Album Review: Fit For An Autopsy - Absolute Hope Absolute Hell
By Eric Perzanowski, Staff Writer
[eOne; 2015]
Rating: 4/5
Key tracks: “Murder in the First,” “Ghosts In The River,” “Saltwound”
Fit For An Autopsy has been one of the most buzzed-about and acclaimed bands to surface on the deathcore scene in recent years. In 2014, vocalist Nate Johnson left the group after two strong albums.
With the vocals being one of the strongest aspects of Fit For An Autopsy’s sound, it was uncertain how they’d recover. Fortunately, the band found vocalist Joe Badoloto, for their third album Absolute Hope Absolute Hell.
The shift in vocalists also notes a change in the group’s music. This change isn’t a departure from the band’s heavy and aggressive roots, but rather an expansion. There is a larger incorporation of melody into the music and a wider variety of extreme influences. One group that appears to have influenced the stylistic approach on this recording is Gojira.
Despite cutting down on breakdowns, when Fit For An Autopsy unleashes one on this album, it is even more impactful and heavy. The breakdown on “Murder in the First” comes out of seemingly nowhere and is as incendiary of a breakdown as you could want.
Lyrically, Absolute Hope Absolute Hell takes a more personal approach. There are several different lyrical approaches taken that tend to relate to its musical accompaniment. Melodic songs like “Ghosts in the River” read out more poetically, exemplified by the lines “Every man has a shadow behind him / Every soul has a price in gold,” while heavier tracks like “Saltwound” take on a blunter style, as evidenced by the song’s mantra “God is a lie and man is a failure.”
Absolute Hope Absolute Hell marks several changes with Fit For An Autopsy, whether it was personnel or stylistic differences. Despite losing a major cog, the band bounced back and is stronger than ever. Should this lineup continue on, it’ll be interesting to see the places this group goes, and the mark they leave on the modern heavy music scene.
