Okay so it’s no real secret that Death Metal and Horror go hand in hand, if anything I would probably blame Horror for my addiction to this bloodsoaked genre, and vice versa. As my interest in Death Metal subject matter has grown more depraved so has my taste in horror movies with an ever growing desire to seek out the sickest of the sick. All that aside though you just can’t beat the classics, and one classic in particular would be George A. Romero’s Day Of The Dead. So let’s rev up this machine and get started “* points finger * Bang! You’re dead”.
Foul Body Autopsy have hacked their way through the hordes of the UK under the single leadership of Tom Reynolds since 2010 bringing their one man Death Metal to the masses like the UK’s answer to Putrid Pile, or not as genre may dictate. Rather than a Brutal Death Metal edge Foul Body Autopsy choose to go down a more Thrash inspired Death Metal route but we will come to that later. This Machine Kills Zombies is the bands second full length following the debut 2013 self titled full length. This album promises a lot as a though provoking, concept album praising the classic Day Of The Dead, but is it really possible to live up to the classic films timeless prowess.
It pains me to say but this album is as basic as it comes, and the one man gimmick doesn’t help much either with the heard it all before Thrash riffs and overly melodic passages. I first got into Foul Body Autopsy in around 2011 and at the time was thoroughly excited at the aspect of a one man Death Metal band, as years have gone by I have lost interest but I felt like this album showed a little promise. Perhaps my tastes have grown, or perhaps I’ve become a snob I just don’t know but the heavily melodic Thrash flooded Death Metal sounds good but uninspired, vocally, lyrically and conceptually this album hits all the right spots and the same can be said for the instrumentation it’s spot on but its all been done before.
I personally feel like Foul Body Autopsy are the sort of band who are better live than on record, namely for one reason, production. I am unsure if the drums are programmed or not on This Machine Kills Zombies but nevertheless they sound like they are and at times like a moth trapped in a cupboard. There is no doubt that Tom is a powerful musician particularly in songs like Chaos Reigns and Purified Ready To Reclaim which actually exhibits some fine riffs and is probably one of the best songs in the bands discography.
Overall I must sound like I’m a ranting elitist reprobate, but I’m not I have to say that I could listen to this album again, I could learn to love it and I commend the musicianship and concept. However it just doesn’t break out of the box when it promises so much. Coming out with a homage to one of Horrors greatest directors is a strong position to put yourself in, and unfortunately it can leave you in the firing line, after all, “we don’t have enough ammunition to shoot them all in the head!”
(3/10 George Caley)
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