CATTLE DECAPITATION

FIT FOR AN AUT OPSY

INTERVIEW WITH GUITARIST WILL PUTNEYBY NICHOLAS SENIOR

Fit For An Autopsy is the undead deathcore zombie that only grows stronger with each new record. The New Jersey-based act’s deft interplay between punishing groove, melodic death metal riffs, and a haunting post-apocalyptic atmosphere has never been sharper than on their latest - The Sea of Tragic Beasts, out now via new label Nuclear Blast. Despite the simmering musical Guitarist Will Putney’s lyrical themes suspense and neck-snapping bruinterweave with the plight of man, tality, the head and heart of the and tend to shy away from the band is what stands out the most. fantastical. That said, The Sea of Fit For An Autopsy is a band that Tragic Beasts leads off with a fantahas always led with an empathetsy-themed title track - but that’s got ic heart and aimed to make the to be a metaphor, right? world a better place – or, at least, a heavier one - even if their lyrical “It’s about the duality of people despair is basically unmatched in having to be this alpha-wolf anithe scene. mal,” he says. “We’re these beasts that kill each other and have to get ahead. At the same time, it’s tragic that we’re like that. The title came from thinking about how the human condition is, and how people react to and treat each other. We’re forced to be like animals to exist in the world today.”

“That song was written in the middle of the immigration crisis over here. It was about our inability to do anything or help at this time. That whole bridge and the end of the song is an attempt at saying, even if you feel for these people and want to try to help, there’s not much you can do other than throwing money at a charity. I was really feeling for those people. It [turned out] great because Joe [Badolato, vocals] really brought an emotional element to it.”

Aside from this despair, Fit For An Autopsy are also renowned for their work with charities and giving back. They went about it a bit differently with this record, as Putney explains.

“We’re running a pre-order where you can donate if you want a copy of the record. We obviously have to pay for the record, but our money and any extra [laughs] will go to that charity. We collected a bunch of different charities. You select which one you like or want to donate to, and it covers a good variety of things. It’s all the way from animal rescue to cancer research and environmental stuff, ocean cleanup. We tried to spread it out.”

Of course, in the Year of Our Lord 2019, even good things can piss people off.

“It’s funny whenever we do something for a charity. We’ll get comments from kids that are almost mad we’re not raising money for something else. We’ll raise money for immigrants, and people will go ‘well what about the veterans?’ Well, we did a PTSD charity already, so...? So, we were like, let’s just throw everything at the wall, and people can choose. Everything you can choose is a group we agree with and think is doing good work - they come as some of the charities where your dollar goes the longest way.”

Everyone’s a politician, right?

“It’s crazy to get yelled at because we’re giving money to people in need, because it’s not the people in need they care more about. It’s either numb the human element as completely because, like that song There’s definitely no happy ending just insane.” much as we can (the cycle of drug addiction in “Mirrors”), or scream at each other (the cycle of political addiction in “Warfare”). Five years ago, it felt like we could live without politics taking over every single elesays, everyone has become their own sort of politician,” he says. “Everything became so polarized where you have to choose. You’re forced to pick a side, believe in it, and argue with the other side. to this fairy tale. “No, it’s like, we’re all fucked, but we can be fucked together. That’s cool.” One song that doesn’t hide its message is the cathartic, heart-wrenchWith Putney’s steady mind and hand, Fit For An Autopsy have released one of the year’s best metal records, and one that will stand the test of time. �� �� �� ment of every day, but not anymore. It creates this hostile culture. My ing “Your Pain Is Mine” - which also Putney concurs. voice isn’t important in that concontains one of the band’s best versation anymore. It just adds to breakdowns to date. So, what’s this “I stopped talking about politics an ongoing argument.” pain about?