Fleshgod Apocalypse – Opera
Release Date: 23rd August 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Symphonic Death Metal
FFO: Septicflesh, Nile, Ex Deo.
Review By: Jeff Finch
I’m curious to know where fans of Fleshgod Apocalypse, the focus of today’s review, were first introduced to the band and where they became a fan. It may seem like a throwaway answer for folks that know the band intimately, but for this listener, repeatedly watching the music video to The Violation, off their 2011 release Agony, was the start; the orchestral elements, the blast beats, the tremolo riffs, and the moments of operatic singing, all combined to make for one hell of a captivating listen, and one that made the band one to pay attention to anytime they dropped a new record. Opera, the bands newest, feels like the namesake, an opera, theater, all wrapped up in a veil of death metal, and continues the trend of excellent releases from this Italian juggernaut.
Choosing the name of this album as Opera clearly had meaning to the group as, according to frontman Francesco Paoli, the album was borne from pain, a musical trip inspired by the tragic mountain climbing accident that the man suffered back in 2021. Writing an album from that type of perspective seems indicative of inherently dark material, with a touch of hope, as the material contained herein isn’t just for entertainment value, but rather a form of catharsis. Opening track Ode to Art (De’ Sepolcri) is a two-minute piano and string driven representation of the incredible power of vocalist Veronica Bordacchini, ripped straight from an operatic performance of the highest order, complete with an entire chorus behind her high notes as the song comes to and end, bringing the first proper track I Can Never Die into the fold; the choral arrangements have stuck around, the precision drum fills couple with powerful riffs to open the track before giving way to blast beats and tremolo riffs layered on top of the symphony behind them. It feels like a lot, it probably is excessive, but it’s so well done and, at this point, expected of the band, that you just take the cacophonous nature of it all with a smile on your face and a subsequent crick in your neck. The breakneck nature of the song almost never relents, somewhat of an odd sonic selection, as the clean chorus from Bordacchini starkly contrasts with the machine gun blasts and pummeling riffs; objectively excellent when dissected, but when combined, jarring at first listen. When the band slows down to a mid-tempo after the first chorus, the song feels more intense and punishing, giving way to another chorus, a little easier to digest the second go round, a slow, methodical, intimate guitar solo bringing us to a final iteration of the chorus with only piano and vocals to start, far more sonically pleasing, before one more trip to bedlam to close it out.
Going into this album with the knowledge that every song is going to feature some sort of symphonic element, given it’s their specialty, lets listeners accept those elements before even beginning the album, rather than being sonically stunned when the brass and strings break through the mix, such as on our next track Pendulum. The riffs are methodical, distorted and chugged, the percussion a bit more fast-paced, their combination arguably one of the most headbanging moments on the record, as the song takes a musical detour into pandemonium; stop start beats, brilliant shifts in tempo and suddenly the band stops, a simple drum kick joining Bordacchini for a spell of clean singing, the bass piercing through for added atmosphere. Every member is on full blast coming to the final minute, the wall of riffs and percussion, the operatic singing layered with Paoli’s growls, leads into a shredding guitar solo, the entire fretboard in use, as suddenly the guitar solo is now a piano solo paired with pummeling percussion, the band coming back for one final wall of sound to close it out.
That the album combines absolute ferocity, majestic orchestrations and lofty melodies all at the drop of a hat is nothing short of astounding, even after so many years of it, because this album just feels more chaotic, more ferocious, more intent on leaving listeners exhausted by the end yet thirsting for more. Morphine Waltz opens with guitar and piano layered upon one another, matching note for note, seguing brilliantly into savage instrumentation from the rest of the band, the string section especially impactful, Francesco Ferrini masterfully blending the orchestra with the tremolo riffs and blistering percussive work before Bordacchini breaks through. Only, it’s not what you expect; strained, shouted vocals, somehow still brilliantly clean, lead the band to open, Paoli coming in a spell later, the entire song thus far an exercise in pure intensity, the symphony thrashing right along with the band, the fill-work of drummer Eugene Ryabchenko utterly bonkers, the man clearly in possession of at least 4 separate arms to be playing what he is with such precision and power. Bordacchini’s vocal selection, those powerfully vitriolic cleans, for a song that is so unrepentant in its aggression, was a brilliant decision, as the intensity never once waivers, the transitions into Paoli’s low growl not jarring in the slightest as the angst and emotion is already at a fever pitch. Hearing piano break through the maelstrom of blast beats and riffs, transitioning into a full orchestra while the band themselves have not once slowed down, is a sonic soundscape so brilliantly written and performed, powerful and beautiful simultaneously, that it’s still somehow awe-inspiring even after a decade of hearing the band master it.
Meanwhile, seemingly on the opposite end of the sonic spectrum sits Matricide 8.21; opening with operatic, choral arrangements, piano, and whispers of ‘trust me’ before the band kicks in with a mid-tempo pace, reticent yet still powerful. The song, thus far, would not feel out of place on an Evanescence record with how restrained the music has been thus far and the focus on Bordacchini’s clean singing. Clean guitar breaks through, a form of solo, transitioning into whispered growl vocals, nothing but reserved percussion giving Paoli company. Slowly, efficiently, the song builds into an orchestral crescendo, heightened anticipation the overwhelming, palpable feeling. Thus far the song has focused solely on a minimalist approach, the band barely present in the grand scheme, atmosphere and emotion the obvious focal points, made all the more obvious by Paoli’s pained scream nearly halfway through the track. The catharsis in that scream, the numerous apologies, the ‘wish I was never born’ an obvious hint that this is a song full of regret and despondency. Clean singing and choral arrangements, hymn like, break through almost out of nowhere, piano and vocals attaining an equal intensity, as the words ‘life is in your hands’ brings the band back into the mix, growls and cleans layered on top of one another to close out the track, remorse and pain the overwhelming themes.
And before you know it, the album is done or, rather, the journey has come to an end. Rife with so much emotion, so much technicality, so much forethought, Opera really does feel like a record where each song is a different act of an opera, related yet able to be pulled from the entirety based on its own laurels, unreliant on any other track. The performances on this record are impeccable, the obvious sign of a band who took their time and crafted a soundtrack to the darkly real events and emotions that led to its creation. With Opera, Fleshgod Apocalypse have managed to outdo their entire discography and, though not perfect, show the world what symphonic death metal should sound like…
(4.5 / 5)
