The Great Collapse

Between Absolute Hope Absolute Hell and The Great Collapse, the group’s members were able to broaden their creative horizons even further with what became known as The Depression Sessions, a uniquely collaborative project that combined Fit ForAn Autopsy with their friends in Thy Art Is Murder and The Acacia Strain. Jettisoning the cutthroat competitiveness that often gets between bands, the trio of extreme metal acts joined forces for experimental sessions more akin in spirit to the jazz greats and hip-hop artists, but within the context of heavy music. All of that collaboration and experimentation, to say nothing of Putney’s accomplishments as an in-demand genre producer whose credits include work with both of the bands who joined them in The Depression Sessions, among others, led to an all new focus on The Great Collapse. “Iron Moon” is an aggressive shot across the bow of the status quo, railing against the mundane servitude of the 9-to-5 grind, yearning for a life of meaning and purpose. It’s as anti-establishment in tone as the album is in sound. Fit For An Autopsy break with genre convention even as they reshape and redefine their chosen sonic landscape. “Heads Will Hang” confronts the worldwide refugee problem, demanding empathy, placing the listener in the shoes of someone displaced from their home, hungry to escape into a safer life. “When the Bulbs Burn Out” expresses the group’s deep concerns about conservation and sustainability. “Black Mammoth” was inspired by the conscientious activism of the Dakota Access Pipeline protesters. Other tracks are more abstract lyrically, but no song on The Great Collapse is without intensity. The album’s underlying death metal foundation serves as strong support for its more adventurous forays into chaotic hardcore, bits of deathcore, and a meditative, almost droning rumination not unlike the best of shoegaze and desert rock, like a hazy collision between Queens Of The Stone Age and Russian Circles. The omnipresence of rock titans Tool weaves in and out in powerful doses, with The Great Collapse inviting ever more favorable comparisons to Gojira, a band whose evolutionary trajectory is not dissimilar from Fit For An Autopsy’s path.

Fit for an Autopsy have outdone themselves on their most recent album, showing a massive range of experimentation and growth as a band. The...

A review of The Great Collapse by Fit for an Autopsy, available March 17th in Europe via Long Branch Records and in North America via eOne Music.