ALBUM REVIEW: Autopsy – Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts

Death Metal royalty AUTOPSY laid waste with their 2022 full length “Morbidity Triumphant”. Only a year later, they are back with another offering of putridity, set for release via Peaceville Records on October 27th.

Gnarly riffs fire into life with that disgustingly recognisable Autopsy sound. Their signature spew instantly pulses with low end revulsion, rhythmic torment and bone-sawing strings. Only Chris’ malicious vocals slice the impenetrably thick instrumental mix with his raspy snarls. As always, this thing is full of grave-lurking grooves that throw rotten catchiness into the thrashing fury. Additionally ripping leads give plenty more frenzy to the sound, which is as crazed and true to Death Metal staying real as ever. From the opening moments it is obvious we have another slab of real morbidity from the masters themselves, who have not faltered since their comeback in the slightest.

Of course there is dynamics, with those pungent doomy moments coming through to crack skulls with the hammering heaviness dragging its unrelenting glory across all corpses in sight. Those dreary moments combine with the faster sections to paint a grotesque work of art, formidably fierce and violent. Like a carcass bursting with maggots, the album is entrenched with the stench of rot, every shifting moment spewing more decompositional fluids into the air like a fountain of ichor. With superb production and artwork to match the quality of the music, this continuation in their legacy definitely lives up to the bar that they have set so high. Very few bands with longevity such as this remain at such a level (Incantation and Cianide being a couple of rare examples). But today we are talking about Autopsy, and they still clearly rule from the top of brain-soaked skull mound.

Until its dying breaths, this album is a mangled cacophony of all things viscerally Death Metal. Lurking in the crypts, their unhinged blend of doomed death and thrashing vitriol fall seamlessly into rank to march into the most abhorrent realms of decay, manifesting as the sonic annihilation only Autopsy could achieve. The occasional touches of melody, mostly in the lead guitars, add a bit of richness to the sound while never straying from total barbarity. The consistence in playing can be heard, something only a band with such experience and burning desire to continue doing their thing can harness. Playing on their strengths, this is very much what one would expect from Autopsy but I mean that in the best possible manner. If you do not like them, run and hide, because the Californian masters are back with a vengeance and wimps will not escape them.

Another morbid triumph from one of the great Death Metal bands of all time. If you love the real stuff, this is unquestionably an essential album, as with all of Autopsy’s classics and comebacks alike. Do not falter, do not miss out and stay vigilant, no mortal will be left alive…