Album Review: Alchemy of Flesh – Ageless Abominations (Redefining Darkness Records)

Taking their cues from classics such as Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal, and Incubus (Opprobrium), Alchemy of Flesh are ready to tear through the SWEDE clones and prove that US Death Metal is just as viable and vicious. Ageless Abominations will be released on August 13th, 2021 via Redefining Darkness Records.

Tim Rowland of Alchemy of Flesh had this to say:

One of the most important things about writing this album was being true to my influences both musically and in just everyday life. I wanted to represent lyrically the things that truly interest me the most, more so than cliche genre standards. I love horror movies as much as the next guy but I for sure love video games much more. I mean, the opening track is based on Hellraiser, which is one of my favorite horror movies, but beyond that, it’s mostly much more nerdy things. It kinda started with one of the concepts being “if I can write a song about Tomb Raider 2 and make it fit the music, then I can write literally about anything I want”. That was kinda the liberating point for me. It was really the impetus to make something I always viewed as being limited that much more expressive. So after that, I really opened up and wrote songs about classic games I love like Quake, Morrowind, Silent Hill, etc, along with other subjects I was into at that time..weird Lovecraftian shit and even Star Wars novel lore. In fact, the name itself came from a Star Wars book i read years ago. I made note of the name and years later finally found a place to use it.

The influences are clear but that doesn’t make Ageless Abominations, a lazy rehash of death metal that has come before. To suggest so would be to do Alchemy of Flesh’s meaty and crunchy assault an injustice.

See it this way… if you’re a fan of old-school US death metal then you’re on to a winner here already.

Nine tracks of flesh-tenderising noise, brain-melting speed and bone-crushing brutality. The riffs dish out some serious pain but the meaty percussion is a real selling point and that’s before you even take into account, the guttural fury of the vocals.

It’s a blazing head-banger that leaves you aching all over but seriously satisfied. Some of the highlights include the beastly heaviness of Pain Primordial, the queasy noise of Slipgates to Annihilation and the all-consuming fiery ferocity of Lava Storm.

Fans of modern sounding US-inspired death metal will love this.

Alchemy of Flesh – Ageless Abominations Full Track Listing:

1. Pain Primordial
2. House of Earth
3. Lobsel Vith
4. Slipgates to Annihilation
5. Knotters of Entrails
6. Sleeping Chaos
7. Lava Storm
8. Fiamma Nera Rites
9. Opener of the Way

Links

Bandcamp | Redefining Darkness Records