7) “Pus / Rot”
[youtube]https://youtu.be/eXREEZg3Rns[/youtube]
This two-parter is probably my favorite track off of Acts of The Unspeakable, Autopsy’s third full-length release. Acts has a weird history for me, as, like Shitfun, it’s an Autopsy album that typically takes a back seat to Mental Funeral and Severed Survival. I actually never even heard this album in its entirety until 2009 when I found the digipak reissue in a record store and couldn’t pass up the chance to get to buy a good album off the shelf (for once, as opposed to ordering it online, which is how I get 90% of my stuff these days. :`(). Like I’ve said all along here, Autopsy’s catalog isn’t particularly known for deviating from the formula the guys originally laid down back in the old days. Acts of The Unspeakable does see them starting to incorporate a bit more of a punk flair than Mental Funeral’s doom influence, but these songs are just as much Autopsy as anything else they’d done before. “Pus / Rot” is a great place to start if you’re into their older stuff and haven’t heard this album yet; the first bit features a plodding, doomy lead-in reminiscent of Severed Survival’s “Service For A Vacant Coffin,” then breaks into a galloping thump covered in some of Reifert’s tastiest belches. While “Meat” may not have been the ideal album opener, just get past it and wait for shit to start getting good. I just don’t see how you can like their first two records and not like this, bro. I just don’t.
8) “Retribution For The Dead”
[youtube]https://youtu.be/TkDPjDoidvw[/youtube]
This one isn’t so much slept-on. In fact, it’s one of Autopsy’s more celebrated songs. But I’ve included it here because it’s a prime example of how Autopsy used singles and EP’s as more than just stop-gap releases between albums (which is as much a product of the times as an artistic statement). All of the band’s non-LP releases feature some killer work, stuff that’s on par with anything they’ve delivered on a full-length. “Retribution For The Dead” features some of the band’s most overt Sabbath worship, particularly at the beginning with the guitars working that tritone hard, son. In addition to being a killer track, this song started a tradition of including the devil’s note (or a variation of it) up through Acts of The Unspeakable and as recently as my aforementioned pick, “My Corpse Shall Rise.” Don’t ignore EP’s, man. They’re not always b-sides, remixes or demos. “Retribution For The Dead” can be found on its eponymous EP, as well as All Tomorrow’s Funerals. If you haven’t noticed by now, All Tomorrow’s Funerals is jam-packed with awesome shit, including the Fiend For Blood EP, as well as a handful of new songs recorded specifically to accompany the compilation.
9) “Disembowel”
[youtube]https://youtu.be/7XwO_emwAoQ[/youtube]
The band made their name, as well as a monumental contribution to their genre, with the release of their debut album, 1989’s Severed Survival. So many years and so many albums later, most of their live set is still pulled from the era. It’s death metal in its purest form; it’s music written at a time when there wasn’t really a blueprint for it. Looking at other death metal records from around then, it’s clear Autopsy’s style was a monumental part of what everyone in American death metal was doing. But bands with a more technical tilt seem to have done the majority of influencing today’s biggest acts. There’s a punk sloppiness to this album that gives it just as much charm as its disgusting lyrics, and while there’s definitely plenty of that element in today’s death metal underground, some of the more technical stuff of the last ten years is missing it. “Disembowel” doesn’t get as much love as “Charred Remains,” “Pagan Saviour,” or “Critical Madness,” but it’s one of the album’s catchier tracks, as well as one of Severed Survival’s most bass-heavy performances.
Listen to Autopsy. These dudes haven’t missed a beat since they’ve been back together. It’s a wonder why they ever called it quits in the first place. Abscess gave us some great tunes, too, but it just doesn’t stand the test of time quite the same way. While preparing this week’s Criminally Slept-On, I asked some other folks who are into this kind of shit who they thought the nastiest death metal band of all time was. Got some cool answers. Multiple votes for Pissgrave (who are exquisite), and of course, the requisite nod for Cock and Ball Torture, as well as a handful of other excellent suggestions. My best bud even tried to mount an argument for Taylor Swift. For my money, the originals are about as disgusting as it gets. It’s hard not to crack a grin knowing the dudes who gave us “Necrocannibalistic Vomitorium,” “Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay” and “I Shit On Your Grave” are still out there. Watching. Waiting. Preparing new stuff to puke out on a yearly basis. Enjoy.
