Death Metal Legends, Chris Reifert and Autopsy, have completed work on their seventh studio album, "Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves," set to be unleashed in North America on April 29th via Peaceville Records.
"Tourniquets Tighten… Hacksaws Rip… Graves Are Filled. This is Autopsy… This is Death Metal. With the stench of 'The Headless Ritual' still permeating the befouled air, Autopsy has once again come for your very metal soul with their newest blood soaked homage to all things dark, twisted and horrific… once again bone crushingly heavy nightmares await. 'Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves' will awaken the most depraved part of the coldest zombie's stare, blood will flow, brains will be destroyed, coffin lids will be opened."
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Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves was recorded at Fantasy Studios with producer, Adam Munoz, and sees a continuation of Autopsy's pursuit of the ultimate in metallic horror and extremity, featuring the longstanding combo of Eric Cutler and Danny Coralles on guitars, Joe Trevisano on bass and Chris Reifert on drums/vocals. From all-out death metal savagery to crawling, doom-filled sludgery, Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves further pushes the limits of taste and brutality with this latest relentless onslaught of terror from beyond the grave.
Artwork comes courtesy of Wes Benscoter, who was also previously responsible for the stunning Macabre Eternal album cover.
Some Questions For Chris Reifert:
SDM: Can you describe the exact gear you were using during this tracking.
Chris: Sure, it's my black Premier Cabria kit, which is an 8 piece. Two kicks, four racks, one floor and one snare. I'd have to check, but I think the snare is a Rogers though. The cymbals are Zildjan and Sabian. It's getting to be in bad shape due to 14 years or so of abuse! Haha!
SDM: How long did tracking take and how was it tracked? mics, triggers, both, to tape or all digital?
Chris: Normally it takes a day and a half to two days to get an album's worth of drum tracks done. Never more than that. That's of course with the rhythm guitars and bass being recorded at the same time, mind you. And I mean keepers, not scratch or guide tracks. The way we work is we show up quite well rehearsed and go for a take live and if the drums are good to go, it's in the pocket. Any little guitar goobers can be patched in afterward, so ultimately it's the drumming performance that dictates if a track is good or garbage to start with. How do we track? With guitar and bass amps, a kit and some mics, and that's it. I don't know what type of mics were used, that's not my department, honestly. I've been very outspoken about my contempt for triggers, though. Haha! It's just not necessary, ya know? When you do that, it's NOT the sound of the actual drumming. There's nothing wrong with sounding like a human being, in my opinion. Did Keith Moon, John Bonham or Bill Ward need triggers to get the blistering sounds they got? I think not. Anyways, analog is wonderful, but at Fantasy we are confident in Adam's ability to capture our madness digitally, while keeping all the real sounds of a real band in a real room, which is extremely important to us.
SDM: Your thoughts on sound replacement software? wish it never existed?
Chris: Hey, if that's your bag, go for it. I just don't get it, personally. I think I've drilled that point home already but dammit, I do feel like a complete alien sometimes in a musically computerized world. Bottom line, I like it when what you hear sounds like what you played. 'Nuff said about that, eh?
SDM: What's your favorite old-school raw drum sound? Which band and album or albums?
Chris: The list is endless. Here's a little chunk, though…..the first two Trouble albums, Slayer "Reign in Blood" and "Hell Awaits", DRI "Dealing With It", Ramones "Road to Ruin", any of the first three Cactus albums, Iron Maiden "Killers" and "Number of the Beast", Zoetrope "Amnesty", the first Captain Beyond album, The Who "Who's Next" and "Quadrophenia", Kiss "Rock and Roll Over", Alice Cooper "Schools Out", the first few Black Sabbath albums, any Zeppelin album….that's just a few of the more obvious heavy hitters that come to mind right away. I could get really obscure and list tons of stuff that lots of folks have never heard of that would turn their brains into runny cream cheese, but I'll keep it somewhat accessible for this one just to get the point across. Just do one thing….imagine any of those albums I just mentioned with computer perfect triggered and/or sampled drums with the personality sucked right out of them and ask yourself if they'd have made the same impact that way instead of as they were originally? If the answer is yes, you need to get your fucking ears checked.
SDM: One piece of advice to younger kids about to record an album?
Chris: Do everything you can to make the record you always wanted to hear but never existed until the possibility was deftly placed into your sweaty hands. Play like your life is on the line and don't settle for anything but the best of what your vision is calling for. Ignore everything else, because it just doesn't matter. And most of all, make sure you enjoy yourself. If you're not doing that, there's no point to any of this, is there?
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