I couldn’t summarize the 35-year-long career of Autopsy better than Chris Reifert himself: “Musically, we want to rip your head off and kick it down the street.” Nobody does it like these pioneers of death metal; each of their many releases is as visceral and gruesome as their name suggests. I somehow (and unforgivably) missed out on the merciless and, again, aptly named Morbidity Triumphant when it was released a few years ago, but I wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. As soon as Ashes, Organs, Blood and Crypts, their 10th album, was announced, I reached out to Reifert, the drummer and vocalist of the band, to chat about it.
Sharp, passionate, and a lot of fun, as friendly as his music is hostile, the musician went over more than three decades of extreme metal, from the first gigs he attended as a teenager in the Bay Area to the festivals Autopsy played the last few months. It’s a story of dedication and integrity, and a lesson of what metal should be: colorful and brimming with life, the way carrion does.
This interview took place in November 2023 and was first published on Radio Metal.
Chaosphonia 