Flayed Disciple are back, and boy, it has been way too long !! so, to ease themselves in ‘gently’ they have unleashed a five track EP on us to truly exhibit their intentions on how they plan to forge their path moving forward.
A Hell In Living Flesh opens with ‘I Am Leviathan’, and it smacks you right between the eyes from the opening brutal chords right through to the closing riotous beats. The vocals of Hembrough show a stupidly wide range of ability, from growling almost demonic guttural outings to higher screams which are reminiscent of something straight from the bowels of the underworld. The whole track is presented at a speed which is mesmerising and impressive, the six strings working in a tight knit partnership and the thicker strings and drum kit cementing the whole track to the ground with thunderous and muscular intentions.
‘Warmaster’ opens with a short drum beat before everyone else piles in. As much as the band air on the side of blackened thrash, this track has an almost hardcore edge to it. The vocals have more attitude and power about them with the guitars having seemingly been turned up to eleven on the speed scale. The track twists and turns with its melodies and can be enjoyed as a standalone entity if deciphered from the aggressive and vicious undergrowth in which they sit.
Mid EP track, ‘Arch Contaminator (1985)’, opens with some buzzing before the track launches yet again into an aural riot of intense thrash with a truly bludgeoning core of death metal which has been laced with penetrating solos and enigmatic riffs a plenty. The skins of Tolfree are delirious and colourful whilst the lungs of Hembrough are well and truly tested to the limits with constant soul wrecking screams and gut bursting growls. The track clocks in at an impressive seven plus minutes but each one of those are utilised to the max and each second will have your head banging to the beat as if a rabid dog has taken over and possessed your soul.
Time to slow things down and ‘Flayed Disciple’ starts with a doomier intro before the band launch into their namesake track with power, speed, precision, and downright pure frenetic energy. The track keeps to the tried and tested recipe of bludgeoning you with velocity and savagery and we are even treated to an absolutely monumental and beautiful guitar solo just past the mid-way mark, leading into a shimmer of a drum solo before we are thrown straight back into the scrum with even more intensity and passion.
The EP closer introduces us to a beautiful delicate acoustic guitar doodle before the track comes chugging along and commands our attention once more with a formidable and muscular doom ridden nucleus. The track takes on an almost hardcore edge again, interspersed amongst the thrash heart of the release. The whole track appears more calculated and oppressive, the vocals are more measured and less vehement, although they are still something which would give any unsuspecting soul nightmares well into the night.
This EP comes on the back of eight long years since Flayed Disciple first captivated us with their three-track self-titled EP, and with new blood now within the ranks in the name of Tolfree on the drums and Hembrough of Burning Skies fame on the vocals, this is a new era for the band and one future I definitely want to be a witness to.
(9/10 Phil Pountney)
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