Fleshbore – Painted Paradise
Release Date: 24th January 2025
Label: Transcending Obscurity
Bandcamp
Genre: Technical Death Metal, Deathgrind.
FFO: Allegaeon, Cattle Decapitation, Cytotoxin, Archspire.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Fleshbore is set to release their forthcoming LP Painted Paradise on January 24th on Transcending Obscurity Records. The offering is definitely meant to reach out to fans of technical death, but will appeal to folks who appreciate the older Cattle Decap deathgrind style, perhaps. The Overall tone of the album is violent, meaty, and full of big tones, leads, and virtuosic playing, something that you absolutely can’t miss if you are a fan of the technical or progressive death genre.
First impression: The fucking bass guitar on this is album is absolutely fantastic. I was enraptured by the kick ass bass solo on The World, a totally dominant way to start the album off. I knew that this was going to be a totally wild ride. I’m glad that the band compared their influences to Allegaeon, because I was thinking to myself that this was some mix of Allegaeon with grind-type vocals. I was immediately rewarded with unbelievable solos and intricate riffs and breakdowns.
I was really anticipating a great album, but I wasn’t really expecting it to be as good as it was. This album was absolutely nuts from a technical perspective. I think that Fleshbore is on that higher level of technical expertise that is reserved for some of the better bands on the scene right now. I can’t stop thinking about how much I’ve enjoyed the leads from the guitar and the bass. The tone of the guitar, regardless of how rapid the chugging and rhythmic staccato can be – really seems to be mixed exceptionally-well to give a fat and deep sound. This could be another addition of the bass guitar, but I was extremely-impressed by the overall thickness of the tone.
As I had said before, the element which makes the album as progressive as it is – is the vocal attack, which really takes a page out of the grindcore/goregrind/deathgrind playbook instead of the traditional death metal, at least to my ears. I think that the juxtaposition makes Fleshbore a unique band, who could probably be picked out of a blind mix, something that too-few bands spend the slightest amount of time trying to achieve in the extreme metal scene. Often, those bands who have achieved that instant recognition have some element that’s totally unique, such as Travis’ vocals in Cattle Decapitation, or the operatic vocals of Anaal Nathrakh, The tech death with grind vocals, combined with some sick bass solos are probably the keys to making anyone be able to pick Fleshbore out of a lineup, something they should be commended for.
You’re not going to want to miss the Archspire staccato vocal attack on The Ancient Knowledge, easily one of the baddest tracks on the album, not to mention the absolutely filthy breakdown halfway through the track. I literally had to back it up and play that whole song again. That track will easily go on my repeat list for January. I actually tried to get my poor wife to listen to that track with me, just to prove I wasn’t totally insane. I honestly think that Archspire has some serious competition for being the “go to” band that tech death junkies make references to at the water cooler.
(5 / 5)
