There may be plenty of bands channeling the brutal and old-school variants of death metal, but there remains something genuinely appealing when some of them get it right. This is what drew me to Embryonic Autopsy’s debut Prophecies of the Conjoined, which seeks to offer a brutal and bludgeoning sound with extremely guttural vocals reminiscent of Chris Barnes era Cannibal Corpse. Perhaps this direction isn’t surprising seeing Tim King’s involvement, who fans may remember from technical/brutal death metal band Oppressor in the 90s, but Embryonic Autopsy heads back towards an even purer representation of the genre that emphasizes brute force and some creepier melodies at key point. And while there’s still some room for further expansion of the core sound in order to shake things up just a bit more, this debut lays some strong foundations for a band that should appeal to death metal fans who like everything guttural and brutal.
Right from the start its clear that Embryonic Autopsy is pulling influence from some familiar death metal bands, but they have some melodic inclinations that help to shake things up a little bit. Opener “Regurgitated and Reprocessed” comes roaring out of the gate with blasting drums and low-tuned guitar and bass that bring a dense, lumbering tonality, but there are some keyboards in the background layering some eerier melodies over top of them. This approach continues for much of Prophecies of the Conjoined, with plenty of slower grooves and riffs that feel like they could snap your neck off giving way to these more melodic passages where atmosphere builds over time. Stylistically it comes off somewhere between earlier brutal death metal and more traditional death metal from its earlier days, bringing the likes of Suffocation, Deicide, and Cannibal Corpse to mind without sounding like its pulling exactly from one band’s playbook. It’s a familiar approach, but Scott Roberts (who handles guitar, bass, and keyboards on the album) shakes things up on some of the longer tracks with how the melody and brutality trade off and this makes for some standout moments. Admittedly the straightforwardness of the blasting and grooves does still result in some songs blurring together over the course of the album, and this is where I think Embryonic Autopsy still has room for additional growth. For this debut the band has brought in some noteworthy guests such as James Murphy (Death, Obituary) and Terrance Hobbs (Suffocation) for some solos and they fit in well with the material, allowing the group to pull in some of their influences without it completely overshadowing their other performances.
The words guttural and brutal should clue you in to what Tim King has to offer throughout Prophecies of the Conjoined, and his growls seem to tower above the recording with a powerful presence. If you’re familiar with King’s work in Oppressor you’ll feel right at home here, as even though it’s been a solid two decades since he was on a death metal recording his growls remain just as distorted and inhuman sounding. It is the type of performance that does sometimes feel a bit one-dimensional, but there are passages where the delivery changes slightly to add in some echo or other effects that keep things from becoming too repetitive. Solos aren’t the only aspect where the band brought in guests, as “Cannibalized by Octuplets” finds God Forbid’s Doc Coyle contributing some growls that are so distorted they stand out almost a little too much, but this does help to further shake things up.
On their debut Embryonic Autopsy has stripped down death metal to its basics, keeping the brutal blasting and grooves that defined the genre’s earlier days while also keeping the hints of keyboard and other melodies that some bands were using back in the 90s. They still have some room to further vary the attack, as even at a compact thirty-one minutes some songs do run together, but even with that being the case I’ve still found myself drawn back to this album as these guys nail the tone and weight that makes death metal appealing. Prophecies of the Conjoined is available from Massacre Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
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