Album Review: Fleshspoil – The Beginning of the End (Self Released)
A new force in blackened death metal has emerged to lay waste to 2025! Fleshspoil, featuring veteran players from Arsis, The Final Sleep, and Illucinus, will release their full-length debut album, ‘The Beginning of the End’, on March 28th, 2025.
The world might not need more chaos, and it certainly doesn’t need to be any uglier, but as it’s Fleshspoil adding to the grim feeling, we should probably not complain too much. The Beginning of the End, an apt title, is a harsh album that beats you over the head with its nihilistic vibes, but surprises by having more melody, experimental moments, and a certain amount of anthemic value.
Which might seem absurd when you first hear the heaviness that the album has to offer via the pounding intensity of Bleed Through This Life. Yet, the clues are there and become more obvious as the track goes on. It’s dark, it’s moody, it’s hostile, and it’s forceful, but the melody is layered in and as the track goes on, it really starts to shine. The ending, with its brief, chaotic guitar soloing leading into unexpected gaze-like melody, is wonderful.
Alongside a cacophony of brutalising blackened death noise too. Which is what makes Skies turn to Graves so special. This is where those anthemic aspects really start to show up, even if they come from a darker, more experimental state of mind. It’s one of the album’s most captivating, and clever listens. Although, it’s fair to say that there isn’t anything here that can’t be called clever.
Case in point, the mania and drama that comes from the self-titled track. The former word might be what you expect from an album that sits under the umbrella of blackened death metal, but the latter isn’t. Fleshspoil, the track, is a powerful example of progressive thinking, but is still wholly focused on the extreme side of metal, albeit with some deviations here and there.
Should you want a more focused beating though, the band has it in them too, as the vitriolic noise of Walking Dead crashes and crushes in short form (compared to most of the album). The perfect ‘palette cleanser’ as what follows is A Frail Demise, and it’s a gargantuan listen. One that features roaring vocals, weighty riffs, and hammering drums all the way throughout. A track that simply doesn’t let up, but twist and turns in fascinating ways, regardless.
Lastly, it’s Born Into Despair, and melody is a key component of what makes this such an effective finish. It’s pretty, but it’s tainted by pain and sorrow, resulting in something deeply affecting as it slowly consumes. Which it will, the whole album will, it’s that clever.
Fleshspoil – The Beginning of the End Track Listing:
1. Bleed Through This Life
2. Skies Turn to Graves
3. Fleshspoil
4. Walking Dead
5. A Frail Demise
6. Born Into Despair
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Fleshspoil - The Beginning of the End (Self Released)
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The Final Score - 9/10
9/10
