The origin of Autopsy goes back to August of 1987 in Antioch, California, by the guitarist Eric Cutler and drummer Chris Reifert, who had recently left the band Death. The two wasted no time in forming a deadly band with a clear vision of creating the heaviest, most brutal music possible. Brief tryouts for a vocalist were attempted but ultimately proved to be futile. In the interest of moving things along, Reifert took on the job of vocalist along with drumming, while Cutler would lend his guttural vocals to the song "Mauled to Death", one of Autopsy's first creations. Inspired by all things horrific, the band even found its name in the true annals of horror while reading a newspaper article about the manager of the band Bloodbath (Danny Coralles' band at the time) being beaten to death with a lead pipe. The word Autopsy stood out and the moniker was chosen on the spot. Another outcast from the area, bassist Eric Eigard was brought into the fold and after a few rehearsals the trio entered ATR studios to record the 1987 demo which showed exactly what they had in mind for their mission.
The band promptly sent the demo tape to anyone who would listen to it and soon the metal magazines were approaching Autopsy instead of the other way around. This was a fertile time for death metal and Autopsy showed no hesitation in staking their claim in this brutal new world. Soon after the release of the debut demo, Eric Eigard left the band and was replaced by Ken Sorvari on bass. Several local shows were played with Sadus and Hexx, with one of these being attended by future guitarist Danny Coralles who was in the process of being talked into leaving Bloodbath, his band at the time, to join Autopsy by mutual friend Don Chandler. Coralles showed up at an arranged rehearsal/audition and quickly showed he was up to the task by displaying his knowledge of the material from the first demo and learning the songs for the upcoming second demo to be titled "Critical Madness". The true test came with his second time playing with Autopsy which was the recording of the demo in June of 1988. The recording took place at ATR again, and the rest was history. Copies of both demos were now circulating throughout the underground and soon enough ended up in the hands of Peaceville Records owner Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw due to a recommendation from none other than Jeff Walker of the legendary Carcass.
A deal with Peaceville was struck up straight away and Autopsy was set to enter Starlight Sound in January of 1989 to record their debut album "Severed Survival". The one problem that needed to be solved was the departure of Ken Sorvari, leaving the band without a bass player. Friend and bass annihilator from Sadus, Steve DiGiorgio was asked to step in and fill the void which he did with devastating results. The album was unleashed later in the year and let the world know that Autopsy was a brutal force to be reckoned with. Death metal would never be the same again. Shortly after "Severed Survival" was released, Ken Sorvari rejoined the band and a European tour was booked for early 1990 with Pestilence, Bolt Thrower and Morgoth. This tour got the message across more strongly than ever and a rabid following soon developed, elevating Autopsy's name to levels previously unachieved before that point. Interestingly enough, Peaceville began to see troubles regarding the "Severed "Survival" album cover which depicted a person being ripped apart by meat hooks. At that time, sensitivity to images of that sort was high and the decision was made to come up with alternate artwork so distributors could handle this monster of an album. The decision payed off and another classic album cover was created as a result. "Severed Survival" was re- launched in 1990 and the path to brutality was cut even deeper than before. As would be the pattern for Autopsy, bass player problems plagued the band again as Ken Sorvari was asked to leave following the European tour. He was replaced by Steve Cutler, Eric's brother and another European tour was booked, this time with label -mates Paradise Lost.
Autopsy entered Different Fur studios in San Francisco that same year to record the three song "Retribution for the Dead" e.p. In November of 1990, Different Fur was visited again for the recording of the legendary Mental Funeral album. Both "Retribution for the Dead" and "Mental Funeral" were released in 1991. Around this time, Steve Cutler left the band and again Autopsy had to figure out how to fill the gap. A friend of the band, Josh Barohn had previously left Suffocation and offered to make the trip from New York to California to try out for the band. He did indeed make the journey, by bus, with one bag and his bass across his back. While Josh adjusted to the Autopsy experience, Steve DiGiorgio stepped in once more to join forces and play on the "Fiend for Blood" e.p. in September of 1991 at Starlight Sound, to add a third release to Autopsy's catalog for that same year. In June of 1992, Autopsy went back to Starlight to record "Acts of the Unspeakable". With inner artwork so graphic for the time, Peaceville was actually raided by the authorities fueled by accounts of obscenity. Autopsy was exploring new ways to make even the most jaded metal fans cringe while new levels of bizarre songwriting were achieved, to make an overall disturbing and unsettling album. Again, the bass player curse reared its head when Josh Barohn left the picture. This would not, however, be the undoing of the band. A U.S. tour was booked during the summer of 1993 with Freeway Migliore coming along as a session bass player. Freeway, being a friend and the drummer for Immortal Fate also played guitar, so the choice to have him make the switch to bass seemed logical and worked out quite well. The tour however did not go well and was to be the undoing of Autopsy. The tour was poorly planned, and with little or no promotion saw Autopsy driving long distances for low attendances over a long period of time. Tensions within the band increased as a result and a rift had formed midway through the tour.
Side A
01. Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay 02:15
02. In the Grip of Winter 04:09
03. Fleshcrawl 00:35 instrumental
04. Torn from the Womb 03:19
05. Slaughterday 04:04
06. Dead 03:19
Side B
07. Robbing the Grave 04:20
08. Hole in the Head 06:03
09. Destined to Fester 04:34
10. Bonesaw 00:46 instrumental
11. Dark Crusade 03:54
12. Mental Funeral 00:38
37:56
-Line up:
• Steve Cutler : Bass
• Chris Reifert : Vocals, Drums, Lyrics (tracks 1-4, 6-12)
• Eric Cutler : Guitars, Vocals, Lyrics (track 5)
• Danny Coralles : Guitars, Vocals (additional) (tracks 2, 6).
Label: Peaceville Records.
Recorded at Different Fur, San Francisco, November 20-26 1990. Digitally remastered at Transfermation 2003.
Produced by Autopsy and Hammy.
Engineer: Ron Rigler.
Issued in a gatefold sleeve.
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