From their record label’s website, “FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY have established themselves as one of the most powerful and versatile bands in Deathcore. With their socially critical and dark lyrics, combined with their intense sound, they create a unique mix of Death Metal, Groove, and Post-Metal that fuels high-energy concerts. A ringing wake-up call for humanity and a thoroughly intense listening experience, “The Nothing That Is” brims with both aggression and melody, its bracing music delivered with the confidence of a band that has honed its skills and forged its sense of purpose through fifteen-plus years of all-out live shows. Sufficiently secure of their place in the metal firmament to let their music go wherever feels right for a particular song, they have delivered what may well be the greatest album of their career.”

The album has ten songs, and “Hostage” is first. The guitars are downtuned so much the vibrations from the string seem to reverberate forever, and the vocals are delivered in three different styles…gutturals, screams, and cleans. With the cleans, come a good deal of melody that washes out the darkness of the sterile landscape of heavy guitar rhythms. They do indeed do both competing styles quite well. “Spoils of the Horde” is faster-moving, with a weighted gallop of drums, punishing guitar accents, and vocals to match. There are only fleeting snippets of clean vocals so that the brutal nature of the music takes center stage. “Weaver Wolves” has a very heavy bottom end with a grinding, punishing pace, and again, melody takes a back seat to aggression.

“Red Horizon” is another punisher, but it is not with some backing ambiance and melody, especially in the chorus. The band has found a way to temper some of the contentious sounds, just a little. The title track might be the best song on the album. It comes out of the gates with darkness and deep fangs, bearing a thirst for blood. There are also strong harmonies in the chorus. “Lower Purpose” is another brutal offering. This time, instead of melody, there is a darkness that hangs in the air, bringing to mind a visual of a deep chasm in the earth that knows no bottom. “Lust for the Severed Head” is a weighted, Djenty ride over rough terrain…the kind where rocks and hills kick up unexpectedly and jar your entire body from the head down.

“The Silver Sun” closes the album, and it really showcases the band’s sense of songwriting and melody. It is not without brutal elements however. Overall, in lesser hands, this album could have fallen out of favor and crossed over into the “unmemorable” category. As you know, the genre boundaries for Deathcore are narrow, but FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY manage to explore each and every inch. The album did wear out a bit of its welcome after 10 songs, and at times, was played too safely for me, but I am sure their fans will be pleased.