FLESHCRAWL

Old school brutal death metal sensibilities overflow here. There is a hint of grind, here and there, which adds to a very satisfying mix (although not blowing me away to be honest) on first listen. Track three, with its acoustic pseudo-flamenco guitar sound, adds a real touch of depth early on in the proceedings. I must admit it is things like this that I look out for and raise the game for me of any band. It helps break up the heads down no nonsense approach, and believe me you’ll get plenty of that from Fleshcrawl! These guys hail from Germany and have been in existence since 1987, although the name Fleshcrawl was added in the 90s. This is my first real listen to them and I wonder how much they’ve changed since their first inception – not much I think! The death metal sound is ingrained in this five piece band - you can hear that after just one listen to the album. You can’t fault the production or tightness of a band who certainly knows what they are about - this album has grown on me with each subsequent listen but, saying all this, there is an aspect that lets this release down for me. There is a generic feel to Fleshcrawl in a very oversaturated market - there are some good songs on this album but to be honest there is little that makes me think this is a band standing out from the crowd. Maybe they once did but old school death metal has made such a comeback that these guys now stand in a pretty saturated market.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Metal Blade Records

Album

STRUCTURES OF DEATH

Review by Paul Sims

RUNNING TIME:

41:28

RELEASE DATE:

24th Sept 2007

TRACK LISTING

1) Skulls of the Rotten (Intro); 2) Structures of Death; 3) Into the Fire of Hell; 4) Written in Blood; 5) A Spirit Dressed In Black; 6) Fleshcult; 7) Into the Crypts of Scattered Souls; 8) Anthem of Death; 9) Nothing But Flesh Remains; 10) Rest in Pain (R.I.P.); 11) About Mortality; 12) War of the Dead

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Germany

"Old school brutal death metal sensibilities overflow..."