Portals to Canaan

What a great album, last one with Erik in the band (RIP). I have only good things to say about this release. It's dynamic, exploratory, eerie, brutal, technical and experimental. I enjoyed the whole thing all the way through. I'm somewhat of a newbie when it comes to Deeds of Flesh, I have a few albums but didn't come to liking them until way later on. I was too much into newer bands like Archspire, et al. But I'm glad that I did buy this CD. However, their status changed upon this writing. They are a band again though the new album is due out in December. I'm really glad about that and I'm really curious as to what the new one is going to sound like.

The riffs on here are sick, thick and crushing. They really know how to put an album together well and the production sound is precise. Vocals went well along with the music. I enjoyed this album immensely. They totally kicked ass here. The technicality sure as heck shows here and they do a good job of changing things up, too. That's what's great about this band is that they have utmost diversity in songwriting. I thought the vocals and music were the highlights here. The overall sound was quite intriguing. There is some darn strange stuff that they put into this one as well. But overall, for a technical/death metal album it hits home.

I thought that the production is fantastic. They did great here. And the vocals are pretty deep throat. The whole way through it's pretty much like this. But because of the guitars being so thick the hoarse vocals go alongside the music way well. There's some songs that are slower and others pretty fast paced. That's what shows you the diversity in the music. It's never knowing what to expect. And original, for sure. I thought that they sure as heck did a good job from every aspect here. They didn't miss out on anything on here. It's strictly in your face blood soaked darkness. I really liked it.

This album is on YouTube and Spotify so you don't have to buy the CD though it's always good if you're a collector. It's also a good way to say that you dig the band and what they have to offer the music community. I thought this is one of the better Deeds of Flesh albums that I've heard to date. It's explosive and brutal. The sound overall really is sick. And the music is a pure abomination! They were outstanding here. Every track on here I liked. Show some support for the band and purchase the physical copy of this, you will not regret it! They really made a great release here!

I was going to be perfectly happy if the guys had decided to throw it all in for another exemplary dazzling exuberant showdown that was “Of What’s to Come”… in fact, I was hoping for a very similarly-executed affair with all the manic frenetic, incredibly riff-dense grandeur as, truth be told, the guys had some catching up to do with the prominent technical riff-mongers out there, in terms of quantity I mean.

Well, now that they have discovered this huge, untapped pool for musical audacity within themselves, there’s no stopping them, and the album reviewed here is a very logical step towards attaining metallic, deathy nirvana, their fans included. There will be a few unnerving moments initially, like the psychedelic staccato rhythms and the early introduced surreal leads on “Amidst the Ruins” since the band have decided to not repeat the same formula note-by-note as this decision will become more and more evident as time goes by. Not to worry at all as the staple awe-inspiring riff-salads are still the base of this exemplary shredfest which winks at the Necrophagist over-the-top shenanigans (“Entranced in Decades of Psychedelic Sleep”) a bit more insistently this time, and with the more proficiently executed, also decidedly more melodic, lead pyrotechnics the setting is close to becoming the “Shrapnel Theatre for the Deathly Hallows”. Still, gorgeous music is gorgeous music and complete absorption on the side of the listener is guaranteed with a few striking hyper-technical showpieces down the line among which “Rise of the Virvum Juggernaut” courts the dazzling brutality movement like it was quite often the case on the preceding opus.

Speed isn’t exactly the norm here as the slower breaks come in draws, in quick succession as well, making serpentine labyrinths like “Celestial Serpents” some of the most unpredictable numbers in recent years, with the hectic leaps and bounds having a lot of mid-paced aura to clean, not to mention the riff-density which covers everything from Necrophagist’s “Onset of Putrefaction” to Suffocation’s “Blood Oath”. Exorbitant guitar acrobatics aside, one can’t help but acknowledge the deviations from the hyper-active norm like the psychedelic chuggy stomps on “Xeno-Virus” or the atmospheric bouts of pounding insistency on the title-track that threaten to turn into harbingers of operatic, lethally officiant doom if given more time. Experimentalism still kept within the reasonable, unmitigatedly stretched confines the band leave it up to the listener to decide whether their choice to cover Gorguts’ “Orphans of Sickness”, taken from the Canadians’ magnum opus “The Erosion of Sanity”, could be added to the deviant variations, or could be viewed as the final signpost on the road to fascinating hyper-technical supremacy.

Those who have voted for the second option would be the righter ones as the band perform said cover quite faithfully, not taking all their chances with it, clearly conscious of the several stretches outside the box, obviously not willing to space out too much and respectively to shut the portals to further evolution. This worked just fine for me, and I’m sure for the majority of their fanbase, who were crossing their fingers for another smattering super-intricate melee in the vein of the preceding effort… cause consolidation of the status of prime providers of first-class technical death metal was on top of the list now; everything else could wait.

Prayers answered, product delivered as expected, pleasant foreboding spices notwithstanding… portals opened as well for more adventurous explorations of Canaan and other, more or less accessible, territories.

Death metal purveyors Deeds Of Flesh finally return after a five-year absence with their latest and greatest, 2013's Portals To Canaan. And with it, the band triumphantly marks their twentieth year in existence. Portals To Canaan add to what is already an extensive resume for the band and perhaps shines as their greatest work to date. It is Deeds' eighth full-length album and blasts nine tracks of concentrated death metal equaling one precise, polished package.

We last heard Deeds Of Flesh in 2008 upon their release Of What's To Come. That particular record found the band gradually delving into more of a technical approach in the music in contrast to the more traditional straight-forward brutality of their previous releases. It is notable that Of What's To Come also featured Erlend Caspersen of Spawn Of Possession and formerly Blood Red Throne on bass. With Portals To Canaan, the band continues with the technical death metal style, and seemingly has streamlined it to perfection. They mastered their own brand of tech death that is not overwhelming complicated while maintaining their brutal trademark sound. It refrains from deluging the listener with sensory overload and balances nicely with the band's more standard brutal structures. No doubt Portals To Canaan is Deeds Of Flesh to the core; however, the band has uploaded a new and improved technical element to their style. Deeds Of Flesh 2.0 if you will. Furthermore, the album is produced to perfection with superior thickness and clarity.

The songs themselves stand as some of the best Deeds Of Flesh has ever written. They are strife with fluid guitar profiles and soloing. Perhaps the most intriguing is the track "Rise Of The Virvum Juggernaut". Each band member showcases their talents in an astounding manner. The death vocals of Erik Lindmark are at their most powerful, as is the unmerciful yet highly precise pounding of Mike Hamilton behind the drums. Perhaps influencing the band's new-found fondness for technicality is the addition of Craig Peters on guitar, and Ivan Munguia on bass. Both are from the highly technical California outfit Arkaik, and in the case of Munguia, Brain Drill; and both are prodigal musicians at that. Overall, Deeds Of Flesh are as tight sounding as they've ever been. Added to Portals To Canaan's mix are some interesting spoken and bio-mechanical sound samples. Every song is great, and it's worth noting that the album additionally contains a cover of Gorguts' "Orphans Of Sickness" off of that band's groundbreaking LP, The Erosion Of Sanity, from 1993 (also Deeds of Flesh's first year as a band interestingly enough).

Portals To Canaan is an important offering to today's metal scene. It is a simplistic death metal album on many levels, but it's multi-layered with many progressive qualities. It is an astonishingly written, performed and produced beast. All around, it satisfies the craving for something straight-forwardly down to Earth, crushingly brutal, yet technically intricate at the same time. Deeds Of Flesh have forged a masterpiece and most definitely their best work to date. While the band has been around for quite some time now, Portals To Canaan proves they have not out stayed their welcome and still have a lot to offer per today's metal scene. In fact, they have produced a work that overshadows many of their newer contemporaries. The band is far from relinquishing their title as a death metal power house, and it will be interesting to see where the future finds them next.
***Originally written for and by www.deathportal.net

Here we have the 2013 release "Portals To Canaan" by the mighty Deeds Of Flesh, a band that I have followed (and at times forgotten about) since 1995's "Gradually Melted" EP. Their lack of progression throughout the 2000's did leave me a little bored with them, but as far as over-the-top technicality and brutality are concerned, Deeds of Flesh will always be at the top of my list along with the granddaddies of techdeath Suffocation. I should be honest and say that this is actually their first release I have heard since 2003's "Reduced To Ashes"

The albums starts with the song "Amidst the Ruins," opening with a great build-up that leads into a grinding frenzy that does not let up until the album's conclusion. The excellent production and always top-notch performance left me in jaw-dropped ecstasy, but the biggest surprise is the fact the their music is much less "math" oriented (I guess that would be the best way of putting it) and much more flowing with well written songs and catchier, "simpler" riffs. I'm not too sure whether this has to do with the fresh line-up of Craig Peters (guitars) and Ivan Munguia (bass) or if it's simply the complete brainchild of veteran and founding member Erik Lindmark, but whatever they're doing, it's working out pretty well.

One thing that really stands out with this release are the swirling guitar harmonies and solos littered throughout as with songs like "Rise Of the Virvum Juggernaut" and "Xeno-Virus," the inclusion of which only strengthens the intensity of the album as a whole. A solid death metal vocal assault and tight percussion help as well.

My biggest complaint with "Portals To Canaan" would have to be some of the experimental sections that appear every now and again. The oddball outro to "Entranced In Decades Of Psychedelic Sleep," the ear-grating minute long intro to "Celestial Serpents," and the absolutely unnecessary instrumental track "Caelum Hirundines Terra / The Sky Swallows the Earh" could have all been left off the final product, and it would have made it a much more enjoyable album. These parts only equal to about 3 minutes of the album though, and that's the only reason for a 95% rating. Overall, it is a terrific album that I will be listening to on repeat for a long time.