Register Forgot login?

© 2002-2024
Encyclopaedia Metallum

Privacy Policy

Symbolyc > Engraved Flesh > Reviews
Symbolyc - Engraved Flesh

Symbolyc - Engraved Flesh - 90%

Edmund Sackbauer, September 22nd, 2019
Written based on this version: 2009, CD, My Kingdom Music

Always on the hunt for another gem that might have gone under my radar because of the never ending stream of new releases I stumbled upon this tidy little death metal package released by My Kingdom Music in 2008. So far “Engraved Flesh” has been the only full length by this Italian outfit and while the wheel has not been reinvented once again this album is a nice find for any fan of straight death metal.

Overall the style of Symbolyc is a bit closer to the US peers than to their European counterparts although the band name the Polish scene as one of their main influences. The riffing is a bit tighter and the basis chords vary between the traditional stoic chops and a more thrashy and uplifting style. The interplay between the riffs and the lead parts are especially impressive. There are not too many really long and drawn-out solo sections. Instead these melodic interludes are cleverly used as bridges between various parts of one song and often act as transition from faster and more aggressive sections to calmer and groovier pieces.

Symbolyc understood that passive listeners are mainly looking for interesting and cohesive songs and not in different complex pieces of instrumentation just strung together. The songwriting is on point and the flow of the album is great with a perfect placement of the single tracks. There is not one moment of dullness or boredom and the whole record feels like a very stringent piece of music. The drumming is brutal and sometimes slightly technical yet there are enough groovy parts thrown into the mix to keep things fresh and steady.

The growling is deep and powerful perfectly fitting to the instrumentation. Despite the aggressiveness of the vocals each word can be easily understood which is something I always like when listening to death metal.

The production is powerful without sounding too modern or sterile. There is a certain level of rawness and filthiness left without sacrificing the clarity of the mix. Each instrument can be heard and even the bass gets a few moments to shine. Rounded off by a nice looking cover artwork “Engraved Flesh” is a great piece of old school death metal for fans of bands like Monstrosity, Vader or Sinister and therefore highly recommended.

Symbolyc - Engraved flesh - 65%

Phuling, March 2nd, 2010

Engraved flesh was originally self-released by the band back in 2008, but has now been re-released with a label backing them up. The Italian death metal scene has got some absolutely fantastic acts to offer, but going by this release Symbolyc got a little more evolving to do before they can join the ranks of Vomit the Soul, Corpsefucking Art, Hour of Penance and whatnot. It’s a relatively easy task to do some name dropping in comparison to Symbolyc, but none of it would be Italian. Instead it feels like a mixture of American and European styled death, like mixing Deicide, Hate, Behemoth and Vader.

The base of it all feels very Floridian with a heavily chugging flair, laced with some black metal as well as a dose of thrash. They have a healthy dose of melody to their riffing, which keeps it from reaching the outskirts of ultra brutality. And I think this melodic touch will appeal to listeners who might not be too into death metal in the first place, but can still find this interesting due to it. The melody comes in the way of guitar leads, often thrashy or blackened, which gives it that versatility and flair of Vader (Within the realms of human awareness is one of those tracks). The tempo changes are numerous, and they go through everything from blazing blasting to slow pummeling, and often within the same song. Vocally it’s growling, often layered with high-pitched screaming, sounding much like Glen Benton doing a Behemoth stand in session.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with the musicianship, and they seem quite competent in writing and delivering catchy and coherent stuff. But there’s still something lacking in the end result. A lot of the leads, riffing and tempo changes are energetic and catchy, but lacks that certain little extra to really grab your attention. Oncoming apocalypse is a wicked tune, but if I wasn’t paying close attention to the album I wouldn’t have noticed anything special about it. The production is fairly decent, certainly ok enough for a self-release. But something bugging the hell out of me is the vocals, which are way too high in the mix. It sounds as though laid on top of the music, making it sound a tad out of place. Engraved flesh is an ok start for the band and it’ll be interesting to hear how they’ll develop for their next output.

Originally written for http://www.mylastchapter.net