Fit For An Autopsy
Oh What the Future Holds
Nuclear Blast
Released: January 14, 2022
Oh what the future of Fit For An Autopsy has become! Oh! How this record is going to ruffle feathers and oh how tasty it will be.
Let’s get straight to the elephant in the room, because there is no tip toeing around it – it’s a fucking elephant. Yes. Fit For An Autopsy have changed; or evolved if you will – and no, not all of their fans are going to be pleased with what Oh What The Future Holds has in store for them. You know how it is; the moment a band changes from the path they originally set out on, the purists gather in their masses with banners and angry emoji’s, ready to burn down the artist in question with strongly worded social media posts – well, strong enough to voice their elitist perspective but no so much that they get banned for doing it. Careful what words you select – big brother is watching!
As always – I regress. Where was I? Ah yes! I can already hear the comments dancing around, that the fine lads in Fit For An Autopsy have been listening to a tad too much from the mighty Gojira. And yes, there is no denying that this record sounds like it was very inspired by the aforementioned French metal powerhouse – but so what. This is something that should be judged for what it is, not for what it was inspired by – am I right? Rhetorical question; of course I’m right. Next!
See Also: Dayglo Abortions “Hate Speech” Review
Now, don’t get me wrong here. If a band pulls a complete u-turn on their fans and tries to cash in, a maneuver we all know as “the Metallica”, then yes – in that case, change is not good, donkey. Rest easy, because that is not what has happened here on Oh What The Future Holds. That’s probably good news for everyone, but a lot of purists are still going to be displeased when they hear just how much of that sweet, sweet Gojira vibe has seeped into the works of Fit For An Autopsy. Personally – I’m all for it, because what they have crafted on Oh What The Future Holds is bloody brilliant.
Already on their sixth full-length album, and beginning to show signs of growth and evolution, a progressive side to the band that has been less prominent on past recordings. On Oh What The Future Holds, vocalist Joseph Badolato shows off a very formidable clean singing voice, and finds a new gear for the future of his band. The guttural growls, howls and screams are great and all – but a little variety never hurt anyone either. A prime example of this, comes on The Man That I Was Not, which starts off with an almost Deftones-like calmness, as Badolato waxes over a slowly building drum tapping. As the song builds, it erupts like a volcano back into something of a hybrid of old with that Gojira tinge I keep mentioning.
I absolutely adore the opening moments of Two Towers. Again, it walks that Chino Moreno line, before chugging into triplet riffs that Gojira are so known for using – and again, I don’t care that it sounds a shitload like a Gojira track, because it is also a behemoth of a song that deserves to be heard. There are so many tempo changes throughout this song – and the record in general, for that matter, which make for an intricate and deeply enjoyable audible experience. One that does admittedly take some time to gel with. When it clicks though, this will become your soundtrack for the rest of the year.
Sticking with Two Towers; wait until the guitar solo from Will Putney hits to bring this incredible track home. What a way to cap off an already amazing track. On Far From Heaven, there is again an opening moment that sounds fresh off L’Enfant Sauvage or Fortitude, before smashing into a brutal passage and back into that Gojira groove again, into another slick Putney solo. More groove. More melody. More of that French kaiju cuisine. And the vocal harmony that ends off the track will make your skin crawl. This may very well be a step in a new direction, but is it ever amazing. I honestly can’t get enough of Oh What The Future Holds.
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Hopefully I haven’t spooked people away from checking out this record with all this Gojira talk. Look, Oh What The Future Holds is akin to The Sea of Tragic Beasts; albeit it with bigger grooves, more melody and hooks big enough to snare a certain giant sea monster. It is still real fucking heavy though, and slams hard with all the breakdowns and nasty bits that fans of the genre crave. Yeah, all that stuff is still very much in the mix – it’s just also got this sick groove fluttering about it too, now. Each time I listened to this album, I liked it more, and more, and more until I was ready to conceed that I was, in fact, in love with the thing. This, friends, is a kick ass record.
Copies of Oh What The Future Holds can be ordered through the Nuclear Blast website or, you know, from your awesome local brick and mortar record shops.
For Fans Of: Gojira, Mastodon, Thy Art Is Murder
Track Listing:
01. Oh What The Future Holds
02. Pandora
03. Far From Heaven
04. In Shadows
05. Two Towers
06. A Higher Level Of Hate
07. Collateral Damage
08. Savages
09. Conditional Healing
10. The Man That I Was Not
