Agony

Hello again! As promised, there now follows the review of Fleshgod Apocalypse's second album. How do they think up these names???

I had never heard of Fleshgod Apocalypse when I went to see them in Dublin not so long ago. All that I knew was that they were described as symphonic technical death metal, meaning that they incorporated symphonic elements into grinding death metal with a fast, frenetic and often technical style. Basically, If Decapitated had sex with Dimmu Borgir, the resulting progeny would be these guys. Being a fan of the aforementioned I was willing to give this band a chance and went into this gig blind, meaning, I hadn’t heard any of their songs.

                Selling for a reasonable price of 10 euro, I elected to buy their second album “Agony” before they went on stage. When they finally did, I found their sound to be chaotic. Their songs were too fast for me to be able to make out much of it and all of their output sounded kind of the same. Having consumed a lot of alcohol by this point, I simply assumed and I was too drunk to make out anything going on onstage. Good thing, I thought, that I had bought the album so that I could have a proper listen. It turns out though, that’s the way they normally sound anyway.

                To be fair, Fleshgod are talented enough musicians in their own right. Francesco Paoli’s drumming is insanely fast, seriously, it’s not even human; an Octopus on steroids could not do a better job. Franceso Ferrini’s piano and orchestral work add a great deal to the band’s sound. Grandiose and layered, Ferrini’s contribution gives the band a somewhat epic feel and will serve to remind listeners that beneath the blast-beat drumming and brutal riffs, there lies a discernible tune. Not only that, the orchestra links each song to each other resulting in the album sounding like an unrelenting juggernaut of noise and brutality. Guitar solos too add to the mix along vocal contributions from various band members resulting in a mix between death metal growling and a ludicrously high pitched clean voice.

                When one combines ridiculously fast drumming, blasting guitar riffs, solos, growling, clean vocals, keyboards, piano and orchestra, you get a band that is throwing everything including the kitchen sink at you. This arrangement will no doubt appeal to people who like their music fast, loud and grandiose however where the album really suffers is its lack of versatility. For all that can be said about a relentless sonic pounding, there are very few hooks to any of the songs and not a whole lot to differentiate one from another.

                When you come across an album where all the songs sound too similar, you inevitably search for something different and favour it. This is very much the case with standout tracks “The Egoism” and “The Forsaking”. The Egoism slows down the pace of the music dramatically, instead of sticking to the mind meltingly fast music that has characterised this band; they shift into a slow, deliberate, heavy yet ultimately catchy riff. The centrepiece of the other standout “The Forsaking” is a haunting piano piece that lingers in the background. Slow, deliberate and moody, this was the song they finished their set with when I saw them. I don’t blame them; it is a suitably grandiose yet forlorn way to end a set even if it is not the finish of the album.

                So all in all, I have mixed feelings about this album and this band in general. On the one hand I see in them great potential since they are talented musicians individually but their style is too fast, too reckless and too monotonous for my liking. If you like music to be uncompromisingly loud, fast and heavy you’ll love these guys but if you seek variety in music you might be disappointed by what’s on offer here.

                Where the band goes from here will be interesting to see, will they explore the vastness of their potential or will they couch their credibility in staying true to who they are right now? I hope it’s the former.