Descend into the Absurd

I saw Fleshcrawl play live once (on Vader's "Litany" tour, alongside Vital Remains). They were awesome, and were the highlight of the bill. I bought a long-sleeve shirt because I was so impressed. I've never worn it much. It isn’t one of my treasured death metal possessions and I have used it for painting and decorating in recent years. This fall from grace probably happened because I've never rated the band's recorded output as highly as their live show. They are a good band, but they lack distinctiveness to reach the upper echelons of death metal. The phrase 'good, but not great' was reserved for bands like Fleshcrawl.

"Descend into the Absurd" is the band's first and most celebrated album. It sounds like the rusty old American sound of Autopsy and Death ("Leprosy"-era), crossed with the denser, heavier sound of first-wave Scandinavian death metal. These comparisons are skewed by the fact that they recorded this album in Stockholm and named themselves after an Autopsy song. Another comparison would be the first Gorguts album ("Considered Dead"). Both records have a similar brooding, fluid, speedy death metal that leaves plenty of breathing space. Both records are full of solid, old school chugs that hit the target, but lack the intangibles that elevate the band further.

The drumming is the best thing about this album. Bastian Herzog demonstrates power, speed and accuracy, but it is his light, off-time touches that set him apart (e.g., the beginning of “Festering Flesh”). His drumming compensates for the relative lack of memorable guitar parts. Most of the riffs are functional rather than exceptional. The solos are similarly unimpressive and tend to fade into the background. The vocals are powerful and guttural, though not as varied as the best death metal vocalists out there. The production is powerful too, but it seems to minimise the band's strengths. The drums would have sounded much better if left to rattle and hiss a little more. Strangely, the production is credited to 'Boss' Forsberg (i.e., Quorthon's father), although I assume Rex Gisslén did the hands-on work (as he had done with Edge of Sanity and Therion albums).

I cannot find space for "Descend into the Absurd" when thinking about the best European death metal records of the time. It isn’t as good as "Cross the Styx", "Shadows of the Past" or "Slumber of Sullen Eyes". The latter is a particularly apt comparison. Fleshcrawl has a similar crushing, momentum-based approach to Demigod. A song like "Perpetual Dawn" has those 'dragging the riffs along the floor' moments that Demigod used. Some of the songs are slower and have more of an Asphyx feel, "Never to Die Again" being the best example. This album can live with those bands. It has plenty of power to crush skulls, but doesn't dominate the psyche like those records can.

Like many death metal bands, Fleshcrawl peaked here on this debut album. This is one of those records that I have appreciated more with repeated listens. I didn't think highly of this album at first, but the heaviness and the atmosphere seeps in over time. Having said that, I have probably reached saturation point with it now. I would be surprised if I found new depths here in the future. My honest opinion is that Demigod were better at making this brand of death metal, but that Fleshcrawl were an adequate substitute.