Autopsy: Death Metal Triumphant
At this point in their career, AUTOPSY have nothing to prove. As death metal spawned from the depths in the late 80s and early 90s, alongside staples like DEATH, MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY and CANNIBAL CORPSE, the Californian bruisers wrote themselves into extreme music folklore with 1989’s Severed Survival. It’s fortunate for the modern extreme music fan that over three decades since their putrid debut, AUTOPSY are just as visceral and nasty as they showcased way back then with their debut, perfect for the next generation of death metal enthusiasts.
“It’s stronger than ever [the modern death metal scene], that’s for sure,” drummer and vocalist Chris Reifert tells us when we probe about the evolution of the death metal scene. “And even cooler is the fact that it’s been handed off to a whole new generation of sickos. Gotta love that! It seems it’s in damn good hands.”
In good hands it may be, as bands aplenty continue to pummel audiences across the globe with their brand of death metal. But for these veterans, it’s refreshing that they are still a vital player in the scene as it continues to grow and be populated. Morbidity Triumphant, the band’s eighth full-length record is jam-packed full of vicious and gut-churning death metal goodness and reaffirms AUTOPSY as one of the best bands to ever divulge in this style. Aside from the time in which the band disbanded, the gap between Morbidity Triumphant and 2014’s Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves, this is the longest gap between AUTOPSY records, albeit with two years gained from the pandemic, something that Chris obviously addresses. “Well, you have to subtract two years for pandemic reasons, so there is that,” he says. “Plus we did the Skull Grinder and Puncturing The Grotesque mini-lps as well as a live album and lots of travelling gigs. So really, we’ve been super busy,” as we probe on the gap between their full-lengths “But the stars finally aligned, and we found the time and opportunity to do a proper 41 or so minute album, which is a damn good feeling.”
Good feeling they may be, but Morbidity Triumphant is a vile and putrid listening experience, one that firmly sits itself in AUTOPSY‘s sick brand of death metal. From the first crushing cacophony of album opener Stab The Brain through to album closer Your Eyes Will Turn To Dust, Reifert and his bandmates take no prisoners. This is unshackled death metal at its rotten core. And despite the visceral nature of the music, the organic bedrock in how the album flows is one of Morbidity Triumphant‘s biggest successes, something that Chris divulges. “We’ve always made sure our records are a wild ride and this one is no exception. We’ve never been a band to play all fast, all slow or all mid tempo or whatever. Gotta keep ‘em guessing!” He explains. “Musically, we all wrote songs individually and made recordings for the rest of the band to learn. Pretty much how we usually do it and this time I ended up writing all of the lyrics, though if anyone else ever wants to, they can always do so. As for recording, we’ve done it the same way since day one, which is drums, bass and guitars live then add vocals and guitar solos/overdubs afterwards. Then it gets mixed, mastered and next thing you know, you’re holding the album in your filthy hands!”
Despite the fact it’s been eight long years since their last month, for Chris, he’s not spent the time idly passing his business in the wilderness. Whether it’s SIEGE OF POWER, STATIC ABYSS or VIOLATION WOUND, the numerous side-projects on the go have kept Chris‘ creative juices flowing before returning to his main band. “I guess I get restless sometimes!” Chris laughs when we bring up the subject of his many side hustles. “Plus I figure I’ll do all this stuff while I can. Someday in the future when I can’t do this shit any more I can look back on all these things and go ‘damn, that’s a lot of madness!’ But don’t worry, or do worry, I still have lots of gas in the tank and there’s always something popping up to punish your ears and eyes.”
Guts and gore have been part of parcel of the AUTOPSY template since their violent inception and Morbidity Triumphant is not looking to throw a spanner in the works. Appealing song titles such as Tapestry of Scars, Flesh Strewn Temple, Knife Slice, Axe Chop or Maggots In The Mirror demonstrate that the band, after all these years, are still appealing to death metal’s morbid curiosity to the macabre. This is horror music in aural form and when probed on the lyric and themes on their new offering, Chris is as witty as ever. “Lots of tales to make your bones crack and your pubes turn white,” he cheerily responds when we probe on what gory subjects they explore on their newest offering. “Just like always! Hey, if it’s gonna be an AUTOPSY record, the lyrics aren’t going to be nice, cute or safe.”
Morbidity Triumphant is out now via Peaceville Records.
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