Fleshcrawl "Made of Flesh" CD
[Metal Blade]
More old school Swedish death metal sounding material from this German act - but thankfully the production on this record is way fucking better than it was on "Soulskinner". These guys have been around for over 10 years, and I must say I'm surprised they're still at it. I mean, is this a good record? It's alright. They've got some good riffs, a few good songs... it's competent. But it's nothing new for the band or the genre, and I'd rather listen to old Dismember, old Entombed, Carnage, etc., you know? There's nothing about this that really warrants me wanting to listen to it a whole lot or anything. "Damned in Fire", the shortest track at less than three minutes, has a bit more energy to it, and the slower rhythms and lead lines at the start of "When Life Surrenders" are great, but for the most part this record sounds very similar throughout not only as far as the riffs go, but also the tempos and arrangements. Every now and then a plodding sort of Bolt Thrower picking pattern will creep in and add some slight variety, but there's not a great deal of variation from track to track. The recording isn't bad. They definitely need to up the bass guitar, but the vocals sound forceful and I like the guitar tone a lot. It's got that Sunlight texture to it, but with more midrange and less low-end density. The drumming is a little on the taut side, but the mix does a decent job of keeping that in check for the most part. I could go either way on the layout. Everything could be better, and it could be worse. It looks tolerable. There are way too many cheesy band photos, but the lyrics look good, the art's decent... whatever, you know? It gets the job done. Lyrics? With titles like "Demons of the Dead", "Carnal Devourment", and "Flesh Bloody Flesh", use your imagination and don't get your hopes up too high. In the end, there are two songs here that I really like, a few that I think are mildly enjoyable, and a bunch that just sort of fly by me without really catching my attention at all. I don't know, I just don't feel anything coming from this material. It's a little stale for a new release from a band that's been doing this for more than a decade. (5/10)
Running time - 40:34, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Beneath a Dying Sun, When Life Surrenders]
Metal Blade Records - http://www.metalblade.com

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