Review by Richard Henry for MPM
I first got into these guys back in 2011 with the Agony album, in that time they have consistently pushed their sound more and more, a few lineup changes recently but really looking forward to hearing how this new album sounds…
Track 1 – Ode to Art (De Sepolcri)
Francesco and Veronica are the first two things you hear, on this lush piano and orchestral landscape that opens up for you on this track, it really is just beautiful, and I think at times it’s very easy not to hear all the elements that Francesco adds to the overall sound of the band, and Veronica, what an absolutely stunning voice, as epic an opener as you could ask for!
Track 2 – I Can Never Die
Immediately the production is huge and really crisp, straight away Eugene for anyone that didn’t already know shows what an absolute beast he is on the drums, not an easy position to fill when your lead singer is an amazing drummer as well, that tempo is way up there, I really recommend listening to this with headphones so you can really hear everything, maybe not expecting that fully clean chorus with Veronica taking a really prominent role, that second verse with the slower riff but with the changing drum patterns is very clever, again that chorus is very almost pop in a way, again listen to those orchestral elements in the background filling up the sound after the second chorus, Fabio pulling off a lovely melodic solo before a piano break with just piano and Veronica, before we slam into a key change and the blast beats, what a well put together track musically, full of twists and turns but so cohesive, fantastic!
Track 3 – Pendulum
Slow and ominous, huge wall of production, choir and atmosphere, before Francescos vocals come in, this is a properly heavy track, the double bass work following the guitar riff, then a bass break with clean vocals and spoken vocals, then another riff and a huge wall of choral vocals and little string flourishes, easy to miss but in the back there you can hear them, again the production really let’s all this breathe, love the middle section with the flying double kicks and the really high operatic vocals, again the solo is more shred this time, great tone and a shed load of technique then a really lovely guitar and piano duo, very cool part, then back into the wall of sound as this one plays out, another banging track!
Track 4 – Bloodclock
Lovely intro on what I think is a harp sound, again it’s so lush sounding all the orchestral elements, then you get slapped around the face by a great slab of a riff that kicks in, hyper aggressive blast beat part kicks in, then it goes half time, which is still Slayer beat, love the riff and the vocals on this, then all of a sudden there is that intro part again with a spoken vocal, before the chorus goes berserk in tempo, but again there is so much to listen to with all the choirs and the orchestral parts in the back of the mix during the chorus section, as I said at the start every album they get better and this is no exception, when Veronica comes in in the middle it’s a nice reprieve from the chaos of the song so far, lovely melodic solo right there, listen to that mix after the solo and all that’s happening, really loved this track, so much going on but such a great mix of heavy and melodic!
Track 5 – At War with My Soul
Thats an ominous start, is so grandiose and epic sounding, that slow double bass and the brass section slides over that syncopated riff, then when the female vocal slides in with the low spoken vocal, you can hear it all building, really loved the way you go from blast beats to slow parts and the way they have contrasted the vocals accordingly, I’m going to say this every song I think but Fabio is playing exactly what is right for every song so far, nice tempo shift after the solo, with the cries in the back of the mix, as a spoken vocal in Italian is over the top of the riff and orchestral part before the gritty vocals are back in again, interesting end to that song!
Track 6 – Morphine Waltz
Now the start of that is going to have to be learnt on the guitar, neo classical metal at its best, then Veronica takes the lead vocal on this one, bit more aggressive from here on this, it’s really like Yngwie got lose in a death metal band, I am absolutely loving this track, Francescos aggressive vocals intersecting Veronica’s vocals so work on this one, this nearly reminds me of the violation with the classical parts, that drumming in the middle is absolutely insane from Eugene, and the walls of choir vocals come in, before, oh yes another absolutely glorious solo, reprise of the intro sweeps, then into the chorus again, this might be my favorite Fleshgod track ever!
Track 7 –Matricide 8.21
Heartbeat and an opera vocal come’s in but almost like a radio broadcast, not just all the way up in the mix, but enough to know something is coming, and when it does, the start of this is so melodic and unexpected, spoken vocal from Francesco on the verse over a driving floor tom drum beat, there is a counterpoint classical riff right in there before we hit that intro again, I love the way this is put together, this has caught me off guard with how melodic it is, I absolutely love this, really piano driven as well in parts, when it breaks to the choir and Veronicas vocal it is so beautiful sounding and then the piano comes in as well, it’s a proper landscape, you want me to talk about the solo, yeah it’s pretty perfect, another absolutely amazing track!
Track 8 – Per Aspera Ad Astra
Yeah, that’s fast, straight in with a dense soundscape, of frenetic guitar and drums and the wall of synth, that riff that comes in after is just a damn nasty, with Eugene firing off the machine gun drums to follow it, then it flows into a different groove as we hit a huge chorus, you would swear it’s a movie score, when they do aggressive it never loses the melody, in fact that’s what these guys are really excelling at now is keeping almost pop melodic elements in some of the heaviest music you can think of, and it works so well, I love that piano break as well as the reverb drenched guitar line comes in, then it slaps out as the tempo goes crazy before, it slows right down for that chorus again, what a track!
Track 9 – Till Death Do Us Part
A really slow groove to start this, melodic guitar line over very slow deliberate chords, just letting you take in it all, before you get a piano, vocal and drum part for the verse, very slow and the focus is very much on the main lead vocal, then it goes into that guitar line as Veronica’s vocals climb up and you can hear in the background of the mix all the orchestral elements, its only in the middle of the song you get the more aggressive vocals, that break with the guitar playing the chords higher up before we have a key change, look we all know I am going to talk about the solo, prefect, all I have to say, its perfect, I love the way it fades out to Veronica just humming the melody, before you hear the needle being pulled off the record!
Track 10 – Opera
Piano comes in much like the way the album started, Francesco (piano), really deserves more credit than he gets, the guy is legitimately an amazing composer/musician and I see he is adding his skills to other bands, just listen to this outro to the album, it’s fitting to close it in this way, it bookends perfectly with the start!
10 out of 10
If I could score this higher I would, this is without doubt the best Fleshgod album, and I love the other albums, the playing, the songwriting, the vocals and the production are just on another level, this is an absolute masterpiece, and I would be surprised if it wasn’t my album of the year!
Purchase/Stream Opera: https://fga.bfan.link/opera
