Sharing Is Caring

When looking askance at the spelling of Cutterred Flesh’s chosen bandname, consider this: even in the most straightforward of fields, meaning can easily be radiated. In this case, the possibilities of the name meaning “flesh that has been slashed with a cutting implement” and also “flesh made red as if by cutter” emerge and handily highlight another duality regarding this Czech act, namely that they may conceal some of their danger at first glance. Formed back in 2001 – a period from which only guitarist and sometime vocalist Vitalij Novák remains – the band took a customary approach to brutal death metal, releasing brief and gruesome albums roughly every 3 years, while assuredly maintaining their underground stance, something that may be about to change with this fifth full-length released on new label Transcending Obscurity.

The slight subtlety in the composition of the 9 songs on Sharing Is Caring firstly allows the album to stand out and secondly gives it some serious replay value. The fear in brutal death songwriting is that brutality will run away with musicality and the result could be extremely affecting but ultimately meaningless. Without doing anything revolutionary - these are after all simple 3 or 4 minutes songs - Cutterred Flesh place elements in the way of an accurate assessment of brutality and meanwhile strike a balance of power, hooks, and showmanship. Take opening number 'Vibrio Vulnificus', which utilizes backing melodies to affect the dynamics of certain vocal passages, dropping the double bass drumming to a less focal position while the melody is in play and then bringing the full force of the blasts back when the melody switches out. That’s canny, seeing as it removes the weight of the song briefly to make room for a future assault, just like a seeming electronic outro masks a final attack with all members of the band re-entering at high intensity. Other tricks include opening ‘Black Aurora’ with eerie piano and ‘Where Only Old Flesh Stinks’ with echoing clean guitar, meaning that the first 3 songs on the album all offer some unusual way into their heavy core.

The other feature that deviates from the norm can properly be referred to as texture. Boasting a complex mix and high production quality, Sharing Is Caring makes use of a huge sonic range to strike effectively most of the time, thus leaving very little danger of exhausting the listener. The spread of the different drums simply amazes, some coming from quite deep in the mix - where the kicks meet the timbre of Jirka Krš’s low vocals - and others occupying the same mid-range as the guitars, even rising higher with some of the toms and the blistering hyperblasts. With the guitarists able to layer melody over their riffing too, all these points in the mix can be combined for overwhelming assaults of physicality or separated for a much more atmospheric feel. Most songs contain frequent switches in texture and as often as not tempo and intensity too, though still bring familiar riffs and verses round to make their presence felt, as achieved by 'Good Boy - Romantic Relationship with Necrotic Tissue' and the devastating grooves of 'Progressive Body Adjustment', which originally appeared on 2013 album Dying in Pieces.

Cutterred Flesh therefore make a nice change in the brutal death scene not only for approaching songwriting from a humane angle but also for adding a touch of mischief into their themes too. If you haven’t already had a chuckle about the title of Sharing Is Caring, you should do so right away before glancing down the tracklist at 'My Favourite Bodybag' and 'The Mystery of the Black Hen', possibly the catchiest song of 2021 in the “influenced by Nile” category. For those wondering, no, there’s not a Grammy for that. On the other hand, anyone with an appreciation for the work of Aborted, Suffocation, or the recent Monument Of Misanthropy album may find Sharing Is Caring remains in play when compiling end of year lists. That is, anyone not busy windmilling to 'Knife Is Not the Enemy'. In terms of smart songwriting, excellent judgement, and great chops, Cutterred Flesh stab straight to the heart on this one.


Originally written for The Metal Observer - http://www.metal-observer.com/3.o/review/cutterred-flesh-sharing-is-caring/