Ebay. Die Hard. Axl Rose’s strange decision to get dreadlocks.
All of these things, believe it or not, are younger than Autopsy, who have existed at the heart of the American death metal scene for more than two decades.
Officially released yesterday, All Tomorrow’s Funerals is the latest chapter in the amazing history of these legends. This release contains new studio tracks recorded in late 2011 — including a re-recorded version of classic oldie “Mauled to Death” — plus all of Autopsy’s past EP’s and rarities, specially remastered by the band itself. All told, that is 22 Autopsy tracks that you need to add to your library.
And Invisible Oranges is here to help. In conjunction with Peaceville Records, we’re giving away two copies of All Tomorrow’s Funerals; one on vinyl and another on CD (we’ll choose two winners — one for each format). To enter to win, tell us in the comments below why you love Autopsy and how you define their their influence on death metal. This contest will end at midnight on Wednesday, March 7. You must have a mailing address in the continental US or Canada to enter.
I love Autopsy because they sound like what a Death Metal band should sound like. They make you think of Death, Decay, Disease and a Zombie attack. Their influence can be defined in two parts. The first is their standing as idols to the Norwegian and Swedish scenes (the Swedes all taking a direct cue and the Norwegian Black Metal bands saying they were one of the few DM bands they respected back then and still do now). Second Autopsy serve as the basis for the majority of the Old School Death Metal revival seen in the past few years (where sloppy and punk are a welcome mix to Death Metal).
I need the vinyl of this. Like most people, I’m guessing, I love Autopsy for the doomy elements and the atmosphere. I remember Cosmo did a mixtape at one point of just the doomy parts from Morbid Angel. That’s an even more consistent part of the Autopsy sound, and it’s influenced countless bands (Coffins being my favorite). And it’s such a cool sound that I don’t even mind the fact that some of the bands Autopsy has influenced are basically Autopsy clones.
Also, that cover is impossibly badass. And the _All Tomorrow’s Funerals_ title is a stroke of macabre genius. Would love to hear their take on “Heroin.”
These guys ruled so hard at Gathering of Bestial Legion.
Devastating.
Wow, that cover is amazing.
Why do I love Autopsy? It might be Coralles’s ripping guitar solos and grimy riffs that haunt my dreams. It may be Reifert’s manic growls and quick yet controlled drumming. Autopsy is probably the first old school death metal band, that i got. They are to death metal what Lovecraft was to atmospheric cosmic horror. They started playing their brutal form of death metal that has been imitated so many times, set the path for death-doom to be a legitimate genre, then pull into a more hardcore influenced sound that gets my goat every time. Now they are back, there new material, although in the traditional Autopsy style, sounds fresh and exciting. Even as this band ages, they still manage to put out new exhilarating music that most of the young guys in death metal can barely keep up with let alone match. They are a living embodiment of what death metal was and should be.
THEY RIFFS!
They brought alot of simplicity to death metal, but in a good way. Songwriting strength. They were almost the sludge version of death metal. I love Autopsy because they know how to write good songs and keep them brutal at the same time.
How many bands have singing drummers?? Nuff said.
I love Autopsy because they know exactly what makes Death metal, or more generally any kind of metal, work. They’ve never forgotten the roots of this kind of music, and that goes further back than Possessed’s first record. When listening to their work one can hear the sinister lurch of Black Sabbath, and the macabre theatre of the Alice Cooper Group. When some people equate ‘old school death metal’ with sounding like it’s 1995: Autopsy goes much further back into the dark, seedy underworld of rock. When ‘Macabre Eternal’ came out last year the group weren’t content to release something that was a rehash of past glories, they used their sick imaginations and came up with something fresh and decayed at the same time.
They wrote the riff bible. That’s why I love them. Their influence on death metal is beyond measure. The silly game of extreme one-upmansmanship, while resulting in some amazing bands, and Autopsy’s stubborn refusal to play along brought the focus squarely back on the sickening, queasy atmosphere and, more importantly, the art of songcraft.
*one-upsmanship
Because they put out.
Autopsy are masters of atmosphere: that creeping, lurching, lurking dread that haunts your steps and twists your thoughts down dark corridors. They are one of the few death metal bands in existence with a direct link to Sabbath — the tortured simplicity of their riffing betraying more menace than any complicated fret run.
When I first heard of this album title, I thought Autopsy was curating an ATP (All Tomorrow’s Parties) festival. I hope that happens. Steve Albini can curate the other half.
BTW who’s going to see Autopsy in Chicago on Cinco De Mayo with Cianide, Bones, Cardiac Arrest & Reign Inferno?
Why I love Autopsy: At first I didn’t get Autopsy. This was in the mid-nineties. They barely blasted. They’d play killer riffs for like half a bar, and then turn around and beat some ugly dissonant mess into the ground for minutes at a time. The vocals sounded like a shit-eating maniac. The lyrics made me physically nauseous. I stayed away.
So Abscess burst out. I mostly ignored them, except “Altar Toy.” Then “Through the Cracks of Death” kind of peeled my shit back. I started to hear that what had sounded like swirling vomit was actually a thoughtfully arranged and obsessively performed death metal expulsion, derived from of the band’s collective years of listening to and playing extreme metal, punk, rock and doom. An expulsion necessitated by the band not getting exactly what they wanted from what was available.
Now that I “got” what they were doing, I started to crawl into Autopsy’s catalog up through the asshole (Shitfun is the sickest and heaviest Autopsy, deal with it) and since then I’d bet at least once a day I’ve listened to some Reifert & co. song.
Defining Autopsy’s Influence: To me, what’s so influential about Autopsy is how every element of their sound is meant to generate maximum horror, and how many methods they have to get there.
First, their use of perverted harmonies is unmatched. Autopsy draws deep and often from the same well used by Priest, Maiden, etc., except that Autopsy’s dual melodies are meant to generate uncanny horror and nauseating dread.
Adding to that unease is that Autopsy always seems to be a half-step “off.” I’m not a musician so I have difficulty explaining this, but it became clear when I saw them live – the band doesn’t land on the beat, unless they’re squaring back to punch you in the face. The cumulative effect is disquieting, to say the least.
Finally, they’re just riff monsters. “Ridden with Disease,” “Dark Crusades,” “Always About to Die” – FUUUUCKKK. More than that, it’s not a riff salad – even a recent song like “Sickening Horror” shows each massive riff complements the one before it, as well as setting up the next section.
Like any truly great/inspiring/awesome body of work, it’s easy to say too much about Autopsy, so I’ll shut up shortly. But lately as I get old (so old) what I find most influential about Autopsy is that they show with sufficient dedication you can get better at your craft. “Macabre Eternal” lacks the youth that propelled “Mental Funeral,” but it shows they’re a band that’s still excited about songwriting. But now (2012) with so many twists and turns already explored, Autopsy has to go deeper, weirder, and heavier to get back to where they want to be – rotting in the belly of the beast.
Everything I love about Autopsy can be summed up in 3 songs. Just listen to the “Retribution For The Dead” EP and then prepare to listen to it again immediately. Tell me that isn’t the most sinister, hypnotic death-gasm you’ve ever heard. If you disagree, feel free to kill yourself. I MUST HEAR this on vinyl!!!!!
They are true death metal to the bone. That double vinyl edition would be one bad ass edition to my collection. Autopsy is a death metal band that knows how to groove and write actual songs. I think a lot of bands that don’t dive headfirst into technical for the sake of being technical musicianship really idolize Autopsy as a real front runner of the death metal scene. Numerous death metal bands since Autopsy’s inception have incorporated elements of their sound into their own.
Autopsy is one of those bands that grabs you by the neck, forces you to listen. Their distinctive sound captivated me from the very first listen, in fact they are one of the few bands where I sat mesmerized through multiple listens. I couldn’t do anything BUT love this band.
Autopsy’s contributions to the death metal genre are undeniable. Other people might be able to better describe HOW they’re influential, but every death metal band that came after Autopsy had to make a choice to adopt some of the style that Autopsy created OR make a concerted effort to NOT sound like Autopsy. When you’re at that point in a genre you are one of the early creators.
Geez, where do you start? Autopsy, the king’s of Metalgrind. A lot of bands say its all really Rock and Roll(Motorhead, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Ozzy, just to name a few), but this band, along with Terrorizer, Repulsion and Napalm Death created a whole genre. This is really what you call Heavy Metal. Finally. No looking back, no name checking, no blues influence, just the real deal. You better believe it, go tell that to the mountain, Oh me brothers! I play these bands CD’s at least a couple times a week. Autopsy is by far the King of the Mountain. And they are still making kick-butt music.
Awaken from an ancient slumber,
Underground in a rotting coffin.
Try to claw your way through 6 feet of dirt.
Out of your mouth, maggots and beetles spew forth,
Pulsating to the madness that fills your skull.
Suffocatingly heavy, the weight of eternity presses down.
You’ve just awoken inside your worst fucking nightmare.
This is AUTOPSY…the sound of the grave and the soundtrack to your funeral.