Album Review: Wretched Fate – Fleshletting (Redefining Darkness Records)

Wretched Fate initially began in Dalarna, Sweden, as a two-man project in 2016, involving Mats Andersson (Guitar) and Adrian Selmani (Vocals). While missing the Swedish Death Metal “heyday” due to their age, books like “Swedish Death Metal” and “Blood Fire Death” fuelled the duo’s collective passion and enthusiasm alongside Mats fascination with horror movies of the 70’s and 80’s. These influences would become the cornerstone of what Wretched Fate has come to represent.

A mix of old and new, Wretched Fate blend a bit of their native Swedish classic heavy metal tonality with the ferocity and fury of modern Death Metal in the style of Bloodbath, Aeon, and Cannibal Corpse. Their new album ‘Fleshletting’ will be released on February 22nd 2019 via Redefining Darkness Records.

Wretched Fate certainly deliver on the promise of the meeting of old and new school death metal with Fleshletting. Twelve tracks of ferocious death metal that moves at a frantic pace while also delivering some old-school meaty metal quality.

Check out the hair-raising guitar solo that is dropped midway through Only Death to Abide to see what I mean. Likewise the following Altars of Misery is a grand showcase of the death metal rage that lives inside of Wretched Fate.

It’s not a game-changing album in that we’re not hearing anything particularly fresh but that doesn’t mean it’s any kind of a disappointment. In fact with tracks as strong as Fear Expulsion, Writhe, Hived Mind and the title track, we’re looking at one of the finest extreme metal releases this year.

Don’t overthink this one. It’s not too complex and demands only that you lose your mind to the crunching percussion and crushing weight of the riffs and vocals. It’s impossible to not give Wretched Fate’s demands your attention and even at 12 tracks it never feels like it is overstaying its welcome or losing any of the fire it has.

Just listen to Heading for a Beheading. It might be the most frantic track on the album by some distance. While Epitaph shows off some glorious guitar-driven flair and some doom-laden vocals.

A very strong album.

Wretched Fate – Fleshletting Full Track Listing:

1. Wretched Fate
2. Only Death to Abide
3. Altars of Misery
4. Fear Expulsion
5. Taker of Souls
6. Writhe
7. Hived Mind
8. Fleshletting
9. Ominous Shadow
10. Heading for Beheading
11. Epitaph
12. Split Tounge Illumination

The album is available to order now via Bandcamp and you can find out more by checking out Wretched Fate’s Facebook Page.