Review of Fleshgore - Killing Absorption (Re-Issue)

Fleshgore plays music stylistically modeled after the great singer/songwriters of the late sixties and early seventies, infusing a slight rock sensibility to their brand of folk music.

Yes they do.

A band called Fleshgore plays death metal. It would have been brilliant to crank this up and hear Gordon Lightfoot music, but that's not what happened. What did happen was pretty predictable, if satisfying. A toneless pig-growly vocal over some old school death metal, not produced for shit and released onto my desktop speakers to scrape the skin form my subcutaneous layer of tissue. By the numbers...

Problem is that, as I have said elsewhere, this year has seen the Metal standards pushed beyond from the place this band would have occupied to get a better review. Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse, Spawn of Possession, Deicide...I mean, sorry gentlemen and ladies, but you have now got to bring a new level of fierceness if you want to play. And Fleshgore, while getting all the death metal tactics right, sound like Wormed's opening act.

What the band does bring is the blasting, funky, crunch filled stuff that satisfies like a Snickers bar; Tasty, but ultimately just the shit you eat between real meals. Purists will undoubtedly appreciate their rootish take on the modern styles. And there are no protools or Sunsound tricks in evidence: WYHIWYG. This is what the fucking act sounds like. The musicianship is in the very good category especially the rhythm section. They really shine thanks to the masterful structural quality of the songwriting, keeping the tempo interesting and flaying out with some decent riffs. It is just good - if familiar - death metal.

The production is none. It's so transparent you feel like the band is playing in your garage. Unfortunately there isn't much low end in the mix, but that cleans up the board so you can more easily comprehend the music itself. If you don't have the funds of a big act, this is a very acceptable trade off. At least I assume it was a trade off. If the band wanted to lose its bottom... well, that's an unfortunate decision.

The bottom line is that Fleshgore is a good band and this is a good disc, but it just can't compete with the names you know and love. This is for the die hards...like me. I would recommend it to death metal freaks, but just know that you are getting little more than what you expect. To the average metalhead I would say there are so many great records out right now that this one is probably not going to be high on your Christmas list. It's stripped down and well played death metal, but there are some real scene stoppers out there you need to look at first. But, if nothing else, this band understands the form and can play the shit right.

Release Details

Fleshgore

Killing Absorption (Re-Issue)

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