I have reviewed Chicago’s brutal death metal band Embryonic Autopsy’s last two albums. Here we are with album three – Rise of the Mutated. How well does this stack up against their past efforts? Well, read on for that info. Staying intact for the last several years has made the brutal quartet more cohesive; that’s for sure. 10 songs in 35 minutes, and the band is not here to reinvent their sound.
Starting with what appears to be the sounds of the troublemakers adorning the cover, “Bathing in Entrails” gets going a minute into things. My buddy, Tim King (Oppressor/Soil), sounds as killer as ever, maybe even a little more powerful on this. I did mention on their last album, Origins of the Deformed, production issues, specifically the exceedingly high drum volume. The drums are still a bit too loud; however, improvements to the overall mix, with an increase in the guitar tone and volume, make for a better balance. The song is over before it’s started, pretty much just bent on beating you to death.
“Zombified Infants of Roswell” is more of a mid-paced cruncher, and the song slays. Some excellent guitar harmonies are happening, with Scott Roberts laying waste to some killer riffs. Marco Fimbres allows for some killer drum galloping throughout, and the song has quite an old-school flair with some well-timed drum fills. Kenxi’s bass is flip-flopping, and I catch some plucking madness going on. Tim’s vocals sound filthy, brutal, and, quite honestly, I think this is the most brutal he has ever sounded on any recording. We get a little guitar solo tossed in to boot. All in all, this is one of the best songs the band has ever written. This song must be in their live set, especially with that hopping groove towards the end.
“Beheading the Infertile Surrogate” starts so stupidly brutal you’d better lower that headset. Holy Smokes! Again, Tim, sounds like he is picking up a body and slamming it to the ground over and over and over again! Stunningly vicious, this song will rip your liver out. The overly guttural tones are actually catchy, and that can be difficult with brutal, guttural death metal.
The title track ends this brutal offering with a clever intro of sorts, as it tells us the story of what is going on. The guitar riffing comes in, with this slow opening number, and there is a lot of ambience to the track. The monstrous double bass drums hit ever so often, with Tim bellowing, like he is one of the mutated. Excellent guitar harmonies are also present on this song. This song is a really good closer as it ties the entire album together. I was kind of glad this song let me breathe a little more, since all the prior songs are intense.
Rise of the Mutated beats their last album by quite a bit. I still would like the drums scaled back some, as they were perfectly mixed on the monstrous debut – Prophecies of the Conjoined. However, the mix and production are thankfully better than the last album. Embryonic Autopsy has increased its writing skills to coincide with the increase in brutality. The band is currently overseas touring with Six Feet Under, and as brutal and bludgeoning goes, Embryonic Autopsy has brought it once again. Awesome brutality!
