We had a holiday day on Monday, and I booked today off as well. So nice having an extra long weekend. I wish I didn’t have to work. Maybe I’ll find a sugar daddy.
01. Winter Came Early 02. Promethean: Vignette I 03. A Stain 04. Fates: Vignette II 05. The Void Chamber 06. Yearning: Vignette III 07. Eyes Yet To Open
Few bands get nominated for the Metal Storm Awards for their first album; far fewer get nominated just for their first song, but that’s what the maniacs in Fleshvessel accomplished in 2020 with the one-song debut EP Bile Of Man Reborn. An impressive achievement, and one that sets expectations high for their first full-length record.
This is one wild album! There's definitely a lot take in, especially on the last track, the song structures are insanely complex but it's so brilliantly well executed, and the musicianship is high level quality. There's such a variety of elements featured, many layers of instrumentation. Great stuff!
I'm glad they started with an EP to actually prepare me for their first full album haha.
This is something quite different and it is very challenging to dissect everything that is going on because there is so much to it and so many changes, but I never once felt lost. They have an immense amount of skill for progressive writing with excellent pacing and flow to the album. The vignettes are a nice touch to offer some calm moments to reset before the next wild journey. Each of the main songs builds to complex higher places by their ends while also allowing you to see the curious shadows that dwell below in their ever-changing atmospheres. I thought that all the changes between sections felt rather natural with little that clashed despite how radical some of those changes were. There is no shortage of talented performances no matter what (seemingly almost random) instrument is being played. The drums sound pretty damn good for being programmed. I can understand if people don’t like the sound of the production but I think it adds to the charm because we should not forget that this is a smaller budget band of people all just using what they have to make something truly magical. They are pushing boundaries and seeing what can work together while never sacrificing the integrity of a song just to throw something else in. The Void Chamber and Eyes Yet To Open are my favorites, but the whole album is magnificent.
As a side note, to anyone who likes this you should check out Alexander Torres’s previous (and possibly recently resurrected) band Clavicus Vile. It leans a lot further into tech death but there are still plenty of surprises.
Strong concept - flawed execution. To come out of the gate with this as your debut album is certainly stunning, but I think some of you are caught up in the hype train with this one. Unless I'm listening to Diablo Swing Orchestra, I don't really want my extreme avant-garde metal to sound like the Animaniacs soundtrack. "A STAIN" really stands out on its own, while some of the other tracks are just... silly. Some of the performances on here are just rough, too. Overall, a really good debut, but some of you need to pump the brakes a bit and realize there are some big flaws here.
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These are my opinions. You're welcome to discard them.
Find out more of my thoughts on Forgemaster Metal www.youtube.com/@forgemastermetal
Some exquisite music, although the metal parts are the least interesting ones. Praise for the guitar solos, the piano, the flute, the brass, etc. It's also true that some bits are silly, but it's forgivable, the music is great. Sonically everything is great too. Since the songwriting is quite complicated and as I mentioned is has some annoying parts, I won't be coming back to this album too often.
The production value was good, but not great. At least when it comes to the clarity of the vocals and some of the instrumental parts (and yes I get that parts of it seem to be intentionally lo-fi.) Other than that, boy, what an album. WTF did I just listen to honestly?? One of the most original sounding albums I've heard all year. Maybe in several years. A strange piece of art for sure. I'm not so sure I'll be revisiting this album much however. This album is more of an experience than something I'm going to be listening to over and over again for enjoyment. I found their first album/ep/single to be more enjoyable.
This is so good. There is a lot of things going on in this album without it necessarily being overbearing because of the excellent songwriting. Definitely an unique experience.