Autophagy – Bacteriophage (Review)

This is the debut album from US death metallers Autophagy.

Featuring an ex-member of Ritual Necromancy and Sempiternal Dusk, Bacteriophage contains 34 minutes of putrefying underground death metal.

Autophagy’s brutal sound drips with menace and authentic old-school presence. This is morbid old-school ugliness with a gloomy doom influence.

The songs are gruesome examples of the style and sound like they have been exhumed from the nearest graveyard where they have been festering for decades. The band use riffs that have surely been rotting for years, and the songs are very satisfying and enjoyable.

The music is well-written and that Autophagy understand death metal is obvious. Bacteriophage benefits from this knowledge, and the songs have been crafted accordingly. A range of different paces are used, and the transitions and overall dynamics are handled well. Crushing doom, pulverising groove, gory riffs, bass breaks, and withering blast beats all get to see the light of day, and Autophagy arrange these various parts into songs that hit the spot nicely.

Bacteriophage is a strong debut album. Fans of bands such as Broken Hope, Sedimentum, Cerebral Rot, Undeath, and older Carcass should definitely check out Autophagy’s foul output.

Highly recommended.