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Deeds Of Flesh: Reduced to ashes

21/06/11 || The Duff

Look, I can perfectly understand if you don’t idolize a single thing about Deeds of Flesh; the one thing that make Suffocation so unbelievable is the fact they are brutal but have mind-blowing dynamics via which to flavour the music (plus some of the best phrased, most chaotic leadwork death metal has to offer) – strip such of the band’s formula and you’ve basically got dry and brutal, some might argue tasteless to which I would agree in many ways – tech is fantastic if you have colour, drain it of such and what’s the point no matter how good the chops or songwriting?

That question is rhetorical, much like those asked at staffmember Daemo’s house-parties when two hours have gone by, your drink tastes funny and no one else has bothered to show up – “I understand you’d ‘rather’ go down on a woman than a man, but let me ask you this; when you’re facing a loaded gun… what’s the difference?”.

I would say “Reduced to Ashes” marks phase 2 of the Deeds-era, having broken away from the earliest stages of Suffo/Cannibal Corpse-worship “Trading Pieces” and “Anthropopo”, this here is the The Flesh real comfortable with their sound first laid down in temperate measures with “Path of the Weakening”, i.e. fast tremolo followed by harmonized batterings followed by breakdown and repeat applying hints of black metal for variety. You could criticize the fact that there isn’t much let-up, and you would be correct, but the musicianship is spot-on upper-tier stuff, sledge-hammer brutal; you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.

These guys are less stylish than Cannibal Corpse if I were to find a comparison to how one-dimensional they are, such a clinical approach to death metal having inspired a sub-genre that to many is music with no soul, simply a proficiency at upping the other guy at tech and unyielding nature, to others the bread and butter of metal where extremity is all that’s required, the greyness just another aspect force-feeding non-believers why metal is an artform that takes dedication to appreciate. I believe such to be horseshit, personally, but Deeds of Flesh on their own battlefield do write some cool, evil riffs in a way where the lack of brooding atmosphere in the Immolation sense is not an hindrance as one would expect.

So what of this album’s relevance? Well, as a brutal death metal album, this could be considered quite linear; it’s my understanding the more chaotic approach adopted by pioneers Disgorge and such (i.e. the style BM fans appear to revel in the most) was chiefly taken from Deeds of Flesh’s earlier incarnation if what I’ve heard from “Anthropopo” is anything to go by. That said, this record does seem to be highly cherished amidst fans of the sub-genre where its successor, “Crown of Souls”, is thought of as derivative – some forumer posting on SMN (claiming to be a part of death metal band Septycal Gorge) stated that “Reduced to Ashes” was pretty much his sole influence for their new record; this could have been a joke-poster, of course, but if true it gives indication as to the album’s importance.

Personally, my mentality on appreciating such a band follows this guy’s on Metallica; the thing about Deeds is, they is because they is, you’re either on board or you ain’t. They don’t work subtlety (a fucking hilarious example of this is 4:03 into track “Human Trophies”), and I wouldn’t say there’s much staying power to a record like this because of the simultaneously arousing and insulting lack of variation, but the devotion to their craft, the standard of musicianship does astound and is very admirable. I would recommend the early albums over this, and even then “Of What’s to Come” as well being that I prefer more melodic tech death, but “Reduced to Ashes” is still a fine record for the completist in you and those who follow only the brutal path.

Information
Released: 2003
Label: Unique Leader
Website: Deeds of Flesh MySpace
Band
Erik Lindmark: guitars, vocals
Jacoby Kingston: bass, vocals
Mike Hamilton: drums

Tracklist
01. Reduced to Ashes
02.Infested Beneath the Earth
03.Avowed Depraved
04.Empyrean
05.Human Trophies
06.Banished
07.Disinterred Archaic Heap
08.The Endurance

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