Fit For An Autopsy is a New Jersey based Deathcore band with an exemplary discography, and on Friday, October 25, 2019, they are set to add to that catalogue when Nuclear Blast Records delivers The Sea of Tragic Beasts.
Helmed by Vocalist Joe Badolato, Guitarists Will Putney, Tim Howley, and Pat Sheridan, Bassist Peter Spinazola, and Drummer Josean Orta, the group formed in 2008. Spanning over ten years of material, the sextet has released four albums, including their epic 2011 debut, The Process of Human Extermination, 2015’s Absolute Hope Absolute Hell, and 2017’s The Great Collapse. Now, for their fifth collection, The Sea of Tragic Beasts, Fit For An Autopsy deliver ten tracks of intrigue and desolation.
The first track “No Man Is Without Fear” awakens with speeding, melodic work playing background to a guzzling rhythmic line. Here, the drums crash and sizzle as Badolato shrieks out with lyrics like, “Brick by brick, the end is coming quick.” The breakdown is dirty with sudden, grinding peaks before it flows into the electric guitar solo. Like this, the track is alight with a cacophony of hard-hitting instrumentals, all fighting their way to the top. Meanwhile, “Sheperd” shreds and dances across the fretboard with lush notes, dynamic percussive execution, and a brutal chorus of growls. With a low, bleeding hum, the track fades out, leaving behind its treacherous tale of woe at world’s end.
Next, “Your Pain Is Mine” begins with the erratic pace of progressing notes overlaid with Badolato’s vehement vocals. Unleashing truly anguished cries, the chorus declares, “Your pain is mine, I am you, in another life,” which stands dutifully with the song’s message. The build up to the breakdown constructs a viable intensity as the guitars stir and howl, Orta’s drums hammer away, and Badolato unceasingly expresses his inner turmoil. What explodes during the course of the breakdown is a culmination of grief, fury, and sluggish, low timbre guitar work.
In the following track, “Mirrors,” the pace decelerates, making way for an echoing doom to take control. Guitarists Putney, Howley, and Sheridan release grungy, low riffs and resounding euphonium, matching the triple-time pace of Orta on drums. Next, “Unloved” is a heavy mass of unnerving backing synth, throttling guitar and bass, and a breakdown that wreaks havoc, all compressed into a track lasting less than three minutes. The snarling vocals are unrepentant in the chorus with the simple hook “unloved” repeating over the whines and echoes of the guitars.
“Birds Of Prey” opens with the stark strumming of semi-muted chords as sirens wail in the background. Then the guitars open the gates with the same riff, chugging away with a full rhythmic spectrum and giving way for plenty of headroom as the high hats and symbols slash through the noise. Vocally, the straightforward approach of the intently-layered growls brings an uncut strength alongside the instrumental, while the shredding guitar solos mirror perfectly before the song delves into the abyss in its haunting breakdown.
In its infancy, concluding track, “Napalm Dreams,” exudes a patient potency. The drums rattle, the guitars hum, and give the howling shrieks of Badolato room to soar as the chorus dives headfirst into a siege of seething vocals and lightning drums.
Throughout The Sea of Tragic Beasts, Badolato’s extreme vocals shift between storming growls to harsh shrieks with ease, each time he masterfully adapts to the flow of the moment and brings the song to life. Meanwhile, the atmosphere crafted by Putney, Sheridan, and Howley sets the stage for an Earth-shattering auditory experience with a smattering of bone-crushing rhythms, ethereal melodic tones, and low-burning riffs. All of this as Peter Spinazola maintains a rotound heft in the lower end of each track, and Orta is relentless with his percussive work, repeatedly hitting rapid tempos and dynamic displays. For all of these reasons, Cryptic Rock gives The Sea of Tragic Beasts 4 of 5 stars.
Purchase The Sea of Tragic Beasts:
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