UMUR
"Horrific Obsession" is a single release by US death metal act Autopsy. The single was released through Peaceville Records in January 2009. The single is limited to 1000 copies on 7" vinyl. Autopsy disbanded in 1995 and while "Horrific Obsession" is the first release featuring new original material by the band since then, it´s not really a comeback release as it was originally intended as a one-off for the fans. Lead vocalist/drummer Chris Reifert and guitarist Danny Coralles were still active with Abscess at this point, and it wouldn´t be another year or two before they laid that band to rest and opted to reunite with guitarist Eric Cutler and continue with Autopsy. The 7:56 minutes long "Horrific Obsession" features 2 tracks with two different bass players. Clint Bower plays the bass on "Horrific Obsession" and Joe Allen plays bass on "Feast of the Graveworm".
Stylistically the two tracks are old school US death metal, which isn´t much of a surprise if you are familiar with Autopsy, who are one of the originators of the genre. They´ve played variations on that style throughout their career though and these two tracks mostly remind me of the early 90s filthy doomy death metal albums by the band and not their last couple of more grind and punk influenced releases. The tracks feature a raw and organic sound production which suits the music well.
"Horrific Obsession" is a great fan item and quality wise the tracks are also pretty strong. It´s not the band´s most memorable compositions, but they are both powerful, filthy, and for the genre, relatively adventurous. Autopsy always hailed old school death metal aestethics, but their songwriting is actually rather unconventional and at times even unpredictable, which always make their releases an interesting listening experience. All sections on their tracks might not always fit that well together, but they somehow manage to make it work, and that´s not an easy achivement. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.