Fleshgod Apocalypse - ‘King’ Album Review
The latest slab of dense, symphonic death metal insanity from Fleshgod Apocalypse is ‘King’, a concept album that tops their last record for elaborate complexity and epic scope. The concept of intertwining symphonic, orchestral music with brutal death metal is still relatively new, with only a handful of successful bands daring to brave the potentially catastrophic results. While other metal bands use symphonic elements to add a sense of dramatic importance to their sound, Fleshgod have attempted to take the genre fusion to a new level with their last two records, splitting the metal and orchestral components in almost even proportions. ‘King’ is a massive, earth-shaking continuation of that volatile mixture, at times achieving an astonishing degree of brutal excellence. But the union of symphony and death metal is still a profoundly imperfect one; more often the record is an awkward and confusing assault on the ears, with neither the grinding metal riffs nor the symphonic music feeling fully comfortable or well situated.
Starting off with a suitably ominous intro track, ‘King’ makes a strong impression with ‘In Aeturnum’. Huge sounding and chock-full of neo-classical darkness, the track features a surprisingly melodic and accessible chorus. ‘Healing Through War’ goes for a more straightforward, steady riffing approach, allowing the orchestra to weave a dark, aural thundercloud while chugging, low-tuned guitars churn with menace below. The track climaxes with an awesome joining of the guitars and orchestra, with just the right amount of lead guitar.
Such moments are delicious when they occur: there are superb sections in ‘Cold as Perfection’ and ‘And The Vulture Beholds’, the latter being perhaps the pinnacle of the album. But more often the orchestral elements of the record feel like cinematic score clichés that have been attached to the death metal riffs, rather than being written and symphonically intertwined to the guitars with the same musical goal in mind. Another issue is the guitar, which, reduced to a very supportive role for the most part, will feel lacking to many metal-heads more used to riff-oriented songwriting. The inclusion of operatic sections and spoken word lines add variation to Fleshgod’s exhausting brutality, but the over-the top drama is occasionally cheesy and comical, and serves to distract the listener from the music instead of adding any atmosphere.
At times the layers of chaos threaten to destroy any listenability the album has, but the undeniable technical skill of the band members keeps everything from collapsing. Francesco Paoli’s world-renowned drumming acts as a gravitational center for everything else, preventing Fleshgod from drifting off too far into a cacophonic abyss. There is a relentless driving force to ‘King’ that gives a sense of story and progression, and this energy glues and stitches the record’s mismatched parts together, in a haphazard sort of way.
This is definitely a consistent album, and will certainly please the bands diehards. A fast and furious whirlwind of epic death metal, ‘King’ is, at least, quite fun to listen to. But the imperfections and imbalances in Fleshgod’s sound are still apparent. Perhaps one day the band’s skill and talent will enable them to achieve a more complete marriage of death metal and orchestra, but that marriage is still tenuous and shaky here.
‘King’ is released on February 5th from Nuclear Blast.
About the Author
Stuart Kristensen Stuart Kristensen is a music nerd from Ontario, Canada. His musical tastes are diverse, ranging from extreme metal to 80’s new wave. He enjoys playing guitar and creative writing, and is currently enrolled as a student at Trent University.
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