Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Clean Flesh - Clean Flesh (1997)

This is quite the crunchy little nugget o' grime & brutality!

Way before the whole wigger "slam" sub-genre gained momentum and laughs aplenty, many of the bands that now comprise that style were in fact just plain ol' death metal bands that were seeking to outdo their peers by applying the blueprints laid out by the likes of Cannibal Corpse, Broken Hope and Suffocation by upping the ante a couple of notches by taking things to their logical (and in all likelihood, "final") extreme.

The cool thing about this CD is that there really aren't any traces of slam found here. This actually sounds like the mutant offspring of Rottrevore and Crematory (Swe) slathered in sewage and nourished by a diet of nuclear waste. The vocals sound like a bizarre crossbreed of pig and cricket with a few rasps ala Jeff Walker thrown in for good measure. Oh, let us not forget the occasional growl that actually does sound like a toilet flushing, which to me is a fucking great thing!

The guitars are nice and sludge coated. The riffing is not quite "doomy" but there is certainly nothing technical going on here and there is a relieving emphasis on heaviness here without resorting to breakdown sections. The drumbeats are delivered via drum machine, but that matters not to me as each beat, be it blast or other, serves its purpose well and takes absolutely nothing away from the grotesque atmosphere puked fourth by the vocalist and guitars.

With only four songs in tow, this mood of this CD is perfectly represented as I feel anything longer would have pushed it into monotony. Of course, that sentiment is debatable as this would prove to be the only thing released by the band (unless you choose to consider the Erotic Incisions rehearsal demo as well) before calling it a day.

Contrary to popular belief, the mid-late 90's were quite an exciting time for death metal as there was a new breed of death metal bands that were emerging from out of the sewers, and while many of their forefathers were becoming increasingly concerned with branching out, either creatively or commercially, these newer bands were only concerned with putting out the most vile and barbaric music possible and Clean Flesh was among the most barbaric of these acts.

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