Certain pockets of the United States have always been firm supporters of the underground metal scene. While death metal in the 90s gained elevation from specific states such as Florida and New York, the Midwest also had its fair share of attention. Although a newer band, Embryonic Autopsy from Illinois contains two members with ties to Oppressor who were very active during the 90s – including vocalist Tim King. After their debut album Prophecies of the Conjoined came out in early 2022, the quartet wasted no time getting work done on the follow-up – which is what we have for Origins of the Deformed. A sequel that keeps the alien/human hybrid theory alive through sick gore/guts lyrical content, listeners can expect a mix of brutal American death, grindcore, and even elements of Swedish death metal in the mix of these ten tracks.
Leaving nothing to the imagination just through song titles like “Self-Inflicted C-Section” or “Carnivorous Abortion”, the punishing blast beats and low churning riffs for “Dripping in the Vaginal Nectar” get the proceedings off in furious fashion, Tim King employing a mix of guttural growls and vocal fry highs while a sinister lead break from Jack Owen (Six Feet Under) takes ahold. Tribal-like drumming next to rhythmic death bellows pushes “Human Vessel of Alien Hybrids” into obvious swirling appeal mode – while fade keyboard passages next to Scott Roberts titanic low-tuned riffs puts “Cleopatra’s Spawn” into another memorable savage cut. Tim uses a bit more of a Barney Greenway-like aspect to his voice against some whispering moments in the former track, James Murphy (ex-Death, ex-Obituary) adding a delightful, emotive neoclassical break to enhance the exotic atmosphere. The record ends on a bit of a reflective, somber note as “The Curse of Madame Pele” is a two-minute and change instrumental with electric guitar bends and movie soundtrack-ish clean lines – almost a reprieve next to the limb severing aural adventure that you get on the other nine songs.
Embryonic Autopsy does not aim to be the most intricate or original at this style – the meat and potatoes approach gets the job done in a tight half-hour window for Origins of the Deformed. Adequate and as expected, even the strong guest support won’t bring this into the Suffocation or Cannibal Corpse league for benchmark death records hitting the streets today.