It's only been fourteen months since death metal pioneers Autopsy released their previous album, "Morbidly Triumphant," so it was quite surprising when the quartet announced another full-length so soon after its release. Usually when a band does this, it's either because they're releasing leftover songs from the recording sessions of the preceding album, or because they're on a roll with a lot of momentum. After listening to "Ashes, Organs, Blood & Crypts," it's a pretty safe bet to say that the latter is the correct reason.

Autopsy are credited with being one of, if not the first death/doom band, and as expected, they blend the two metal sub-genres together seamlessly here. "No Mortal Left Alive," for example, has the vicious blood thirst one comes to expect of old-school death metal, with the terror-inducing vibe of doom and it works perfectly. The doom slant is particularly prevalent on such tracks as "Well Of Entrails" and "Coagulation," with results varying from decent to magnificent. One of the album's best songs, at least in this writer's opinion, would be "Bones To The Wolves," which marries the two styles wonderfully and even throws in a little d-beat style punk towards the end, crafting a track that is fun, monstrous and chaotic in the very best way.

The death metal side of Autopsy isn't neglected either. There are plenty of grizzly riffs and skull-bashing beats to enjoy on "Ashes, Organs, Blood & Crypts," especially at the beginning of the album, as "Rabid Funeral" provides listeners with a frantic ripper which tears through the fabric of space and time with its nastiness. This trait is expanded threefold on the following song, "Throatsaw," which is nothing short of death metal madness. "Toxic Death Fuk" contains a similar approach, but in a more exciting, daresay uplifting manner which features a notable punk influence. Meanwhile, "Lobotomizing Gods" is a death metal throwback to the early days of the genre which is a lot of fun to listen to.

Naysayers will say that Autopsy doesn't offer much new with this release and perhaps they have a point. However, if a band has a style of its own and helped to craft a blueprint still used by bands today, then they arguably don't have to. Autopsy has made a name for themselves doing what they do and there's a reason fans were so eager for them to return during their twelve-year absence. Those who weren't fans to begin with probably won't find much here to change their minds and metal fans who aren't so keen on death metal as a whole probably won't be swayed either, even with the doom influences.

With "Ashes, Organs, Blood & Crypts," Autopsy continues their solid output and may have even created their best album since their return. Autopsy have been consistently strong since "Macabre Eternal" is 2011 and haven't let fans down yet. Their tenth full-length studio album feels like something of a best-of compilation, taking everything the band has always done well and putting it together to remind fans why they love the band and why Autopsy's name is still held in such high regard. Fans of both the band and old-school death metal shouldn't waste any time checking this one out.