Autopsy was formed in August 1987 by Chris Reifert and Eric Cutler, shortly after Reifert's departure from Death. The band recorded a demo that year, Demo '87, before Danny Coralles joined in 1988 immediately prior to the recording of their second demo, Critical Madness, and along with Reifert and Cutler, would be a constant in the band's lineup. The band signed to Peaceville Records and released their debut album, Severed Survival in 1989. These early recordings featured a pioneering death metal style that adopted a slower, doom metal influenced sound. The next full-length, Mental Funeral, continued in this style and has since been cited by many other death metal musicians as particularly influential. Having completed a successful European tour soon after Mental Funeral, the band reentered the studio to record the Fiend for Blood EP, which was followed by their third full-length, Acts of the Unspeakable, which featured shorter songs and a more grindcore influenced sound. A difficult US tour in 1993 led to the decision to disband Autopsy after the recording of a final album. Shitfun, released in early 1995, was heavily influenced by hardcore punk and would prepare fans for Abscess, previously a side project of Danny Coralles and Chris Reifert which would become their main band after Autopsy's demise. Autopsy was featured in the 2005 music documentary when the film's narrator and star, Sam Dunnread aloud a verse from the band's song "Charred Remains".
Reunion
After several years of speculation regarding an Autopsy reunion, and denial of the possibility, the band members briefly reunited in September 2008 to record two new tracks for the special edition of their 1989 debut Severed Survival. They later reconvened to the Maryland Deathfest in 2009. After Abscess broke up in June 2010, Autopsy immediately announced that they had permanently reunited. They released The Tomb Within EP in September 2010, Macabre Eternal in 2011, Born Undead DVD in 2012, The Headless Ritual in 2013 and Tourniquets, Hacksaws and Graves in 2014. Autopsy released the EP Skullgrinder on November 27, 2015. They released the EP Puncturing the Grotesque on December 15, 2017. The band is currently working on a new album, which is planned to be recorded later in 2019.
Legacy
Along with fellow Bay Area band Possessed and Reifert's previous group Death, Autopsy have been considered a pioneering band in the death metal genre. Early genre stalwarts like Entombed, Dismember, Gorefest, Immolation, Cannibal Corpse and Deicide have all credited Autopsy as an influence in their sound. In addition, Autopsy have helped to pioneer death-doom.
