I get home from Live Evil/Doom Over London shows and oh what has the editor passed to me? Autopsy’s Mental Funeral CD digi-pack reissue?! With two live shows from Rotterdam (1990) and San Pedro, California (1991)!
Shaking in disbelief I reach for my landline (cheaper) and ring the office I work in (whenever I’m not writing about how much I dislike every band except Autopsy). “Excuse me, is this reception? Could you forward me to HR, please? Thank you. Hello, HR, this is Miika, I’m about suffer some pretty severe brain damage for the next week, so won’t be around, bye.” Click.
So we’re talking Steve Cutler-era Autopsy here. That Mental Funeral-era Autopsy, that so many rate the most dangerous of their career. The era when they were truly deadly, even glancing at them could turn you into a twisted mass of burnt decay – worlds away from the most recent output that, whilst being essentially awesome, lacks the maliciousness and anger inherent in the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Having witnessed them at PartySan last year, I learned the fierceness of an Autopsy assault…they actually leave you grasping for air and in disbelief on how crushing they truly are. All you want is more and more Dead! Chris Reifert was on fire in Germany that day, his drummer, stage persona and, most importantly, vocals were spot on. Having experienced those vocals live, it was surprising to hear the lack of force on the newer record… or maybe my expectations were too high? There’s simply nothing that comes close to the delivery of Mental Funeral!
“Read at your own Risk!!!” proclaims the header of the extensive booklet, consisting of notes revealing the tales behind the classicks on Mental Funeral. Influences long suspected are revealed, such names as Saint Vitus, Budgie, Carnivore, Trouble, Sadus, Repulsion, Blasphemy and Master are thrown around as massive influences. There’s talk of horror magazines too. We learn how on top of the music scene Autopsy were back in those days -a fact hardly doubted by anyone ever! We are given further insight by all band members and opinions about the cover among others!
Anyhow, any Autopsy fan will be aware and have watched to shreds - the ‘06 Dark Crusades DVD , so you know that some excellent hand-held camera-action along with masterful zooming is upon us! They’re bootlegs that a few might have seen before, but here they are as an official release. The sounds is surprisingly good on these and Autopsy kick ass as always.
So, are we to speak of the actual music on Mental Funeral or not? If you haven’t heard the songs on Mental Funeral thousands of times you should stop wasting your time reading web-zines! You got A LOT of catching up to do! So let me start you off with a wee run-through of this 12-track beast! It ain’t Severed Survival, the band has grown stronger since then, it’s not Acts of the Unspeakable, but being only a year apart, it’s not that different, yet much shorter and more dense. It’s also not as vile as Shitfun, but all-in-all a better album. Neither is it akin anything released in the noughties, it’s much more…genuine than that! Shortly put, this is Autopsy at their doomiest and their bloody best!
This deluxe digi-box release is not to be missed by any self-respecting Autopsy fan. Grab it now! For ‘beginners’ it is also an excellent starting point to get into Autopsy. A triumphant reissue!
http://www.autopsydeathmetal.com
Miika Virtanen
MTUK HOME
