Severed Survival

Autopsy. One of those bands that needs no introduction. Unfortunately, this review does, so here goes. Autopsy are a band known mostly for their (admittedly flawed and mostly failed) attempts at death-doom and pioneering work in the field of death metal which really catapulted the genre into the metal spotlight. Very much Quasimodos, even in a genre which introduced the whole "Metal? Is that the stuff with the growling?" stereotype (fuck you death metal; thanks to you the whole scene's gotta live with that), these guys weren't, shall we say, the most technically gifted bunch, and their main claim to fame at the time of their formation was that their drummer had worked on an album with the legendary Death. But, far from being concerned by the fact that they were no Queensryche (in fact, they seemed to revel in it), they pushed valiantly on, and the first obvious result of that is the opus I sit here reviewing.

After two demos clearly aimed at catering to the simplistic folk who like thrash and death metal (me!), Autopsy decided to take a rather different direction for their first full-length. They already had some of the songs, in rough pieces scattered across the demos, and they hit upon a decision which would change death metal forever. If you form a death metal band in the modern era (*sigh*), then your naturally unoriginal lyricist is gonna write 97% of the time about gore, dismemberment, evisceration and the like. This was Autopsy's idea. A young band of New Yorkers was soon to take the title as kings of gore (no, I see no need to mention their name, you all know it), but their entire discography at this point was one measly demo. Another relatively new thing was the extremity of the vocals. Bands like Morbid Angel were already using growls, but not in the way these guys did, taking everything to a new, heightened level of depravity, and making history in the process.

The album opens with demo rerecording and all-time Autopsy stalwart "Charred Remains". It's a death metal standard, need I say more? In fact, "Need I say more?" sums up most of this album, it being so in-your-face and unsubtle that upon hearing it no further explanation is warranted. Interestingly, it has more of a melodic edge (not literally, it's just more easygoing) than later albums which really gives it a unique feel, and it's also no coincidence that their most unique album gets the highest rating from me. Well, okay, I haven't reviewed the others, but when I do the ratings won't be as high. Anyway, this album really speaks for itself, the band's not-so-expansive technical knowledge bludgeoning you over the head time after time without repentance. The tracks just hook you in, for example "Service for a Vacant Coffin" and "Ridden with Disease", probably the most improved track from the demos, worked into a whole new monster by Reifert and Co. Then there's a much changed "Stillborn". Has it got the thrashiness which made the original so clear and shocking? No, but it has a new found sense of brutality which just whacks you in the fucking face full-force. And that'll do for me.

Not-so-pleasant things? Well even though it was around before death metal was old enough to be hackneyed, it has fallen into a state of cheese-metal for modern ears. When we have bands singing about doing all kinds of weird and not-wonderful things to women, children, men and animals this is no longer as shocking and revolutionary as it once was. Even "Stillborn", a standout on the demos because the lyrics are just so fucking BRUTAL loses out here. And of course, on the original there's that woeful production which, should I ever run into John Marshall, I will personally punch him in the face for lessening the impact this record could've had if you could actually hear what in fuck's name was going on if you purchased the original vinyl. Sure, there's some songs on it that are less than masterpieces but compared to those main problems they are minor.

Musically, we've got probably the least masterful performance on wax from these guys,Reifert not making a convincing case for us to not just stick him on a click à la Lars Ulrich, the Autopsy mainman sounding goddamn random at times. Steve DiGiorgio playing bass is, as ever, exceptional, I can clearly tell this by how audible it was on the first press, he really turns in a performance which I'd describe as oddly groovy and flowing. Cutler and Coralles hit us with tons of stock death metal riffs and solos before they were stock, any novice extreme metal guitarist is advised to listen well and let this style seep into your playing. Chris Reifert is the sole lead vocalist here; that's fine since Cutler's gutturals were always bog standard and nothing to jump up and down about, but the drummer really does his second task well here, spitting rage, hellfire, venom and torment every time his lines appear.

So yeah, before being sentenced to life on the cheese circuit this was really quite something, highly recommended for death metallers (as if you haven't already heard it) and a brilliant example of systematic chaos (we'd have to wait 18 years for the next one of those). There's much to enjoy here, so I'll leave you all to wallow in its stupidity, which is the main cause of the joy of listening to this, and reflect upon a time when death metal really was the new party music. Alas, that time is long gone.

Track highlights: "Charred Remains", "Service for a Vacant Coffin", "Ridden with Disease", "Stillborn"