Fleshgod Apocalypse – Agony

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Having built up a steady following over the last few years, the somewhat ridiculously named Fleshgod Apocalypse (seriously, what does that even mean?) have signed up with Nuclear Blast for what surely should be their breakthrough record, at least as far as the general metal mainstream is concerned. Agony is a very loud, very aggressive and very pure sounding symphonic death metal record. Directness is the key here, with the band sacrificing most frills for a very straight-ahead sound. There’s no denying that Agony is an excellent sounding record, with the symphonic strings carrying most of the melody over an almost non-stop blast of pure, unadulterated death metal. The album is not without its failings though. Whilst the orchestral side of the album is furious and beautiful, the metal part of the album feels slightly lacking. Mostly this is just the strings and drums overpowering the guitars, which aren’t as loud in the mix as they should be. There’s also the feeling that the tone of the album doesn’t really shift enough during the course of its track listing, leaving an album that can sound a bit too similar from track to track. As such, Agony is terrific from a purely sound-orientated point of view, and the material is mostly decent, but the band are certainly capable of making something better than this. It might not be their breakthrough record after all; but it certainly should wet appetites for what this band could be capable of in the future.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Death Metal, Quick.Play Reviews, Fleshgod Apocalypse