Autopsy (band)

Initial career Autopsy was formed in August 1987 by Chris Reifert and Eric Cutler, shortly after Reifert's departure from Death. The band recorded a demo that year, ''Demo '87, before Danny 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 to Peaceville 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. Autopsy participated in what was dubbed the "Blood Brothers tour" in Europe with Bolt Thrower and Pestilence in 1990. The three bands took turns headlining. Reifert recalled thinking the name of the tour, which the promoter had come up with, was "kind of dumb." He said, "I remember they made a tour shirt that was equally dumb. We were like, 'Oh, yeah, happy flying skulls...' That was a stupid shirt. So that was definitely not our doing, any of that stuff." Reifert claimed that the band received no payment for the shows, and that the promoter "ran off to Thailand with the money," never to be seen by them again. 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 after Mental Funeral, the band reentered the studio to record the Fiend for Blood EP, which was followed by their third full-length, Acts of the Unspeakable, which featured shorter songs and a more grindcore influenced sound. A difficult US tour in 1993 led to the decision to disband Autopsy after the recording of a final album. Shitfun, released in early 1995, was heavily influenced by hardcore punk and would prepare fans for Abscess, 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 documentary ''Metal: A Headbanger's Journey'' when the film's narrator and star, Sam Dunn read aloud a verse from the band's song "Charred Remains". Reunion After several years of speculation regarding an Autopsy reunion, and denial of the possibility, the band members briefly reunited in September 2008 to record two new tracks for the special edition of their 1989 debut Severed Survival. They later reconvened to the Maryland Deathfest in 2009. They released The Tomb Within EP in September 2010, Macabre Eternal in 2011, Born Undead DVD in 2012, The Headless Ritual in 2013 and Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves in 2014. Autopsy released the EP Skullgrinder on November 27, 2015. They released the EP Puncturing 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. On July 27, 2022, the band revealed their new album, Morbidity Triumphant, would be released on September 30. On August 31, 2023, Autopsy announced their ninth studio album, Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts, would be released on October 27. The band is expected to release their next album in 2027. ==Musical style and influences==

Eduardo Rivadavia of AllMusic categorized Autopsy as a death metal band with "grindcore tendencies", and described their sound as a "caustic" fusion of thrash, doom and death metal. Autopsy's music alternates between rapid and slow passages, breaking from typical death metal fashion at the time of the genre's infancy. According to Chris Krovatin of Kerrang: "The band’s constant swing between noisy traditional racket and dissonant doom moved away from metal's beats-per-minute arms race and reveled in the bodily weirdness that was at the heart of the genre's growth throughout the '90s." According to Joe DaVita of Loudwire: "Autopsy represent the ugliest end of death metal’s spectrum. Horror-drenched leads clash with lumbering, reckless rhythms in a battle of death and doom." Chris Reifert's drumming has been called "clunky" and has been likened to "the sound of a garbage bag hitting the side of a dumpster." As a vocalist, Reifert uses both screams and death growls in the band's music. ==Impact==

Along with fellow Bay Area band Possessed and Reifert's previous group Death, Autopsy have been considered a pioneering band in the death metal genre. Early bands such as Entombed, Dismember, Gorefest, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide have all credited Autopsy as an influence in their sound. In addition, Autopsy have helped to pioneer death-doom. ==Band members==

Current members • Chris Reifert – lead vocals, drums, percussion , bass • Eric Cutler – guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals , bass • Danny Coralles – guitar , bass • Greg Wilkinson – bass Former members • Steve Cutler – bass • Josh Barohn – bass • Freeway Migliore – bass • Joe Trevisano – bass Session musicians • Steve Di Giorgio – bass • Clint Bower – bass Live members • Dan Lilker – bass Timeline ==Discography==

Studio albums • Severed Survival (1989) • Mental Funeral (1991) • Acts of the Unspeakable (1992) • Shitfun (1995) • Macabre Eternal (2011) • The Headless Ritual (2013) • Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves (2014) • Morbidity Triumphant (2022) • Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts (2023) EPs/Singles • Retribution for the Dead (1990) • Fiend for Blood (1991) • The Tomb Within (2010) • Skull Grinder (2015) • Puncturing the Grotesque (2017) Live albums • Tortured Moans of Agony (1998) • Dead as Fuck (2004) • Dark Crusades (2010) • Live in Chicago (2020) Demos • 1987 Demo (1987) • Critical Madness (1988) Compilations • Ridden with Disease (2000) • Torn from the Grave (2001) • ''All Tomorrow's Funerals'' (2012) • Introducing Autopsy (2013) Re-releases • Severed Survival/Retribution for the Dead (1994) • Acts of the Unspeakable/Fiend for Blood (2003) ==Filmography==

• Dark Crusades (with liner notes and band interview by Joel McIver; Peaceville Records, 2006) • Born Undead (produced by Jesse Davis; Peaceville Records, 2012) ==References==