Audiotopsy: Natural Causes review

With Mudvayne on what seems like a permanent hiatus and having stepped down as guitarist for Hellyeah in 2013, Greg Tribbett was looking for a creative outlet. So he and fellow Mudvayne drummer Matt McDonough armed themselves with bassist Perry Stern and former Scrape vocalist Billy Keeton to form Audiotopsy. The band is set to drop their stunning debut album Natural Causes for Napalm Records. The album was self-produced by the band at Porch Studios with the assistance of engineer Tim Laud and defies traditional genre classification. Now not surprisingly, the razor sharp hooks in cuts like lead single “Headshot,” “Burn the Sky” and “Darken the Rainbow” aren’t far removed from Tribbett’s work in Mudvayne or Hellyeah, which will make those fans very happy. What may surprise you though are tracks like “All We Know,” which was ripped right out of the Alternative Rock sound of the 90’s, when bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins ruled the airwaves or songs like “LYLAB” that mixes the massive bottom end of Down with Lollapalooza alumni Jane’s Addiction. From the Alice In Chains tinged sounds of “The Calling” to the Deftones inspired atmospherics of songs like “Swim,” “Disguise Your Devils” and “Frozen Scars” or “Distorted,” which could have been one either of the Stereomud albums, there is a little something for just about everyone to love on Natural Causes. Here’s the bottom line. Had this album been released 15 to 20 years ago, Audiotopsy would be one of the few bands from that era that we still talk about in such high regard today. Natural Causes may be a bit out of time and place, but it is still breathtaking. Rating: 8 out of 10 -Eric Hunker