Band:	Autopsy
Album:	The Headless Ritual
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	June 24, 2013
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Slaughter At Beast House
02. Mangled Far Below
03. She Is A Funeral
04. Coffin Crawlers
05. When Hammer Meets Bone
06. Thorns And Ashes
07. Arch Cadaver
08. Flesh Turns To Dust
09. Running From The Goathead
10. The Headless Ritual

After 18 years, Autopsy have made their glorious return! Now, I know what you're thinking; "clearly this moron is forgetting about Macabre Eternal." First of all; no I didn't, you condescending ass. Second of all; how much of a return can we consider that? Really, the only thing all that remarkable about Macabre Eternal was the fact that it ended a decade-and-a-half hiatus.

Autopsy really boiled themselves down to their most redeeming qualities for The Headless Ritual. You know what you're in for with an Autopsy album, Autopsy knows you know what you're in for, so no time is wasted, putting boots in asses right off the bat with "Slaughter At Beast House". From there on out it's pretty much an uninterrupted collection of catchy, stomping riffs. The only thing remarkably new is the high-focus on the vocals, in a similar fashion to that of the latest High On Fire record. Frequently we see the vocals standing out on their own over minimal guitars, with tasteful echo-effects thrown on. Done wrong, vocal effects like these can be distractingly bad, fortunately in the case of The Headless Ritual they do a lot to add a bit of extra body to the album.

The Headless Ritual is the sound of a band who have aged gracefully; Autopsy have come to terms with the times, without losing any integrity trying to pander to modern trends. On paper, this album probably doesn't come across as anything different from what they've been doing before; simple, furious death metal, in the style of the old school. The difference? Well, they just seem to be giving more of a shit this time around. To paraphrase J.B. Smoove: "They were juvenated, they lost it, then they got it again - rejuvenated."

The Headless Ritual is easily the best thing Autopsy have done since '91, and since this does hold it's own measured against albums like Severed Survival or Mental Funeral, it could even be a contender for best Autopsy release yet.