Fleshgod Apocalypse Tour in Lincoln: Feb. 24, 2023

I am kicking around the idea of coming back.  At least part of the time.  I do not know if I will ever be able to post every day like I was, but I kind of miss this.  Anyway, I should at least catch up on some concerts that I have attended recently.  The less said about the Godsmack show, the better.  Would you believe my wife's sister's favorite band is Godsmack?  I was honestly shocked by that, I was not even aware they were still going because I tend not to listen to modern rock stations.  Then she also wanted to see Disturbed.  What the hell is happening?

Well, let's talk about something good.

Just prior to COVID hitting, I had planned to see Italian symphonic death metal band Fleshgod Apocalypse at The Royal Grove in Lincoln.  They were supposed to be playing with a four-piece string ensemble.  Then everything got fucked up due to the pandemic, the tour was cancelled and it was a long time before I got to see any concerts.  So last year, they announced they would go back out to make up for the lost tour.  They did not have the string quartet, but were accompanied by tech-death band Obscura along with Wolfheart and Thulcandra.

I got there a bit late, but did not miss any of the main bands.  I came in about partway through some local band who was pretty good, but because it has been so long since I saw them, I do not remember who they were.  Sorry.  Wolfheart was the first band I remember fully seeing.  Their sound is a bit like Wintersun-meets-Insomnium.  It's melodic and chilling, with a real cold sound to it.  Thulcandra was next and I was expecting to really be on board with their blackened thrash sound, but the sound production was not really there and there really was not anything memorable about them.  That was kind of disappointing.

Next up was the German band Obscura.  Now, I have talked at length previously about my feelings about technical death metal.  So much of it is so focused on the technicality of the riffs and time signature changes that it just sounds mechanical and soulless.  Obscura was a band that I enjoyed in the past, but not to a large degree.  That changed with this performance.  They blew me away.  Of particular note was the song "When Stars Collide" which is an extremely powerful track with some melody and clean vocals that send chills down the spine when they kick in.  I bought the record.  I had to.

Finally, Fleshgod Apocalypse took the stage.  For those that have not seen them, they generally in vaguely 19th-Century dress with a lot of theatricality.  It works with the symphonic elements permeating the rather more brutal death metal foundation of their sound.  They played most of the songs I expected, the "hits", if one were to believe that an underground metal band had them.  While the majority of the symphonic elements were not replicated live, they still fit in with the music flawlessly.  I would have liked to have seen the band backed by the string quartet, but they managed to put on a fantastic show regardless.  

2011 in Review: Top Ten

10. SKELETONWITCH: FOREVER ABOMINATION
Despite arriving around the same time as the retro thrash metal movement and being largely considered one of the bands in said movement, Skeletonwitch has proven to be a much more resilient and impressive band. The band's take on old school blackened thrash with a modern approach has really come into its own. I have enjoyed all of their albums so far, but this one has been the best yet.

9. PRIMORDIAL: REDEMPTION AT THE PURITAN'S HAND
Ireland's top metal band has released yet another classic album with this year's release. While it is not quite as good as their previous release, it definitely still has its moments. Of course the band would not be nearly as impressive were it not for its stunningly talented lead singer.

8. THE GATES OF SLUMBER: THE WRETCH
Traditional doom metal has of course been making a major comeback in recent years and The Gates of Slumber is at the top of the movement. The band has an impressive sound without sounding too retro. The power trio seems to get better and better with each successive album.

7. CROWBAR: SEVER THE WICKED HAND
Crowbar returned for their first new album in nearly six years in 2011 and Kirk Windstein had a whole lot more pain to sing about here. Dealing with overcoming a drug addiction is an extremely painful process, one which the band covers on this incredible release featuring some of the band's best riffing in years.

6. DECEASED...: SURREAL OVERDOSE
Yet another band with a new release after a long time without any new full-lengths, Deceased... has been quietly one of this country's greatest unknown bands. The first band to sign to Relapse Records, Deceased... is still largely the same band that was an early pioneering death metal band.

5. SEPTICFLESH: THE GREAT MASS
Probably my second favorite Greek metal band, next to the amazing Rotting Christ, Septicflesh's sound is much more of a symphonic death metal band. Their music can best be described as epic. It is surprisingly catchy for a band of this style.

4. FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE: AGONY
It was apparently a good year for symphonic death metal as Fleshgod Apocalypse released a stunning album as well. The band's second album was even an improvement on their first album. We are witnessing the growth of an incredible new band.

3. REVOCATION: CHAOS OF FORMS
The thrash metal album of the year was from a band that was largely derided as a retro thrash metal throwaway for some time. But the band's other influences shined through on this release. Their technicality has improved and even some jazz influences popped up.

2. ULCERATE: THE DESTROYERS OF ALL
New Zealand's Ulcerate was born out of brutal death metal and added some surprisingly effective post-metal dissonant guitar melodies. The drumming has remained rooted in brutal death though. This was very nearly the album of the year.

1. SATAN'S HOST: BY THE HANDS OF THE DEVIL
Metallattorney's Album of the Year comes from this Colorado metal band that has released their finest album in years. Their blackened thrash metal material over the last few years has been impressive enough, but reuniting with original singer Harry "The Tyrant" Conklin of Jag Panzer has been a revelation. It can best be described as blackened power metal. An incredible album from start to finish.

Bands That Would Sound Just as Good Without Vocalists

My wife and I were driving home late last Sunday night from the State Fair and Kamelot was in the CD player. I mentioned that Roy Khan, the vocalist was no longer with the band and that I wondered what they would do. My wife said that she felt the band really did not need a singer and that she would be very interested in hearing them without one. So that got me thinking.

What are some bands that would sound just as good without vocalists?

Here's a few off the top of my head and I would like to open this up to some discussion.

DECREPIT BIRTH
I mentioned in my review of their last album that they really did not need a singer. I stand by that. Decrepit Birth's music is technical and complex and it would not suffer at all without a singer. In fact, their singer really holds them back because he is somewhat of a one-note grunter and his vocals do not add anything at all to the music.

FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE
I happen to like their vocalist, but I really do think this band has the technical and melodic chops to go full-on instrumental. They symphonic elements would be allowed to seep into the listener's attention even more. It would be a very interesting experiment and drive that orchestral death metal sound even farther.

METALLICA
Some of Metallica's best songs are instrumentals. "Orion" and "The Call of Ktulu" are the most notable examples. Obviously James Hetfield is not going anywhere, but what would the band sound like without him on vocals and just playing music? I think it would be pretty damn good actually.

AHAB
Or really any funeral doom metal band, but I list Ahab because they are my particular favorite. This is similar to Decrepit Birth in that the vocals really do not do much to add to the music. Things would be just as depressing and atmospheric without the vocals, and indeed possibly moreso.

Anyone I am forgetting?

Initial Impressions: Fleshgod Apocalypse: Agony

I reviewed Fleshgod Apocalypse's most recent EP earlier and highly enjoying what I heard, I was very much anticipating this new album. The Italian band did not let me down.

The opening track is an instrumental that sets the stage for the crashing frenzy of the first proper song. The intro is made up of some impressive orchestral buildup. The orchestral elements then continue throughout the rest of the album. It is a major part of the band's sound, but it is not overdone as Dimmu Borgir has become guilty of. Fleshgod Apocalypse does a fantastic job of making the orchestral sections sound completely natural, as if death metal and symphony orchestras had always worked together. Not many other bands could have pulled this off. In fact, the entire album has the feel of an epic metal orchestra.

The more metallic portion of the band's music is basically progressive death metal. The vocals are delivered in a rough, fairly typical death metal growl. However, there are moments of clean singing which sound an awful lot like ICS Vortex's clean parts in Dimmu Borgir. That was probably the idea and it comes across great here. The clean vocals soar over the utterly bombastic music.

All told, this is a very interesting album. The music is fantastic and everything works well together. Fleshgod Apocalypse are a rising young band and have a very bright future.

Initial Impressions: Fleshgod Apocalypse: Mafia

I am not sure of the connection between the giant octopus of Kraken or whatever on the cover and the title "Mafia". Perhaps it is a metaphor that is just a little over my head, I don't really know. Maybe if I just sat down to think about it a little, I could figure it out.

That is all neither here nor there though. The real reason we are here is to look at this album from a musical standpoint and I really have to say that I am impressed with Fleshgod Apocalypse. This is already the band's fourth release since forming in 2007 and it is clear that the young Italian band has already become a leader in the technical death metal scene.

This is not just some soulless, overly technical wankery though, as is often the criticism of this style. Fleshgod Apocalypse has a lot of depth. Every riff is played with purpose and form coherent musical ideas. The death metal core is brutal and intense, but many other influences are present. There is a violin part, piano, and a clean singer present at various points in the album which breaks up the brutality for a little while.

This is an EP and as such only features five songs, one of which is a cover of At The Gates's "Blinded by Fear". The final track is a classical piano piece that would be at home in any mob movie. So, we really have three tracks here to get a handle on Fleshgod Apocalypse's core sound, but this little peak shows a truly impressive band. I will definitely be looking for more from Fleshgod Apocalypse.