Autopsy | |
|---|---|
 Autopsy at Setembro Negro 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Contra Costa County,California, U.S. |
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| Labels | Peaceville |
| Members | Chris Reifert Eric Cutler Danny Coralles Greg Wilkinson |
| Past members | Eric Eigard Steve Cutler Ken Sorvari Josh Barohn Freeway Migliore Dan Lilker Joe Trevisano |
Autopsy is an Americandeath metal band formed inContra Costa County,California, in 1987 byChris Reifert and Eric Cutler. The group disbanded in 1995 and reunited in 2009.[1] The band's hometown is inConcord, California.[2]
Autopsy was formed in August 1987 byChris Reifert and Eric Cutler, shortly after Reifert's departure fromDeath.[3] The band recorded a demo that year,Demo '87, beforeDanny Coralles joined in 1988 immediately prior to the recording of their second demo,Critical Madness, and along with Reifert and Cutler, would be a constant in the band's lineup. The band signed toPeaceville Records and released their debut album,Severed Survival in 1989. These early recordings featured a pioneering death metal style that adopted a slower,doom metal influenced sound. The next full-length,Mental Funeral, continued in this style and has since been cited by many other death metal musicians as particularly influential. Having completed a successful European tour soon afterMental Funeral, the band reentered the studio to record theFiend for Blood EP, which was followed by their third full-length,Acts of the Unspeakable, which featured shorter songs and a moregrindcore influenced sound. A difficult US tour in 1993 led to the decision to disband Autopsy after the recording of a final album.[4]Shitfun, released in early 1995, was heavily influenced byhardcore punk and would prepare fans forAbscess, previously a side-project of Danny Coralles and Chris Reifert, which would become their main band after Autopsy's demise.
Autopsy was featured in the 2005 music documentaryMetal: A Headbanger's Journey when the film's narrator and star, Sam Dunn read aloud a verse from the band's song "Charred Remains".
After several years of speculation regarding an Autopsy reunion, and denial of the possibility,[5] the band members briefly reunited in September 2008 to record two new tracks for the special edition of their 1989 debutSevered Survival.[6] They later reconvened to the Maryland Deathfest in 2009.[1] After Abscess broke up in June 2010, Autopsy immediately announced that they had permanently reunited.[7] They releasedThe Tomb Within EP in September 2010,Macabre Eternal in 2011,Born Undead DVD in 2012,The Headless Ritual in 2013 andTourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves in 2014. Autopsy released the EPSkullgrinder on November 27, 2015. They released the EPPuncturing the Grotesque on December 15, 2017.
In December 2021, the band announced they were working on a new album, which was tentatively due for release in 2022.[8] On July 27, 2022, the band revealed their new album,Morbidity Triumphant, would be released on September 30.[9] On August 31, 2023, the band announced their ninth studio album,Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts, would be released on October 27.[10]
Eduardo Rivadavia ofAllMusic categorized Autopsy as adeath metal band with "grindcore tendencies", and described their sound as a "caustic" fusion ofthrash,doom and death metal.[11] Autopsy's music alternates between rapid and slow passages, breaking from typical death metal fashion of the time of the genre's infancy.[12] According to Chris Krovatin ofKerrang, "The band’s constant swing betweennoisy traditional racket anddissonant doom moved away from metal'sbeats-per-minute arms race and reveled in the bodily weirdness that was at the heart of the genre's growth throughout the ’90s."[13]
Chris Reifert's drumming has been called "clunky" and has been compared to "the sound of agarbage bag hitting the side of adumpster". As a vocalist, Reifert uses bothscreams anddeath growls in the band's music.[14]
Autopsy has citedTrouble andSaint Vitus as early influences. The band also draws influence frompunk rock, and is known for the "brutal simplicity" of itsrhythm section.[15]
The members of Autopsy are film fans, particularly "anything dark and gory", and hence, the band's lyrics draw on horror and slasher film-style violence. Guitarist Eric Cutler said the band's sound is "like a soundtrack for a horror movie". Chris Reifert recalled, "We would go to the video store and rent the goriest movies we could find and watch them over and over, rewinding the gore scenes several times in a row, cackling like maniacs. So, we couldn’t help but be influenced by them." Examples of films that have influenced the band's lyrics includeTruth or Dare,Gates of Hell,Rawhead Rex,Hellraiser, andFrom Beyond.[16]
Along with fellowBay Area bandPossessed and Reifert's previous groupDeath, Autopsy have been considered a pioneering band in thedeath metal genre. Early bands such asEntombed,Dismember,Gorefest,Immolation,Cannibal Corpse andDeicide have all credited Autopsy as an influence in their sound.[17][18] In addition, Autopsy have helped to pioneerdeath-doom.[19]
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