Okay, you know the history: a string of crushing death metal albums between 1989 and 1995, when the band split; in 2004, Autopsy's Danny Coralles proclaims that the band would never reunite; in 2008 they get together in the studio for a brief stint; in 2010 they announce their permanent reunion, releasing an EP later that year; and in 2011, Autopsy release this, Macabre Eternal, their first full length in 16 years and everybody goes nuts. Why? Because Autopsy are legends and the scene has had a gaping hole in it from which many an inferior imitator has spewed forth. As with their earlier releases, Macabre Eternal is a gimmickless slab of pure death. Opening track "Hand of Darkness" gets straight to the point and "Dirty Gore Whore" follows suit, both tracks a bloody discharge of primitive gore-infested riffage and deranged vocal rage – signature Autopsy. From here on, it's all-out carnage and Autopsy reveal themselves to still be ahead of the game. Crusted chug riffs collide with melodic breakdowns, perverted death and doom riffs, and maniacal lead work – check the solo in "Always About To Die", "Sewn Into One", the solo that follows the "Bridge of Bones" acoustic interlude, and the twin lead work in the eleven minute "Sadistic Gratification" for some frenzied plank abuse. Reifert's lunatic vocals brim with death growls and psychopathic shrieks, each tortured syllable a violently spewed chunk of putrescence.
Resurrections of the long-deceased usually rely too heavily on the template of their early works, but these crusty demons have produced an album that lives up to their much-revered status and moves them forward stylistically. Macabre Eternal is a violent, intense, and unreservedly gruesome addition to the death metal canon that will make others take a good look at their over-produced attempts that fall a long way off from where they should be.
Track Listing
- Hand Of Darkness
- Dirty Gore Whore
- Always About To Die
- Macabre Eternal
- Deliver Me From Sanity
- Seeds Of The Doomed
- Bridge Of Bones
- Born Undead
- Sewn Into One
- Bludgeoned Brain
- Sadistic Gratification
- Spill My Blood
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