Gory album cover and nearly unreadable band logo tell you a lot about what’s in store when you listen to Broken Flesh new self-titled album. If I didn’t know of the band, just based on the cover I would expect crushing guitars, ultra-fast blast beats and all-around pummeling drums, and largely growled, mostly unintelligible vocals and that is exactly what awaits any unsuspecting listener. As a follow up to Warbound, Broken Flesh have turned up the heaviness and crushing power to 11 and even rerecorded a couple tracks off their debut album to illustrate the progression in their sound.
Over ten years ago in 2004 Broken Flesh came together in Oklahoma City. Five years later, the band released their debut album Forever in Flames, itself a brutal collection of eight tracks. The next few years saw some personnel changes and label changes and the band released the Stripped, Stabbed, and Crucified ep in 2012 only to have more personnel changes as vocalist Ricky Puckett left the band. Throughout it all, the band unashamedly held to their faith and played on a number of bills with bands like Six Feet Under and others in death metal that certainly don’t share their beliefs. In 2013, the band released Warbound featuring new vocalist Jacob Mathes, who brought a deeper, more guttural, animal-like sound to the songs. On Warbound, not only did the vocals become darker and heavier, but the music increased in tenacity and brutality. For the self-titled release the band signed to Luxor Records and Nick Morris (As They Sleep) and Josh Dillon of Elaire Studios handled the production duties, making the album as heavy as possible to go with the songs, which vocalist Jacob Mathes said, “reflect some of the hardest times we have faced in our lives and where the Holy Spirit was in those times.” Following recording of the album, the band added a second guitarist, Dakota Whiteside,whose addition will certainly add to their live performances.
Broken Flesh go somewhat against the current trend and waste no time on the album, launching quickly into “Valley of Mass Crucifixion” which does serve as a bit of a warning to the listener of what is to come. A short guitar riff and then an explosion of low, guttural vocals, fast crushing riffs, and blast beats start off the song until the band settles into a double bass driven almost groove section. Many of the songs on the album work this way and the band has found a strength in being able to craft the almost melody and groove into the death metal. Once again, as we heard on Warbound, Brandon Lopez literally destroys the drums, bringing more to the sound than just the ultra-fast blast beats that are expected and yet somehow even faster this time around. My one gripe is that the guitars seem a bit quieter, less distinct in the mix than they were in Warbound, which is a bit of shame, but I imagine since there are now two full-time guitarists in the band this will not be an issue in a live setting. I have a feeling though that most people aren’t going to be overly bothered by this and to be honest it’s more likely me being picky about how I like things to sound.
“Buried Alive” is likely one of my favorite songs as it would be the most groove-heavy at least in the opening parts with its pummeling, marching-like cadence, even though “Consumed by Death” features a pretty cool guitar solo. Once the nearly clean vocals or at least more understandable ones shout out “why have you brought me here…” the song explodes for a bit before settling back into the heavy, driving groove that started things off. The addition of the second guitarist seems to have freed up the song writing a bit compared to Warbound as there are more songs with guitar solos, including “Buried Alive”. As one might expect the solos are not long and drawn out but are short and to the point, fitting with the overall nature of the songs. Most of the songs on the album are around the 3 minute mark in length, but similar to fast punk songs, there’s usually enough music in that three minutes for a normal band to construct a six to nine minute song . Things really are that fast.
One can easily see how the band has progressed when you listen to the rerecorded versions of “Forever in Flames” and “Unworthy that were first on their debut album Forever in Flames in 2009. The first thing to notice is that the new versions of both songs are shorter now. In the case of “Forever in Flames” the new version is much faster in all respects including the double bass drum which is probably not surprising if you’ve only heard the new version, since the bass drum is so fast. The power in the production and mixing and the difference in the vocals are the most obvious changes one will notice. The original version of “Unworthy” also features a guitar solo mid-way through the song that the new version doesn’t have. I actually still like both versions but the new ones almost sound like they are cover versions by another band, but when you know the history, it’s easy to see them as a logical progression in sound and approach.
With this album and Warbound, Broken Flesh have carved out their heavy, brutal sound. Everything about this album seems heavier, faster, louder, and darker than Warbound. As can happen within the genre, there is a bit of repetitiveness in some of the songs but that is overshadowed by technical aspects and that heavy groove which appears unexpectedly throughout the album. The slow riff in “Ignominy” that starts out the song and carries it through the first verse shows the band’s ability to drive a song without relying on the speed normally associated with technical death metal. Adding in some variety to the song and the song “Hate” is the back and forth vocal exchanges between the low guttural heard on most of the album and the higher, shrieking like vocals.
Broken Flesh have managed to create one of those albums that are great to play loudly in your car in the summer when stopping at the gas station. Every song will draw stares as people try to see what sort of crazy individual would be listening to this at high volume. Ok, so this is one of my favorite things to do, along with driving past the security checkpoint at work with it cranked, and for that I need to thank the band. Broken Flesh have managed to capture everything you’d expect to hear on an American technical death metal album and yet also managed to add their own touches to the sound. You will be hard-pressed to find a heavier and yet still listenable album.
Rating: 9/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist:
01. Valley of Mass Crucifixion
02. Blood Harvest
03. Consumed by Death
04. Buried Alive
05. Hell
06. Cries of the Dead
07. Forever in Flames
08. Unworthy
09. Exalt
10. Ignominy
11. By His Blood
12. Hate
Band Members:
Jacob Mathes – Vocals
Kevin Tubby – Guitar/ Vocals
Dakota Whiteside – Guitar
Joshua Mathes – Bass/ Vocals
Brandon Lopez – Drums
Discography:
“Stripped, Stabbed, And Crucified” EP (2012)
‘Warbound” (2013) [review]
Record Label: Luxor Records, Sept. 2015
Weblinks: Facebook / Reverbnation / Twitter
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
Video for ‘Cries of the Dead’
Video for ‘Buried Alive’