74. Autopsy - "Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts"

Interestingly our third proper death metal album on the list comes from yet another vintage crew still making incredibly vibrant and vitriolic records. Autopsy was at the heart of death metal's initial surge into the public consciousness in the late 80s. Like their peers, they made ugly music full of short razor-sharp riffs and gore-filled lyrics. 

Interestingly 35 years later nothing has changed. “Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts” majors on repulsion. The vocals are still guttural and obsessed with mutilation. The guitars still have a buzzsaw mentality and the drums still blast away with a warped military tempo. Three-quarters of the band remain from the classic line-up and it is obvious that they have quite happily grown up disgracefully. 

Time has not mellowed Autopsy, all this is done is make them slightly better musicians. They still revel in being unpleasant and in making unpleasant music. “Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts” is a joy because of its simplicity. It understands that the wonder of death metal was its organic minimalism and therefore it doesn’t change a thing. A wonderfully deranged album fuelled by utter intensity.