Recording an album with a band is hard enough; recording one by yourself is exponentially harder. Thus, it's noteworthy when a one-man project like Flesh puts out an album like Temple of Whores that easily matches the scope and power of full bands. Pete Flesh has put in serious time in Sweden's metal underground, having played with Maze of Torment, Deceiver, and Thrown. As Flesh, he cranks out old-school Swedish death metal in the vein of early Entombed, Unleashed, and so on.
This style seems to be enjoying a mini-revival lately, with Flesh being one of its better exponents. Not only does he nail the riffs, he conjures up the vibe – raw, dirty, electric. Old-school Swedish death metal was nowhere near as technical as its American counterpart, and thus you won't find fancy blastbeat exhibitions here. But you'll hear plenty of double-time thrash beats, nasty riffs with Slayer and Kreator in their blood, and strong, if faceless, death growls. Flesh keeps soloing to a minimum, but when he lets loose, the leads are fluent and memorable. A few dissonant harmonies and key modulations, such as in "Baptised on the Demon's Throne," help add flavor throughout.
One salient aspect of this album is its headbang-ability. It mostly alternates between thrash beats and chugging midpaced parts, and thus never gets too fast for headbanging. This may seem quaint given today's speed-obsessed technicality. But the results are undeniable. Heads will nod; hair will fly. With strong Abyss Studio production, this is one heavy album. Flesh is evidently becoming a live act with additional members, so keep an eye out for that.
7.5/10
