It seems like just last year that I received the new Autopsy album to metaphorically gush over. Oh, what’s that you say? It was just last year?! Well I’ll be blown (again, metaphorically): just a matter of months ago, these reformed lunatics graced us with one of the finest records of their crust-caked existence. Now it’s time for album number seven to continue the band’s quest for carnage…
‘Savagery’ throws us headlong into this latest meat-grinding experience; faster, harder and more primordial than the death/blues of previous masterpiece ‘The Headless Ritual’. A full-on pummelling arrangement, the opener embodies Autopsy’s trademark brutality with creepy guitar runs and deranged solo work thrown in for good measure. The first excursion into doom here, preceded by a bit of rancid opening dialogue, is ‘King of Ripped Flesh’. Dominated by haunting guitar work and ritualistic drum beats, this is the soundtrack to catastrophe. But if you thought that was bad (by which I mean really good) then just try getting your ears around the hefty, disjointed rhythms of the title track. Denying the listener much room to settle into, the most apt words to describe it are ‘fucked up’. (Fans of the band will certainly revel in that ungodly final shriek of ‘Graaaaaves!!’.) Next up is ‘The Howling Dead’ which mixes things up further with something approaching subtlety in its atmospheric build-up and epic main body.
As we approach the midpoint of the album, things take a marked turn towards the brutally primitive. First comes ‘After the Cutting’ which kicks into existence like a caveman scorned. Driving along the track’s violent tangents are Reifert’s drums, as they pound relentlessly against eardrums like the club swung by that aforementioned, raging apeman. Similarly, the drum patterns and spasmodic riffs of ‘Forever Hungry’ intermittently wreak havoc in a way that only this band can. Yet for all that the cocktail of crazed sounds almost forces my entire body into convulsions and a dozen contradictory movements at the same time, it’s also fair to say that this is the weakest track overall. Come ‘Teeth of the Shadow Horde’ and its mix of primordial beats, Malboro-diet vocals and twisted guitar work re-inject proceedings with a greater sense of purpose. And from there, things simply get better: first with a vague instrumental, and then with the unhinged death metal lullaby, ‘Deep Crimson Dreaming’. This track nine – juxtaposing mania with beauty – is without doubt one of the greatest things that Autopsy has ever committed to tape.
Which is not to downplay the rest. Starting off Sabbath-esque, ‘Parasitic Eye’ naturally transforms into rancid, offal-infused soup, before ‘Burial’ comes out as grizzled and murky as any of Reifert&Co’s previous work. Those largely simplistic drum beats in unison with each lurking guitar movement are absolutely top drawer… And then you get that mental fast bit – this time the soundtrack to smashing things. All of which leads nicely to the closing track, and namesake of the band. ‘Autopsy’ is spine-tingling from the start, shifting from needling mid-pace riffs to primal speed. And that whole end section with dialogue – particularly the utterance of ‘Brain damaged…’ – just begins to sum up this mighty act.
Ultimately, ‘Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves’ does contain some brilliant stuff, particularly in the latter stages. While the omission of a track might have streamlined its entirety, I still think that ‘The Headless Ritual’ has the edge over this sonically stripped back effort. Somehow that album got me right there (points between legs). Still, this is another highly consistent, and occasionally genius, statement of utter death metal.
(8/10 Jamie)
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