Rue-Morgue.com recently conducted an interview with drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert of US gore legends Autopsy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Rue-Morgue.com: I know you took a lot of shit over Abscess, in the sense that death metal diehards seemed reluctant to fully embrace the band, despite some very credible albums, and wanted you to just reform Autopsy again. Did you finally acquiesce? Was Abscess' recent demise related to Autopsy's revival?
Chris Reifert: Actually we never took shit from anyone, that's the beauty of it, and the real diehards were there with us on the Abscess journey. Now here we are going full throttle with the creature known as Autopsy. Acquiescence be damned! The truth of the matter regarding the collapse of Abscess and the re-emergence of Autopsy is a simple one. Clint Bower respectfully bowed out of Abscess to focus on his personal life which was the death knell for that band, as Clint is an irreplaceable part of the Abscess puzzle. We had no choice but to fold when his official resignation was delivered. This meant that Autopsy, which had been dabbling in various live and recording activities could, and should, go full force and become a full-time, full-concentration band done the right way. I know it sounds cliché now to say, "We're not living in the past, we are here with 100% heart and soul," but not only do we mean it, but we can back it up with new material that we feel is our best yet. We won't just be sweating to the oldies. Haha! There's more new horrors to come up from behind and whack you on the back of your feeble heads!
Why do you think Autopsy is considered so influential to the death metal genre?
Perhaps I'm not the one to come to for that answer, seeing as how I live in my little metal bubble of a world. I'm bad at being sage and insightful though I may dare to say we actually put a lot of thought and care into our songs. The demons that are riffs are all taken into consideration and not tossed around lightly. The best death metal songs stay under your skin long after the actual listening is over with. Thanks for the compliment, by the way.
The musical landscape has evolved so much since 1995, both artistically and technologically. So many bands have retroactively copped your style, the imagery you once introduced that was so shocking at the time is fairly commonplace in the genre, and there's just so many more bands to compete with now. How does a band such as Autopsy establish itself as a trailblazing act again?
Thanks for the ego boost. Haha! Yeah, there sure are a lot of bands around but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The exceptions will still stand out and be recognized. Not all of ‘em, of course, due to sheer volume but that's nothing new. Regarding AUTOPSY, all we can do is stay true to ourselves, therefore staying true to the fans. There's nothing artificial or forced going on here. We'll just keep playing the songs the way they're supposed to be played and writing new stuff that is worthy of the Autopsy name.
Read the entire interview from Rue-Morgue.com.
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