Autopsy is an American

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band formed in

Contra Costa County Contra Costa County (; ''Contra Costa'', Spanish language, Spanish for 'Opposite Coast') is a U.S. county, county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, in 1987 by

Chris Reifert Chris Reifert (born February 23, 1968) is an American death metal musician. He is the founder, vocalist, and drummer of Autopsy (band), Autopsy. He was previously a founding member of Abscess (band), Abscess, and drummer for Death (metal band), ...

and Eric Cutler. The group disbanded in 1995 and reunited in 2009. The band's hometown is in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

History

Initial career

Autopsy was formed in August 1987 by

and Eric Cutler, shortly after Reifert's departure from

Death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...

. The band recorded a demo that year, ''Demo '87'', before

Danny Coralles Daniel Coralles is one of the current guitarists in the band Autopsy and was co-founder with drummer Chris Reifert of Abscess. Autopsy is back again and have been so since 2009 which is currently producing new material and is actively playing sel ...

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 Peaceville Records is a British independent heavy metal record label. The label was founded by Paul "Hammy" Halmshaw (of the bands Instigators and Civilised Society, as well as a former drummer of Sore Throat) in Dewsbury, England, in 1987. ...

and released their debut album, ''

Severed Survival ''Severed Survival'' is the debut album by American death metal band Autopsy, released by Peaceville Records in 1989. Background and release Cutler said the album's tracks were composed by " ettingreally stoned and playing guitar." Recordin ...

'' in 1989. These early recordings featured a pioneering death metal style that adopted a slower,

doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

influenced sound. Autopsy participated in what was dubbed the "Blood Brothers tour" in Europe with

Bolt Thrower Bolt Thrower were a British death metal band from Coventry. They formed in 1986 and released their first album with Vinyl Solution in 1988. The band then shifted to a new record label, Earache Records, soon becoming one of the best selling ba ...

and Pestilence in 1990. The three bands took turns headlining. Reifert recalled thinking the name of the tour, which the promoter had came 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 Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

with the money," never to be seen by them again. The next full-length, ''

Mental Funeral ''Mental Funeral'' is the second album by American death metal band Autopsy (band), Autopsy, released on April 22, 1991 by Peaceville Records. Dutch Pearce of Decibel (magazine), Decibel called ''Mental Funeral'' "one of the most influential a ...

'', 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 ''Acts of the Unspeakable'' is the third album by the American death metal band Autopsy. The album was self-produced by the band, was the only album to feature Josh Barohn on bass. Joe Davita of Loudwire said the album sees the band "in their m ...

'', which featured shorter songs and a more

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, e ...

influenced sound. A difficult US tour in 1993 led to the decision to disband Autopsy after the recording of a final album. ''

Shitfun ''Shitfun'' is the fourth studio album by Autopsy, released in 1995. In 2003, it was re-released with ten bonus live tracks. Track listing Personnel ;Autopsy * Chris Reifert - vocals, drums, bass (tracks 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 18-19) *Danny Coral ...

'', released in early 1995, was heavily influenced by

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

and would prepare fans for

Abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pre ...

, 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 ''

''. They later reconvened to the Maryland Deathfest in 2009. After Abscess broke up in June 2010, Autopsy immediately announced that they had permanently reunited. They released ''

The Tomb Within ''The Tomb Within'' is an EP by the American death metal band Autopsy, released September 13, 2010, through Peaceville Records on CD and 12" vinyl. The 12" vinyl edition of ''The Tomb Within'', limited to 1000 numbered copies, came with a free ...

'' 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, the band announced their ninth studio album, ''Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts'', would be released on October 27.

Musical style and influences

Eduardo Rivadavia of ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' categorized Autopsy as a

band with "

tendencies", and described their sound as a "

caustic Caustic most commonly refers to: * Causticity, the property of being able to corrode organic tissue ** Sodium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic soda'' ** Potassium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic potash'' ** Calcium oxide, sometimes cal ...

" fusion of

thrash Thrash may refer to: *Thrashing (computer science), where increasing resources are used to do a decreasing amount of work *Thrash (surname) * Thrash, mascot of the Atlanta Thrashers *''Thrash Rally'', a top-down perspective rally racing video game ...

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (1934–2020), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitche ...

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 In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unple ...

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."

's drumming has been called "clunky" and has been likened to "the sound of a

garbage bag A bin bag, rubbish bag (British English), garbage bag, bin liner, trash bag (American English) or refuse sack is a disposable receptable for solid waste. These bags are useful to line the insides of waste containers to prevent the insides of th ...

hitting the side of a

dumpster A dumpster is a movable waste container designed to be brought and taken away by a special collection vehicle, or to a bin that a specially designed garbage truck lifts, empties into its hopper, and lowers, on the spot. The word is a generic trade ...

." As a vocalist, Reifert uses both screams and

death growls The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death growl vocals are criticized for thei ...

in the band's music. Autopsy has cited

Trouble Trouble may refer to: Film and television * ''Trouble'' (1922 film), an American silent comedy-drama film directed by Albert Austin * ''Trouble'' (1933 film), a British comedy film * ''Trouble'' (1977 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Trouble'' ...

and

Saint Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical ...

as early influences. The band also draws influence from

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

, and is known for the "brutal simplicity" of its

rhythm section A rhythm section is a group of musicians within a music ensemble or band that provides the underlying rhythm, harmony and pulse of the accompaniment, providing a rhythmic and harmonic reference and "beat" for the rest of the band. The rhythm ...

. The members of Autopsy are film fans, particularly "anything dark and gory", and hence, the band's lyrics draw on

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Psychological horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Christmas horror, a subgenre of horror fiction **Analog horror, a subgenre of horror fiction * ...

and

slasher film A slasher film is a subgenre of horror films involving a killer or a group of killers stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a generic ...

-style violence. Guitarist Eric Cutler said the band's sound is "like a

soundtrack A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...

for a horror movie". Chris Reifert recalled: "We would go to the

video store A video rental shop/store is a physical retail business that rents home videos such as movies, prerecorded TV shows, video game cartridges/discs and other media content. Typically, a rental shop conducts business with customers under condit ...

and rent the goriest movies we could find and watch them over and over, rewinding the gore scenes several times in a row, cackling like maniacs. So, we couldn’t help but be influenced by them." Examples of films that have influenced the band's lyrics include ''

Truth or Dare Truth or dare? is a mostly verbal party game requiring two or more players. Players are given the choice between answering a question truthfully, or performing a "dare". The game is particularly popular among adolescents and children, and is so ...

'', ''

Gates of Hell ''The Gates of Hell'' () is a monumental bronze sculptural group work by French artist Auguste Rodin that depicts a scene from the '' Inferno'', the first section of Dante Alighieri's ''Divine Comedy''. It stands at 6 metres high, 4&nbs ...

'', '' Rawhead Rex'', ''

Hellraiser ''Hellraiser'' is a 1987 British supernatural horror film written and directed by Clive Barker in his directorial debut. Based on Barker's 1986 novella ''The Hellbound Heart'', the film's plot concerns a mystical puzzle box that summons the ...

'', and '' From Beyond.''

Legacy

Along with fellow

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

band

Possessed Possessed may refer to: Possession * Possession (disambiguation), having some degree of control over something else ** Spirit possession, whereby gods, demons, animas, or other disincarnate entities may temporarily take control of a human body *** ...

and Reifert's previous group

, Autopsy have been considered a pioneering band in the

genre. Early bands such as Entombed, Dismember,

Gorefest Gorefest was a Dutch death metal band from Goes, Zeeland. It was founded in 1989 by Jan-Chris de Koeijer, Frank Harthoorn, Alex van Schaik and Marc Hoogendoorn. Career Early works (1989-1994) Within two months of its formation, Gorefest r ...

Immolation Immolation may refer to: *Death by burning *Self-immolation, the act of burning oneself * Immolation (band), a death metal band from Yonkers, New York *'' The Immolation'', a 1977 novel by Goh Poh Seng *'' Dance Dance Immolation'', an interactive ...

Cannibal Corpse Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1988, now based in Tampa, Florida. The band has released sixteen studio albums, two box sets, four video albums, and two live albums. The band has had little radio ...

and

Deicide Deicide is the killing (or the killer) of a god. The concept may be used for any act of killing a god, including a life-death-rebirth deity who is killed and then resurrected. Etymology The term deicide was coined in the 17th century from ...

have all credited Autopsy as an influence in their sound. In addition, Autopsy have helped to pioneer

death-doom Death-doom (also known as death-doom metal or doom-death) is a fusion genre of death metal and doom metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep death growl, growling vocals and double bass dr ...

Band members

Current members

– drums, lead vocals , bass *Eric Cutler – guitars, backing and lead vocals , bass *

– guitars , bass *Greg Wilkinson – bass

Former members

*Steve Cutler – bass *Josh Barohn – bass *Freeway Migliore – bass * Joe Trevisano – bass

Session musicians

Steve Di Giorgio Steve Di Giorgio (born November 7, 1967) is an American bass guitarist. He is known for his work with numerous heavy metal bands such as Sadus (of which he was a co-founder), Death, Testament, Megadeth, Sebastian Bach, Iced Earth, Autopsy, Ob ...

– bass *Clint Bower – bass

Live members

Dan Lilker Daniel Adam Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, and vocalist. He has played bass in numerous heavy metal bands, including Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, S.O.D. and Holy ...

– bass

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (1989) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (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) * ''

'' (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 Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

and band interview by

Joel McIver Joel McIver (born 10 February 1971) is a British author. His best-known work is ''Justice for All: The Truth About Metallica'', first published in 2004 and appearing in nine languages since then. McIver's other works include biographies of Bla ...

; Peaceville Records, 2006) * ''Born Undead'' (produced by Jesse Davis; Peaceville Records, 2012)

References

External links

Official Autopsy page
at

Myspace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autopsy 1987 establishments in California Death metal musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1987 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2009 Musical quartets from California