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Perhaps not quite as brain-numbingly blunt and grotesque as the goregrind acts of the world, but Califonia's Autopsy remain one of death metal's most foul and depraved groups. Each new album since their triumphant return from the grave in 2011's Macabre Eternal has at least been a solid collection of completely un-shit fun, and it's no surprise that Morbidity Triumphant joins the pantheon of gore as something of a shining star. Their caveman rumble is in full grisly swing from the opening moments, Stab the Brain launching immediately into a galloping groove as Cutler and Reifert's retching and yowling spurts like a damaged artery amidst the murky riffing and more-technical-than-you'd-expect drumming. That Reifert handles both at once has never ceased to impress; a practised ear can distinct between vocal lines and drum flourishes, but even when howling lumpy obscenities Reifert's drumming is still interesting, which is above and beyond the call of duty for death metal of this style!
Of course, the secret behind Autopsy's rictus skeletal grin is that there's a lot of intelligence still lurking in the bonelike cave. The songwriting here, for instance, is tremendous, with plenty of tempo down-shifts into harrowing doom to keep things fresh, first and foremost on the crushing Final Frost even with its almost speed metal bursts of chaos. These moments jut out like broken bones from flesh - you know they're supposed to be there, but in quite that place? And the effects on your neck are just as brutal even before we get to crowdpleasing groovers like The Voracious One, boogieing along like a zombie Clutch before the grunted vocals start erupting like open sores, keeping the groove for later riffs and soloing that touches on psychedelic territory as the song careens off. You can tell that this band is on the older side of things (guitarist Danny Coralles is in his sixties!) from the sheer classic Sabbathian quality to sections like the opening of Born in Blood, quickly turning into a frenzied pit stomper before the doom returns, and the eerie melodies of Flesh Strewn Temple help to set the required atmosphere in your mind's eye as much as the vocals. And although they don't reset the genre or anything, Autopsy are still so good at this (and so underrated and influential!) that each new track is a grisly delight. The doomy depths and murderous gallop of Knife Slice, Axe Chop fit together dementedly well and lead to more melodic doom melancholy on Skin by Skin, amusingly the first single released from this album. In some ways there's little difference between this and Autopsy's nineties material - there are no experimental eleven minute epics here, either - and some will complain that the meaty path that the band have been stumbling along since reformation is having diminishing rewards. Yet if you love death metal for itself you have to appreciate the viscera on show here; definitely an above average outing from a band that deserves legendary status, and a band that loves death metal more than any of us mere mortals can claim to. Eternally macabre and triumphantly morbid, Autopsy still reign supreme in their blood-drenched kingdom. |
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Killing Songs : Final Frost, The Voracious One, Born in Blood, Flesh Strewn Temple, Skin by Skin |
Goat quoted 80 / 100 | ||||||||||
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