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Album Review – Autopsy / Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts (2023)

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Oakland, California’s own Death Metal institution is back with their pulverizing ninth studio album, featuring brutal bouts of riffery feral attacks, soul crushing doom and all out skull splitting heaviness.

Likely needing no introduction, Oakland, California’s own metal institution Autopsy has been a pioneering Death Metal band for 36 years now. They’ve influenced a generation of bands with their brutal, unhinged brand of violent, grotesque Death Metal with classic releases like Mental Funeral and Severed Survival, and now in 2023 the band formed of Chris Reifert on vocals and drums, Eric Cutler on vocals and guitars, Danny Coralles on the guitars, and Greg Wilkinson on bass returns to the battlefield with their ninth studio album, titled Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts. Recorded by Scott Evans and Greg Wilkinson at Sharkbite Studios, mixed by Greg Wilkinson at Earhammer Studio, mastered by Ken Lee at Ken Lee Mastering, and displaying a visceral artwork by Wes Benscoter, the album follows last year’s acclaimed Morbidity Triumphant, while also featuring brutal bouts of riffery feral attacks, soul crushing doom and all out skull splitting heaviness recommended for fans of Obituary, Suffocation, Immolation and Deicide, just to name a few.

Eric and Danny begin their rabid riff attack in Rapid Funeral, a no shenanigans, ass-kicking Death Metal composition that exhales heaviness, rage and violence, and the band needs a little less than three minutes to crush our cranial skulls in Throatsaw, with the hammering drums by Chris walking hand in hand with all deep, guttural vocals blasted throughout the song. Then slowing things down a bit but keeping the atmosphere dark and evil we have No Mortal Left Alive, with Greg adding an extra touch of obscurity to the overall result with his low-tuned bass; whereas their devilish riffs and bass accompanied by the ruthless drums by Greg will haunt your souls in Well of Entrails, offering more of the band’s trademark Death Metal, followed by the title-track Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts, where not only they continue to demolish our senses with their undisputed extreme sounds, but there are also hints of Progressive Death Metal and even Doom Metal added to it to make things even more infernal.

And the band’s guitar duo shows no mercy for our spinal cords in Bones to the Wolves, inspiring us to slam into the pit while they deliver sheer awesomeness through their riffs and solos; whereas their guitar madness goes on in Marrow Fiend, also presenting their traditional harsh growls spiced up by the doomed beats by Chris, followed by Toxic Death Fuck, and a beautiful name obviously needed an uncompromised, demonic sonority, which is exactly what Autopsy offer us all with the guitars by Eric and Danny exhaling heaviness. Get ready to break your neck in the name of Death and Doom Metal in Lobotomizing Gods, once again proving why Autopsy are one of the most beloved bands of the underworld, and it’s then time for a destructive onrush titled Death Is the Answer, perfect for diving into the circle pit in the name of gore and violence, with Chris dictating the song’s pace with his demolishing beats. Lastly, the quartet invests in their most Doom Metal vein in Coagulation, bringing to our avid ears gargantuan, vile roars, disturbing riffs and sluggish beats until the very end.

You can see what such important name of the Death Metal scene is up to on Facebook and on Instagram, stream all of their incendiary albums on Spotify, and of course grab your copy of Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts by clicking HERE. Based on the quality of the music found in their 2022 album Morbidity Triumphant, and specially on their newborn beast Ashes, Organs, Blood And Crypts, the guys from Autopsy are far from calling it quits, keeping the fires of old school Death Metal burning and, consequently, inviting us all to get into the pit together with them like there’s no tomorrow, and may we keep getting more and more albums of pure, unfiltered Death Metal like their latest installment in the coming years.

Best moments of the album: Throatsaw, Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts and Death Is the Answer.

Worst moments of the album: No Mortal Left Alive.

Released in 2023 Peaceville Records

Track listing
1. Rapid Funeral 5:02
2. Throatsaw 2:31
3. No Mortal Left Alive 4:35
4. Well of Entrails 5:06
5. Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts 3:45
6. Bones to the Wolves 4:16
7. Marrow Fiend 3:32
8. Toxic Death Fuck 2:41
9. Lobotomizing Gods 2:34
10. Death Is the Answer 3:41
11. Coagulation 3:38

Band members
Chris Reifert – vocals, drums
Eric Cutler – vocals, guitars
Danny Coralles – guitars
Greg Wilkinson – bass

Album Review – Cattle Decapitation / Terrasite (2023)

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Fear the devourer of earth in the form of the brand new and absolutely majestic album by California’s own Progressive Death Metal and Grindcore masters.

Dedicated to the memory of Gabe Serbian (RIP), former guitarist and drummer of the band from 1996 until 2000 and also known for his work with The Locust, Holy Molar and Zu, the acid and infernal Terrasite, the brand new album by San Diego, California’s own Progressive Death Metal/Grindcore masters Cattle Decapitation, is a work-of-art by one of the most important extreme music bands of all time. Produced, mixed and mastered by Dave Otero at Flatline Audio, and displaying a phenomenal artwork by American illustrator Wes Benscoter, who has been working with the band since their 2002 album To Serve Man and with countless other metal giants the likes of Bloodbath, Slayer and Hipocrisy, Terrasite (which is the portmanteau of the words “terra”, or “earth” in Latin, and “sitos”, or “food” in Greek, and a paronomasia with the word “parasite”, meaning a devourer or destroyer of land or earth or a post-Anthropocene “humanity”) offers our avid ears everything we love and more in the music by frontman Travis Ryan, guitarists Josh Elmore and Belisario Dimuzio, bassist Olivier Pinard and drummer David McGraw, positioning it as one of the beast albums in their career and, consequently, as one of the top metal releases of 2023.

Featuring keys and drums by Dis Pater (of Midnight Odyssey), Terrasitic Adaptation is a sinister opener that already blasts our minds with their caustic lyrics (“Life finds a way / The fauna from the trauma / Culled from the pages of this human drama / Our petrified tombs / Now crumbling oothecas / From which a new species of human arises”) and an infernal but extremely technical sound; followed by We Eat Our Young, a bestial creation by Cattle Decapitation with Travis sounding inhumane on vocals accompanied by the demented drums by David and the always scorching riffs by Josh and Belisario, or in other words, it’s a newborn classic by those unrelenting metallers. Dis Pater returns in the ruthless Scourge of the Offspring, a song that keeps the album at an insane level of aggressiveness with Travis once again barking and roaring nonstop amidst a stunning Progressive Death Metal hurricane. There’s no sign of slowing down as The Insignificants is another breathtaking aria by the quintet where the drums by David and the rumbling bass by Olivier generate a massive sonic earthquake, whereas The Storm Upstairs sounds chaotic, grim and austere from the very first second, with the razor-edged riffage by Josh and Belisario piercing our minds mercilessly.

Get ready to be smashed like a putrid corpse in …And the World Will Go on Without You, spearheaded by the infernal blast beats by David and the inhumane growls by Travis, resulting in one of the heaviest moments of the album hands down. There’s no hope for mankind and Cattle Decapitation make sure we understand that in A Photic Doom, with the band’s stringed trio bringing endless heaviness and electricity to their music; followed by Dead End Residents, a headbanging composition by the band showcasing their trademark violence and dexterity, also presenting somber background elements which enhance Travis’ vocal performance considerably. Solastalgia is ruthless and extremely intricate from start to finish, with the entire band being on fire delivering first-class Progressive Death Metal with Grindcore nuances for our vulgar delectation; and lastly we have the grim aria Just Another Body, again featuring keys and drums by Dis Pater and more of their darkly poetic words (“Existence… the poetry of the flesh which we will trust from conception to dust / Just another body – a temple of shit / Filled with the trash that we dump in it”), offering us all over ten minutes of sonic perfection, with the combination of phantasmagorical keys with sheer Death Metal devastation turning the song into a must-listen for any fan of heavy music.

“We are one of the few bands that have never rested on our laurels and keep pushing ourselves to improve. At this stage of our careers we could easily be trying to rewrite Monolith Of Inhumanity (2012) over and over, but since we did not and have never settled that way, the end results were The Anthropocene Extinction (2015), Death Atlas (2019) and now Terrasite, which have pushed us further into more mature and experimental territory,” commented Josh about their new album, while Travis said that “I just feel with the way things change so drastically nowadays, especially the last three or four years, that it’s surprising an extreme metal band can not only be around for so damn long but still stay anchored in this constantly changing scene that’s dictated where it’s going to go by younger generations – and still maintain relevance. Our band truly is an anomaly. I’d prefer to keep it that way.” If they’re an anomaly, they’re an ass-kicking one, and Terrasite, which is available for a full listen on YouTube and on Spotify, will always feature among their best albums due to its heaviness, intricacy and impact. Hence, don’t forget to follow Cattle Decapitation on Facebook and on Instagram, to subscribe to their YouTube channel, and to purchase a copy of the stunning Terrasite by clicking HERE, adding such hymns to the downfall of mankind to your bestial collection and, therefore, having the perfect soundtrack to our extinction on your dirty hands.

Best moments of the album: We Eat Our Young, Scourge of the Offspring, …And the World Will Go on Without You, Solastalgia and Just Another Body.

Worst moments of the album: None.

Released in 2023 Metal Blade Records

Track listing
1. Terrasitic Adaptation 5:01
2. We Eat Our Young 3:55
3. Scourge of the Offspring 4:28
4. The Insignificants 4:43
5. The Storm Upstairs 5:27
6. …And the World Will Go on Without You 4:14
7. A Photic Doom 4:26
8. Dead End Residents 5:09
9. Solastalgia 4:56
10. Just Another Body 10:15

Band members
Travis Ryan – vocals
Josh Elmore – lead guitars
Belisario Dimuzio – rhythm guitars
Olivier Pinard – bass
David McGraw – drums

Guest musicians
Dis Pater – keyboards and drums on “Terrasitic Adaptation”, “Scourge of the Offspring” and “Just Another Body”
Dave Otero – additional keyboards on “Just Another Body”