FLESHCRAWL - Epitome of Carnage
Reigning Phoenix Music
Well there's a lot to unpack here so let's hit it. FLESHCRAWL is the best German version of Old School Swedish Death Metal there is from that great nation. The band started out back in 1991 under this name and has since release a bunch of material as in short form and full length releases. This release here is the band's tenth.
I first got into FLESHCRAWL with their seventh full length, Made of Flesh, from 2004. That one came out on Metal Blade Records so yeah duh? Anyways back then Melo-Deth was still the rage with losers and here was a band cranking out ENTOMBED style Death Metal. Stranger still is that it would be four more years until the whole Old School Death Metal revival in Sweden and the US would come about big time.
Since then I did pick up their 2007 full length, Structures of Death, which also came out on Metal blade Records. According to J-Dawg from Hells Headbangers Records the band's first EP, Lost in a Grave, is the best thing they've ever done. Unfortunately I never got that or any of their early material. Sorry I guess I'm just one of those people who likes their Old School Swedish Death Metal to come from Sweden.
So with all of that said here we are with FLESHCRAWL's tenth full length. And to no surprise yeah it's Swede Death to the fuckin hilt. But what is surprising is that the line-up has changed so much but their sound hasn't. Drummer Bastian Herzog is the only original member but I'll give em props for keeping the legacy going. Bassist Manu Markowski has been with the band since 2011. After that everyone is new.
On vocals there's Borisz Sarafutgyinov who joined in 2021 and sounds exactley like their last two vocalists. The guitar duo here is Christian Kalbrecht and Apu Justin Reisch who both joined in 2020. These guys have been totally schooled on the classic Swede Death sound of old. When I listen to this I'm thinking yeah ENTOMBED should've followed this left hand path instead of going where they did. In all honesty I'd rather listen to NIHILIST demo instead of Left Hand Path.
With all of that said this new one from Germany's FLESHCRAWL rules. But let's remember that there's a guy in Sweden named Rogga Johansson who's been the king of Swedish DM for close to thirty years now with a ton of bands. So pick your Swede Death wisely.
https://reigningphoenixmusic.com/
LISTEN HERE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPiF73Z_NYI
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