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Fleshcrawl > Descend into the Absurd > Reviews
Fleshcrawl - Descend into the Absurd

That's a Dismember Album Cover if I've Seen One - 92%

AxlFuckingRose, April 23rd, 2023

Why is Fleshcrawl not discussed more as absolute pioneers of German death metal? After a quick EP in 1991, the band jumped straight in with their full-length debut in 1992, and this thing is a rock-solid slugfest. Nearly an hour in length, Fleshcrawl manages to pack the absolute most punch in every song, whether it's topping seven minutes or it's the dreary, desolate intro, "Between Shadows They Crawl." This album deserves all the praise.

Alex Pretzer's vocals are a thing of cacophonous beauty. He has a throaty growl, not quite Corpsegrinder but not fully Petrov either, somewhere in between. But it fits the music perfectly. And arguably the best feature of this album is that the vocals are used as an instrument themselves, not as the center stage. "Perpetual Dawn," for example, is a gargantuan seven-minute track, but the vocals don't proliferate the song like they do on some songs. The band lets the chainsaw riffs and loud drumming drive the song as it winds around numerous different bridges. The vocals, again, serve as an instrument in the opposite direction on the intro to "Purulent Bowel Erosion." Pretzer sounds like a demon awakening from slumber as the band lumbers around for a minute before bursting into a full-fledged verse.

The guitars on this album have that signature guitar tone you'd hear later from the Gothenburg trio but that was popularized by the likes of Entombed and Carcass- erring on the side of melody over brutality. "Phrenetic Tendencies" exhibits perhaps the strongest riffs on the entire album, and the band makes sure not to let any go to waste. Every riff is superimposed over a kinetic drum beat, giving it enough intensity to not fall flat. Even when the band slows things down to Paradise Lost-level death-doom pace, the guitars still manage to maintain their ferocity without turning into mindless chugging. And the lead guitar wails interspersed throughout the record are certainly a plus, though they're mostly few and far between. "Never to Die Again" is another radiant example of how easily the band can shift themes: it again starts out as a slow-burner but rapidly accelerates into gliding riffs and incessant blast beats. Stefan Hands and Gero Schmitt do an exceptional job on the guitars across this entire record.

Beyond making multiple six-minute and longer tracks captivating for their whole runtime, Fleshcrawl prove themselves to be a band that is willing to expand their style. "Infected Subconscious," for example sounds a bit groovier in the beginning, and the drum fills by Bastian Herzog are doubly impressive as they fit nicely behind the Leprosy-inspired riffing. In many ways, Descend into the Absurd is a tribute to all different walks of death metal, combining influences in a melting pot of riff styles and demonic vocals. But what Fleshcrawl has going for them most is the sheer volume of material. They weren't just a band who could put out thirty minutes of songs and call it a career; their debut was nearly an hour and they had plenty of gas left in the tank. Exquisite stuff from a country not often celebrated for its death metal.

Descend into the [above] average - 78%

robotniq, April 21st, 2021

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.

Long-form death metal's crowning jewel - 94%

enigmatech, March 28th, 2021
Written based on this version: 1992, CD, Black Mark Production

Fleshcrawl have a long a storied career in death metal, dating all the way back to the genesis of the genre. Forming in 1987 under the name Morgoth, and then after a few years releasing the rather medicore Mummified Thoughts demo under the name Suffocation (they certainly didn't have good luck with band names in those early days) - which was the "thrash-morphing into-death" sound typical of many death metal great's budding years, they finally changed their name to Fleshcrawl and were quickly on their way to death metal legend. This marks the band's first LP, Descend into the Absurd and it stands as the "odd man out" in the band's discography. Instead of the Swedeath-inspired HM-2 carnage featured on every other Fleshcrawl release, here the band held a much darker, and more brooding sound - combining the slow burn of Bolt Thrower with the deranged brutality of Autopsy...and a little touch of the intensity of early Entombed too!

The sound often borders on "death-doom", though there's arguably enough death metal proper on display to keep the genre tag from changing. The songs are also pretty damn long, with almost all the songs clocking in close to 7 minutes if not more. Normally, this would be a problem...I tend to really dislike OSDM bands that dragged things out too long and didn't bother to self-edit their songs...this problem is so common I've come up with my own (derogatory) term for it, "long form death metal". The more concise, the better...that's how I see it! But Descend into the Absurd is one of the exceptions to that little "rule" of mine (another being Vital Remains classic debut Let Us Pray, fyi). If anything, the extended length benefits these songs as it gives them more room to breathe and establish a dark, sinister atmosphere. The variety in pace works well too, the doom-oriented sections have a solid, pounding groove that beats the listener into submission, which is juxtaposed nicely against the fast-paced, fleshripping riff-oriented sections, and drummer Bastian Herzog's willingness to tastefully incorporate blast beats into the band's music does wonders to help. I find that each style (death-doom and proper death metal, that is) compliment each other very well, and keeps things from getting boring, despite the longer-than-usual length.

The vocals are performed by the band's first vocalist Alex Pretzer, though this album was the only time he performed all, or at least most, of the vocals (as his next two albums used a dual-vocal approach with Herzog). I always liked Pretzer's style...it's deep and powerful, and pretty distinct in his tone, perfectly fitting this kind of slower material...kind of reminiscent of Karl Willets or Dave Ingram, but without the brummie accent of course. Some backing vocals are provided for the choruses on "Perpetual Dawn" and "Festering Flesh" and it's Herzog himself and guitarist Gero Schmitt who do them. This adds a really cool "anthemic" quality to those songs, especially the latter...guaranteed you'll be grunting along even though you can barely understand the lyrics (and none are printed in the booklet).

I'd call this album "essential" but the problem is...it's so damn hard to track down. It took me years to find a decently priced (under $50) copy, and even then it was the Cargo Records pressing which has some minor mastering flaws (a little clipping in a few places, noticeable in a few places, but not a huge problem - just worth mentioning to those interested in shelling out for it). Nowadays, all CD pressings run for $100 at least...what a damn shame. This is an example of an album that desperately deserves a reissue (preferably on LP, along with Fleshcrawl's entire Black Mark catalog - none of which has ever seen wax, believe it or not). I can think of a a few big problems the world has these days and obviously a vinyl reissue of classic FC ranks at the top. Somebody should also get BM as far away from this shit as possible (after how much they fucked up the Fornever Laid to Rest LP from a few years back in such an embarrassing and amateurish way...). Until then, I'll keep dreamin' and you just check the damn album out somewhere on the net, or buy a crappy Russian fake on eBay if you're a real blockhead...

Death metal classic! - 90%

dismember_marcin, March 10th, 2014

According to some opinions this is the greatest death metal album that came from the German DM scene in the early 90's. Well, I am not sure whether I would pick up "Descend into the Absurd" and give it this title, coz’ the choice is difficult. There are also some other killer bands and classics albums deserving it as much as Fleshcrawl. There’s of corpse Morgoth with all their stuff recorded up to “Cursed” LP, there’s also Torchure and “Beyond the Veil”... And few more bands. Obviously such Morgoth was always way more popular back in the old days than Fleshcrawl, they were one of the leading European death metal bands, while Fleshcrawl was more underground act, so it is quite difficult to compare both bands.... But definitely both belong to my personal favourites from the old days of German death metal scene. And both have recorded some killer albums. Yeah, as much as "Descend into the Absurd" may seem a bit underestimated and almost forgotten (or at least not quite as well known as it should be), it still remains a monument of classic old styled death metal. And if you call yourself a fan of this music, then you must know and have this album in your collection!

Those of you, who know Fleshcrawl from their more recent albums rather than from their early stuff, may be slightly surprised here. You won't hear much of the Swedish death metal influence on "Descend into the Absurd"! Let me remind you that Fleshcrawl on their more recent materials have started to play very much like Dismember and such… meanwhile this debut CD is way more primeval and rough sort of death metal. Sure, there may be some similarities to certain Swedish death metal bands, but if you look for things such as Sunlight Studio like production, or so characteristic atmosphere and melody, then you will be disappointed. This album hasn’t got them. Instead, this is harsh, raw and aggressive ancient way of death metal! It’s classic death metal and it certainly has similarities to some bands from Finland, Sweden, Holland, USA and even a certain later black metal cultists from Norway, whose first album is a classic death metal LP. It doesn't really matter and the most important fact here is that "Descend into the Absurd" sounds just so bloody fantastic. Maybe the production could have been slightly better, but I like it anyway and the songwriting doesn't leave any doubts... killer band, awesome album with eight spotless death metal songs, filled with heavy, brutal riffs and a lot of variety.

I must admit that my favourite parts of "Descend into the Absurd" are when Fleshcrawl plays slow. There are several almost doomy moments, which sound just fantastic and will definitely be a thing for the maniacs of some British, Dutch, Scandinavian and one certain American bands. First we can hear it on "Phrenetic Tendencies", a brilliant opener, which starts in rather fast manner, but it quickly leads towards a killer doomy passage, only to speed up again after a while. Great effect and a slaughter guaranteed. Then "Perpetual Dawn" is even better example, as it starts with excellent doomy part... and yes, it transforms into a merciless death metal ferocity again, but I like it this way, cause it sounds just better when the music is not so one dimensional, but provides a lot of diversity. There are even some traces of Swedish death metal near the end of this long, almost 7 minutes long song, so I can certainly say that "Perpetual Dawn" belongs to my favourite tracks from the whole album. The best is yet to come though, with such songs as "Lost in a Grave" - which is another explosion of brutal, massive riffs and death metal ferocity... It sounds quite like Morgoth's "Isolation" hehe, but it is just brilliant song, one of the finest moments on "Descend into the Absurd", filled with slow, heavy riffing and then speeding up once again. And the same I can say about "Never to Die Again... what a classic song.

But really, I think that there are no weak moments on "Descend into the Absurd" and definitely this is one of my favourite European death metal albums from the good old days. It has everything what I like about the classic death metal - slow, doomy parts, as well as fast, ferocious stuff... there are vicious, harsh growls and great, raw production and finally that atmosphere of horror, of something eerie is present here as well. It's absolutely recommendable album, a true gem in this style of music. I am quite surprised it has never been released on vinyl, also I guess that nowadays even the CD version is quite hard to find. So, I hope it will finally be released on black wax one day, as I would love to have it on vinyl. Meanwhile I totally recommend this album to all old school death metal maniacs out there; if you don't know this classic, then get it now!
Standout tracks: "Perpetual Dawn", "Lost in a Grave", "Never to Die Again", "Festering Flesh"
Final rate: 90/100

Germany's Best Death Metal Album? - 94%

__Ziltoid__, July 11th, 2011

Sexy album cover, right? Luckily for us, that sexiness doesn’t stop at the album cover, as classic German death metal band Fleshcrawl released quite the excellent album in 1992 with Descend into the Absurd.

Fleshcrawl is one of the top German death metal act, period. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let me clue you in as to what Fleshcrawl sounds like. Imagine if Autopsy sounded better. That’s about it. I’ve stated previously my disinterest, yet respect, for Autopsy’s old material, and Fleshcrawl is basically one of the main reasons for this disinterest merely because they do it better and wit ha heavier sound. This is doom-laden death metal at its absolute best if you ask me, as it combines the best elements of each, juxtaposing them in excellent style, emphasized even more by the choice between smooth and abrupt transitions. The death metal side of it here alternates between your classic blastbeating and the classic double bass work, so there’s no new ground being broken in certain parts of the composition, but that’s never been what death metal has been about–it’s about structure and atmosphere, and that’s what Fleshcrawl are all too good at utilizing.

Anyway, the album starts with a cheesy intro. Hooray, cheesy intros! Well, this didn’t need to be 2:30 long, but a cheesy intro is a cheesy intro nonetheless. ‘Phrenetic Tendencies’ is the first song here, and it starts with a raucous blastbeat session, which quickly leads into the first plodding doom-y section. Using a fast blastbeat to transition into his slow section was an excellent move, at it really added emphasis to both sections. After a few more minutes, you’ll understand a few things about Fleshcrawl’s sound. Firstly, that they alternate through a lot of styles quickly, and they do it well. Secondly, that the drummer is really good. I really appreciate all of the subtle touches he puts on each blastbeat and fill, making them seem much more personal than your average dull programmed Anaal Nathrakh blasting session. Lastly, the bassist is also quite good, with some very interesting grooves throughout the course of this album. So yes, we have a very strong rhythm section here.

‘Perpetual Dawn’ is next, and easily my favorite song here. This song just amps up the doom and the epic ends of Fleshcrawl’s sound to ridiculously great levels. God damn, how can anyone not like this song? Even the transitions and progression through the song are just executed so well and in such a grabbing manner. When I think of my favorite songs in German death metal, this is #1 for me, as it just has this intensely creepy vibe that I really like in my death metal. It’s slow, yet epic.

With Descend into the Absurd, your getting an OSDM album. That’s obvious. However, you’re also getting probably the best OSDM album in all of Germany’s history, as well as an album that arguably trumps everything Autopsy has done (at least in this author’s humble opinion). Think slow, plodding, doomy, deathy, epic, and extreme. This is Fleshcrawl. These songs are all on the long side, especially for death metal, but damn, they are worth listening to, as every second is gold.

Written for http://thenumberoftheblog.com/

Slow and steady wins the race - 90%

autothrall, November 17th, 2009

Germany has had its fair share of death metal, a solid if soft spoken scene which has existed since the early days of the genre's transformation and genesis. But few of its exports have exploded onto the scene in quite the same fashion as the excellent Fleshcrawl. This band would go on to create many great albums with a clear Scandinavian death influence, but ironically, their debut Descend Into the Absurd, which was actually recorded in Stockholm, bears more of an influence from bands like Death, Bolt Thrower and Pestilence.

This is an album I'd advise listening to at full volume for its many nuances. On the surface a simplistic crusher, the muddy walls of infernal guitar are dominant and powerful as the album performs its namesake upon you. "Between the Shadows They Crawl" is a frightening intro, created through ambient synthesizers, before "Phrenetic Tendencies" grinds you up into chopped liver with its barrage of tinny drums and the meaty breadth of its riffing. The album is like being force fucked by a sludge beast risen through a conduit from Hell, in your local swamp. There is little to the riffs but raw power, and the band often slows down to a doomy crawl, i.e. most of "Perpetual Dawn", the first half of "Purulent Bowel Erosion", and much of "Lost in a Grave". Through the crushing chords, the band will often insert bloody melodic lines that add to the grief wrought by the album. Other great tunes include "Festering Flesh" and "Evoke the Excess", but you're best off to just press play and absorb all 54 minutes of this underrated behemoth.

This is not a technical band, they don't strive to impress you with their effortless noodling or random, sporadic tempo shifting. They exist to crush, like a slow moving juggernaut of lost souls that sucks up all the life in its path. Your sorrow is inevitable when faced with an album like Descend Into the Absurd, and it's a great example of 'slow and steady wins the race' in the death metal scene. I give this album high recommendations to fans of early Asphyx, or the plodding British Bolt Thrower, who also produced successful albums with this intent. Though Fleshcrawl will produce comparable records like the furious As Blood Rains from the Sky... in 2000, this debut remains one of their very best.

Highlights: Phrenetic Tendencies, Lost in a Grave, Festering Flesh, Evoke the Excess

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Arguably the finest German DM album ever - 95%

Sacraphobic, March 7th, 2005

As we entered 1992, the year in which death metal peaked in terms of sheer quantity of quality recordings, an unforgiving cloud formed over southern Germany. Ghouls gathered, preparing to sweep across the land and coat it in death and in chaos. For not only were Atrocity creating their marvellous progressive opus “Longing for Death”; Fleshcrawl were writing this glorious and savage tribute to the soulless.

Fleshcrawl tread the road of doomy death metal upon which the likes of Autopsy and Darkthrone explored in years previous, but rather than tentatively edging forward like a blind man on a diving board (that’s not to say the previously mentioned bands can be described as such ;)), they plunge headlong into the unknown with a slab of unnervingly calculated detachment from life and embracement of feral meaninglessness.

The album begins in a heavily ironic fashion; a drum heartbeat pulsing life through a windswept background. Tension gradually grows and, as is the case throughout the album, releases with unfaltering apathy. A melody swirls down the now quick ambience-inducing mechanism of the drums into deconstruction, rolls forebodingly, obdurately and deliberately along a deadened, barren path of prolonged dissonant chords that begin to chug, then resurfaces back into chaos. The album continues this way, relentlessly, without compromise or warmth.

Leadwork is scrawled with delicious emptiness in places, and hits a focused whirl in others. Drums are hollow and cold, and used very effectively whether in doomy passages, blasting sections or accompanying a mid-paced chug. The growls are, well… they’re fucking awesome. The guitar tone is quite sludgy and ‘heavy’ enough to rip off your bollocks. The melodies themselves are fairly Swedish in style, though I find the album is most comparable to non-Swedish releases such as “Slumber of Sullen Eyes” and “Soulside Journey” (more advanced and powerful than both imo, which should tell you just how highly I rate this).

One of the best three DM albums from Germany, along with Atrocity's “Longing For Death” and Golem’s “Eternity: The Weeping Horizons”. Acquire or expire!