Long ranked among the most uncompromising outfits of deathcore, the American band Fit for an Autopsy managed, over the 2010s, to escape the limits of a genre often accused of facility. Led by guitarist and producer Will Putney, an influential figure of the modern metal scene, the New Jersey outfit gradually enriched their palette. Oh What the Future Holds constitutes an accomplished stage of it.
The critics hail the album (an 81 average across eight reviews), insisting on a depth of writing that surpasses the genre’s codes. For Fit for an Autopsy do not merely line up breakdowns: the band compose genuine songs, endowed with a dynamic and an atmospheric charge that at times evoke progressive metal or post-metal.
The record strikes by the density of its production, signed by Putney, which manages to conjugate a crushing heaviness with remarkable clarity. The lyrics, often political and despairing, paint the portrait of a world on the edge of the abyss, carried by Joe Badolato’s impressive growl. Melodic soars pierce the darkness, without ever yielding to facility.
One will regret that the band, despite their ambitions, remain prisoners of certain deathcore reflexes: the systematic recourse to the breakdown ends up diluting the impact, and the whole sometimes lacks truly memorable songs. The mastery is there; the spark, a little less.
Verdict: 8/10. A solid, ambitious record that lifts deathcore above its clichés. A notch below the great record, but a safe bet.
