Very few reunions in recent years have proven as successful and enriching as the return of death metal flag bearers Autopsy. Proving to be so much more than a trip down memory lane or just a cash cow opportunity, Autopsy’s reestablishment has seen great productivity with this their third full length in four years.
Fans will already know what to expect from a brand new Autopsy album and Tourniquets, Hacksaws And Graves (Peaceville) does not disappoint. Autopsy are not going to be a band known for radical shifts and progression of sound and they don’t need to be when firstly; they were pioneers to begin with, and when their formula is untouchable already. Tourniquets continues in this gnarly, raw and near sludgey death metal vain, but maintains their run of high quality and in fact tops anything that has come from their return. As ferocious as ever, this is also their most consistent (at a top level) album to have come from their reunion without being too drawn out and with nailing their sense of brooding atmosphere, as best as they have done since the Severed Survival and Mental Funeral days.
Having already smashed the notion of the cynical reunions and the difficulty of matching ones previous legacy, Autopsy are consistently proving that not only do they still have teeth but that they capable of matching any of their classic material. Tourniquets Hacksaws And Graves, barring peoples love for nostalgia, should be held in the same esteem as anything they have done before.
8/10
Chris Tippell