It may be their first release ever, but Finland’s Fleshred show on “Bloodtorn” that they have already mastered all the essential aspects of great and extreme death metal. This is amazingly heavy stuff, containing brutal riffs, thunderous, relentless drumming and harsh, guttural vocals. The Finns shred like pros and seem to have all the chops and abilities that bands like Hypocrisy and Vader are continually lauded for.
“Total War” opens the hostilities with brute force, precise blast-beats and a fierce, solid riffing, while following track “Merciless Words” sees Fleshred switching up from ludicrously fast blasts to a mid-tempo pace with guitarists Jani Hentila and Paavo Mikkola churning out some catchy, groove-filled death metal.
This masterful level of dynamics is what really sets “Bloodtorn” apart from the myriad of current death metal releases; slower grooves are paired with rabid tempos to create a nasty and well-balanced body of work that satisfies on every conceivable level.
Considering this is the band’s first effort and what a great accomplishment “Bloodtorn” is, you can be sure that we’ll be hearing a lot of positive things from this Finnish combo in the near future. (7.8/10)
Byrant Thomas
Band info: www.fleshred.com
Label info: www.violentjourneyrecords.com
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