials from 1990. Pre-orders open April 1.