The classic form of Death Metal (labeled by many as Old School Death Metal) is nothing more than using the same elements created by pioneers as MASSACRE, DEATH, MASTER, POSSESSED and others in the 80's, or unleashed by acts as MORBID ANGEL, OBITUARY, CANNIBAL CORPSE, BOLT THROWER, BENEDICTION, DISMEMBER and others during the Second Wave of the genre between the late years of the 80's and early days of the 90's. But it's interesting as many bands are using this old form of music today, sometimes bringing something fresh, others not. And AUTOPHAGY, a quartet from Oregon (USA) is here to bring pains to the ears of many with "Bacteriophage", their first album.

The band focuses their efforts in a hybrid form between early North American Death Metal School with elements from English and Swedish Schools, what means something brutal, oppressive, plenty of Hardcore/Crossover influences and hooks, changing between fast and slow tempos, and all those clichés that everyone already knows. It's obvious that the band shows potential to make things in a better way, as "Bacteriophage" shows some immature points. But their brutal and classic form of playing will earn the band lots of fans of the genre that are tired of modern experiments and extremely fast and brutal forms of Death Metal. It's really a very good release.

Mixed by Billy Anderson at Everything HZ and mastered by Dave Otero at Flatline Audio, the album has a classic appeal on its sonority: brutal, rough and crude. But it's not a problem, because things are defined and easy to be understood by all the fans. It could be better, but's not band at all. "Abhorrent Abomination" (that shows some rhythmic shifts between fast and slow tempos, and nasty guitar riffs), "Sacrificial Spawn" (this one seems to be written to all those that misses the early days of the 90's, and what good work on bass guitar and drums), "Beneath the Moss, Between the Roots" and "Bacteriophage" (these ones bear many Hardcore/Death Metal hooks inherited by Old School Death Metal models, with excellent riffs and very good grunts), "Return to Charnal Hall" (another charming Old School Death Metal song, with very good rhythmic changes), and "Dawn of the Endless Plague" are the right ones to discover what the quartet is about.

Once more: AUTOPHAGY needs to mature a bit more to become what they really are. But "Bacteriophage" is a good first release.