BEST RETURN TO BRUTAL FORM

It’s been more than 15 years, and almost as many metal-scene trends, since Slowly We Rot made Obituary one of the most prominent residents of the Death Metal Capital of the World. And it’s been eight years since the group’s last studio record, the prematurely titled Back from the Dead, went largely unnoticed outside a worldwide core of fans patiently awaiting the death of false metal. This past summer, however, saw the release of Frozen in Time, a nearly perfect slab of evil riff and groove that was the best heavy thing we heard — local or national — come out of the Bay area this year. www.obituary.cc.