Horrific Obsession

OK, this is for many Autopsy fans not quite what they have waited for (a new album), but what we have here is a two-song EP of the legendary Death Metal band Autopsy that released it's last album "Shitfun" 15 years ago. Nobody saw this release coming, as Danny Coralles stated in 2004 that there would never be an Autopsy come-back. Now, here is it. I heard about this EP when I saw the recent "Severed Survival" Re-issue, containing these two new musical metal monstrosities, in my local music store.
And I have it. Besides the lyrics to the two new songs "Horrific Obsession" and "Feast of the Graveworm", there is a band interview included in the booklet with Chris Reifert, Danny Coralles and Eric Cutler talking about this and that. But the really interesting thing is Eric Cutler saying that they actually might do more. Wow!
Suddenly a change of mind? I can't really answer that. The reason for that is the word "actually". So it means they could if they wanted to, but maybe they're not really resolute.

However, from the theory to the tracks. The first is the title song, and if you havent't listened to Autopsy in a while, this will definitely sound like their older stuff to you. They managed to keep the filthy, gory doom-influenced sound that the Autopsy fan knows and loves so well. The vocals are growled in the best Reifert-manner, and the lyrics kill!:


"Had to get some company
For the first corpse, now there's three
Two in bed, one in a chair
Watching with a vacant stare"

If this is not brilliant. The song seems to be about a necrophiliac that is on the look-out for an "eternal family", so he gets some corpses from the graveyard and puts them into his living-room (also check out the lyrics that I have put up).
We have some excellent Coralles and Cutler guitar leads, and the drums are pounding blows to the head.
Track number 2, "Feast of the Graveworm" is, like the title says, about what happens with a disposed cadaver after it has been thrown in a garbage container. What really surprises me is the inventiveness in those lyrics; it seems like Reifert never runs out of new ideas. It contains brilliantly original riffs, a slower section and also a faster (I'm almost forced to say "thrashier") part followed by a shrieking Cutler-solo. The doomish riffs remind me of 1991's "Mental Funeral" album. Pure fuckin' old-school worship!

All in all, the two songs are a fulfillment of musical expectations for an Autopsy fan. I'm pretty proud to own this EP, and if you don't have it, I can only recommend you to get it, it's definitely worth it. So I give this release an 80 % rating for all its awesomeness, but what disturbs a bit is that it's only 8 minutes. Anyway, I'll take this as a preview for more stuff soon!

“I can tell you there will never be an Autopsy reunion. Chris feels that nobody gave a fuck about Autopsy when they were together, but right after they disbanded, all he was ever asked about was Autopsy when he was trying to shelve it and get people to check out Abscess. And I agree that Abscess is very underrated. If those guys (Abscess) did their next record and called it an Autopsy release, without changing anything, it would sell shitloads just because of the "classic underground band" stigma attached to Autopsy. That's what I think anyway, some might disagree.”

After hearing this coming out of Danny Coralles in May 2004, I’m quite surprised to actually see them going through it and recording a couple of songs for their faithful fans. One can’t blame him, I myself never made the effort of listening to Abscess. It’s very unfortunate that the band had to break up after the failure of their slight experimentation with hardcore punk in Shitfun.

But anyway, this offering is fairly appraisable. The production is raw, thereby not depriving it of the feel. The riffs are not bad, I wouldn’t say they impressed me, but still they’re okay. The doomy side to their music is still there, as can be seen in the first track Horrific Obsession. After all, they were one of the leading pioneers of the death/doom genre. The song ends with a nicely done solo, and the second song, Feast of the Graveworm, is just as good, featuring solos as well as a doomy section. I unfortunately cannot comment on the lyrics because I think there was some problem about the label not wanting people to look at it illegally or something, so I couldn’t find them anywhere. Overall these two tracks won’t disappoint you at all and are definitely a must for every fan.

And for those who want to see more from Autopsy, Peaceville Records will be releasing a special two-disc edition of Severed Survival in less than a month from now to mark the album’s 20th anniversary. Also featured in the package is a booklet with notes by the band themselves, detailing the history of Autopsy's early years.