Review FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY “The Nothing That Is”

Muscle flexing in musical terms is what Fit For An Autopsy are doing with their new album “The Nothing That Is”. “The Nothing That Is” is the seventh studio album from the New Jersey-based deathcore specialists, following the highly successful “On What The Future Holds”.

Fit For An Autopsy’s latest effort comes via Nuclear Blast and contains ten new massive blasts that challenge both ears and neck muscles. Brutal metal is what this release brings to you, starting with the slower paced “Hostage”. The song is a riff monster that shows the band in great shape. Especially worth mentioning is frontman Joe Badolato, who delivers sinister growls before switching to clean vocals for the chorus. Fit For An Autopsy are also not afraid to add some subtle melodies to their songs too, which makes “Hostage” a rather exciting starting point for a brute album. It is like listening to a successful symbiosis of deathcore and modern metal with a focus on the former.

In addition to this fusion of styles, Fit For An Autopsy also deliver songs that do not only rely on a sledgehammer approach. The sextet also add some layers and complexity to the song, reminding the listener of bands like Meshuggah. The title track is such a song, but also the raging ‘Spoils of the Horde’ shows some complexity.

The death metal fascination comes to the fore with songs like “Savior of Nine – Ashes of All”. The track shows some elements of Swedish death metal, while “Weaker Wolves” brings the hardcore foundation to the surface with its groove. With all these genre influences, the six-piece from New Jersey still stay true to their roots and trademarks. It’s more that these influences add some extra variety to the brute deathcore of this metal force.

A song you should also listen to is ‘Lurch’, which begins quietly and acoustically. In the background some harsh vocals herald the riff assault to come before the song bursts with energy. “Lurch” draws its energy from the tension between the aggressive vocals and the more melodic guitar lines while it’s a dystopian opening that introduces ‘Lower Purpose’, followed by another dense riff attack.

The uncompromising ‘Lust For The Severed Head’ leads into ‘The Silver Sun’, which heralds the end of this release. The latter begins atmospherically and almost peacefully. However, you can sense the storm of riffs to come and it doesn’t take long before all hell breaks loose. The guitars get heavier and the clean vocals turn into ferocious growls, turning the song into a wrecking ball that hits you right in the face.

Fit For An Autopsy deliver a monstrous album. As said at the beginning, it is musical muscle flexing that is represented on this record. Despite all the aggression, ‘The Nothing That Is’ has enough layers and twists to make this release a highly entertaining album. Whilst staying true to their trademarks, Fit For An Autopsy broaden their musical approach and deliver an album that could be of interest to fans beyond the usual metal/deathcore community.