Band:	Autopsy
Album:	Mental Funeral
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	April 22, 1991
Guest review by:	Beastofmetal456

01. Twisted Mass Of Burnt Decay
02. In The Grip Of Winter
03. Fleshcrawl
04. Torn From The Womb
05. Slaughterday
06. Dead
07. Robbing The Grave
08. Hole In The Head
09. Destined To Fester
10. Bonesaw
11. Dark Crusade
12. Mental Funeral
13. Retribution For The Dead [2003 reissue bonus]
14. Ridden With Disease [demo version] [2003 reissue bonus]
15. Service For A Vacant Coffin [live] [2003 reissue bonus]

A few months ago, I tried to listen to this album but it sounded really awful, especially the vocals. After that, I experimented with a little death metal and I found no escape from listening to this classic. I was more patient this time, and I gave it another try. This time I could easily classify this among my top 5 albums of all time. Read the following to see what really makes the piece of death metal legendary.

First of all, the guitars. The whole album is full of great riffs, often slow and doomy. Check out the riff in the middle of "In The Grip Of Winter" and you'll easily see what I mean. Actually, those great riffs are nothing compared to the solos, which are, in my own opinion, some of the best ever written. The shredding is kickass. An example is the solo on "Destined To Fester," but beware, there are loads of solos on this masterpiece. Next, let's talk about the bass. To be honest, there's nothing legendary with this one, but it is good nonetheless.

The vocals aren't the best I heard, but they definitely suit the lyrical themes of gore, which are really interesting and are really better than anything gory I have ever read. On "Robbing The Grave," you could hear some special disgusting effects. Perfect contribution to a perfect album. Finally, we'll discuss the drums. Concerning drums, I think this album is really special among death metal. Instead of the fast drumming that is synonymous with death metal, we hear some of the slowest drumming ever, which really works with the doomy slow guitar parts. However, we still hear some fast, complex parts. A drummer can't go wrong with this album.

I own the 2003 reissue of the album which has a crystal clear production, and some of the best death metal production I've ever heard. You can hear every instrument clearly and easily.

As a summary, we can say that despite its lack of a classic track, Mental Funeral stands out as one of the all time classic death metal albums. With some awesome riffage and great solos, this an example of a perfect doom infused death metal album.