Review: “Consumed by Black Thoughts” by Foul Body Autopsy

I have written this EP from my own perspective of living with a mental illness. I often find that mental illness tends to be romanticized by the media and vapid celebrities who seem to think it’s an interesting personality accessory. I wanted to talk about living with mental illness from a human perspective, not as a way to glean sympathy or to feel sorry for myself but to just tell the truth. Living with an untreated mental illness is fucking horrible! I can’t say at any point it has been romantic! Though I have gone through treatment and I am on psychoactive medication it still affects my life from time to time. Obviously, things are much better than they have been in years but this is something I am probably never going shake off completely.– Tom Reynolds, Foul Body Autopsy

Multi instrumentalist Tom Reynolds has been releasing material under the Foul Body Autopsy moniker for a decade and has returned with an EP set for release on World Mental Health Day in “Consumed By Black Thoughts” that is as personal as they come. Mixed and Mastered by the legendary Russ Russell (Amorphis, At The Gates, Dimmu Borgir) and with cover art created by Dan Goldsworthy (Accept, Cradle Of Filth, Forged In Black) it offers an exploration of mental anguish from someone with a deeper understanding during raging, cathartic metal assault on the ear drums second to none. Each song has a psychological interview sample that brings it into play and “Vicious Cycles (Feeding Off Themselves)” comes to life as Reynolds demonstrates that as a musician, he has it all. Drums, bass, guitars, keys and vocals are all perfect throughout the EP, there is no obvious weakness of flaw with his performance and that puts him on the same kind of platform as Josh Drummer with his project Buried Realm. The melodic hooks and old school touches offer an emotive quality that contrasts the harsh vocals with balance while still having plenty of razor sharp bite. That is echoed in “Like A Phantom Of The Heart”, which races away as the Death Metal vocals partially hides a fragility in the lyrics that is there for all to see while musically having a wonderfully melancholy melody. An opening onslaught to “My Liberation In Death” is broken by a moment from a Spaghetti Western and perhaps a hint at a Metallica influence mid track that stuns before galloping back into a self medicated driven riff fest, those touches adding respite that makes the rest hit that much harder. The title track “Consumed By Black Thoughts” is as you might expect, the depiction of a war inside someone’s mind like they’re trapped under ice and fighting for their life against all odds to a backdrop of Melodic Death Metal, the undercurrent of synths buried within the mix and nauncing out over multiple listens. Offering insightful and empathic moments “Trapped In The Shadow Of Fear” drives further down the Scandinavian route with touches of Soilwork inspiration in the undercurrent of black. Glorious leads and pounding rhythms lift everything and rather than being on his knees, with material like this Reynolds should be on the European Metal festival circuit [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. Vicious Cycles (Feeding Off Themselves)
2. Like A Phantom Of The Heart
3. My Liberation In Death
4. Consumed By Black Thoughts
5. Trapped In The Shadow Of Fear

Consumed by Black Thoughts” by Foul Body Autopsy is out 10th October and available for pre-order over at bandcamp

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