Rating: 8.5

Country: Czech Republic

Release Date: 2006

Track list:
1.Intro
2.Contract Of Blood
3.Sanguinica
4.Ordo Verminosum
5.The Final Cut
6.Lifedrain
7.In Vitro / Dead End
8.The Grudge Gear
9.Amor In The Shards
10.To Kill For Skin
11.Outro

Band Website: Fleshless

Fleshless – To Kill For Skin

Michal Filipi - Guitar
Ludek - Guitar
Vladimir Prokos - Vocals
Vitys - Drums

Here's a band whose releases dwell expectantly amongst the thousands of other titles on my laughably impractical, obsessive-completist want list, their purchase oft considered but never actually implemented, with past Fleshless outings such as 'Abhorrence of Cadaveric' and 'Grindgod' left to hibernate at length somewhere 'tween the live Fleshgrind CD and the last Fondlecorpse album. Remorseful of this decidedly cavalier approach towards Fleshless material, I was hugely relieved to receive this, their latest record, a disc whose Brootal superiority prompted me to kick, boot 'n' drub myself in a judicious fashion for failing to investigate the band sooner. 'To Kill for Skin' is a predominantly mid-paced affair of palatable progressions and supple structures, infusing the stout foundation of Thrash tinted Death Metal traditionalism with their own interpretation of modern-day Brootality. With lively arrangements and proficient musicianship, the band combine lithe rhythms, ecstatic chord-progressions and gratifying solo-string melody with jarring shards of juddering slam fodder, piercing Gore Metal peril and dynamic, rapturous catchiness.

It's no secret that many Extreme Metal enthusiasts view Death Metal as a style marred by the teeming, heaving Brutal Death sub genre: a stale and shriveled-up style, swarming with wannabe-Brodequins and Devourment duplicates. Immersed in a puerile battle to surpass each other in terms of blundering simplicity/incomprehensible complexity, the overuse and overmix of a biscuit barrel snare drum and, of course, who can do the deepest and silliest 'reeeeee', such bands slavishly ignore the fact that a little variety, atmosphere and personality can really do wonders for your album. 'To Kill for Skin' does well to demonstrate this rigourously disregarded blatancy with carefully constructed, versatile songs, the majority of which offer up hearty 'n' delicious servings of superb Death/Grind, ladling out many an extra helping of catchy choruses and unlimited, free moshin' refills. It's always refreshing to hear an album such as this, where its listenable 'n' likeable nature is accented through coherent compositions with a gig-friendly approach. Fleshless respect fundamental Death Metal principles, penning genuine, immediately memorable songs, combining them with that subtle Thrash feel for added nostalgia, fortifying the already hulking sound with generous splashes of modern-day sadism, thus galvanising it with blunt 'n' brusque Broootality. Like classic Death, the songs follow vigourous, soaring patterns, climbing from one euphoric plateau to the next, the performance upon each submerged in a clenched 'n' cohesive Brutal Death/Grind style, frequently arriving at a stage of lilting melody afore ploughing back into the surging groove. The vokills are put to good use, disgorging an abundance of lucid choruses amongst the menacing verses, most of which retain their intensity notwithstanding the adequate diction with which they are executed. On the whole, the vokills maintain a mid to low range guttural coarseness, occasionally descending into a sub-human swine-like sound in order to complement the chugular regions of the songs. Being solid, functional and efficient, the rhythm section never comes across as overindulgent or meddlesome, nor does it seem passive or understated.

During my all-important first listen, the opening salvo recalled strapping Netherlands stalwarts Putrefied, sharing some of the same segmented style as 'The Putrid Remains', only with a less clinical, more welcoming sound. This comparison can be applied to several other slam-sections of 'To Kill for Skin', with the addition of a calculated mosh-mangle method, the fragmented chug-wedges gaining momentum in the manner of Deaden's instant Broootal-fix release, 'Hymns of the Sick'. Every so often, there are a few flecks of 'Most Painful Ways' by Mangled. Elsewhere, the band possess a sinuous rhythmic strumblock-fluxflow akin to older Malevolent Creation, fused with cheeky chunks of Napalm Death's down to earth, balls-out Grindcore classic, 'Diatribes'. A few of the patches of squirming melodic mockery sound a little similar to Spanish gorelords/underdogs Avulsed. One squalling solo-section in particular sounds identical to something from 'Chronic Corpora Infest', the unforgettable lesson in pathological malpractice by Disgorge [Mex].

The production is meritorious, ensuring a clear, consistent representation of each performance; the contribution of each musician remaining caustic 'n' crushing in spite of the warm 'n' cosy sound. To these ears, the bass channel was afforded attention aplenty during the mixdown process, adding vital low-end corpulence to the already butch 'n' burly structures. Along with the nourishing guitar distortion, solo clarity and attention to detail used in the arrangement of drumtrack levels, this results in a well rounded, effervescent listen. Already well positioned within the songs, the horripilating solos and lively Thrash runs are given crisp production, with further crunch-thickening being added to the solidified slam-apex of each song.

Regardless of the undeniable songwriting skill, proficient performance and crowd-pleasing ability the band display with 'To Kill for Skin', its key elements become somewhat worn towards the end, causing the last few songs to coagulate into a homogenous, perhaps even slightly generic, blob. However, the conviction, drive and energy with which the album is delivered ensure the beaming glow of its glitterin' final rating beacon. Of course, I have rather a soggy valve for bands within the Czech Republic scene, so this gives the overall score-orb further luminosity. 'To Kill for Skin' offers Brutal Death/Grind with equal measures of slam 'n' throwback. I for one will thoroughly enjoy the Fleshless set at Obscene Extreme '06, I'm sure you will too.

July 20th, 2006