Symbolic, Engraved Flesh
Hailing from Italy, Symbolic play a pretty sweet variety of Polish death metal. Pulling in influences from the likes of genre legends Vader, the thrash of Kreator and others, Engraved Flesh is chock full of brutal rhythms and guttural destruction. Sure, there’s really nothing new under the sun with the band’s debut full-length, but what it may lack in full on originality, the group’s performance should be more than enough to make up for it.
There are a few surprises here and there to keep the album from sounding too familiar, but as a whole, we’ve heard this stuff before. And, to tell you the truth, I really don’t mind hearing it again.
Dead Inside
Coming from a thrash background, you can definitely hear it in the band’s brand of death metal. Everything is pretty up tempo and aggressive in its delivery. “Dead Inside” sets the tone with burly riffing, rapid fire drum work and a deep, guttural vocal delivery that’s still clear enough to discern what’s being growled. There’s a slight melodic tinge to the guitars here and there that helps the song breathe nicely. The layered vocals are a nice touch as well, especially as they lead into the massive riffs and slick lead at 2:40. So far, these dudes are off to a great start.
Within The Realms Of Human Awareness
Chaotic, galloping drums and speedy riffs get this next song off to a bruising start. There’s a definite Vader influence in play here, but it’s not a complete mirror image. This is a burly song that has more than its fair share of power and aggression to it. I’ve got to give the band this, their album has a tight production that really emphasizes their work well. “Within The Realms Of Human Awareness” has a great groove flowing through it, that’s highlighted by a semi-melodic lead around 2:35 that’s pretty damned slick.
Wingless
I love the opening riff work for “Wingless.” It’s got a bit of a familiar Kreator vibe to it, but with a bit more of a melodic feel. This song has a great deal going on within its confines including great lead work, nicely incorporated melodies and galloping, head banging mayhem.
Suffering
“Suffering” certainly sounds like the soundtrack to some severe punishing torture. The vocals, though, feel out of step with the pummeling music, like their sitting above the rest of the band. That could just be me though. I’m digging this song overall — it’s got a dark, menacing atmosphere. The dual leads at 2:25 are pretty damned nice.
Denied
“Denied” is the most original and surprising song on the album. After a fairly bruising blast of pummeling death thrash, the band up and our of now where bring in a sweet bit of acoustic guitar with a Mediterranean vibe. It’s a huge contrast to the otherwise Vader-esque death metal the song features. I’m loving it and would love to see some more unique elements like this in the band’s sound. After the brief interlude, Symbolic get back to the basics with punishing rhythms and churning guitars to end out the song.
Livin’ In A Cold Lie
The band keeps the momentum galloping along with “Livin’ In a Cold Lie,” as the track rumbles along at a nice clip. There are some melodic, Swedish death metal riffing thrown into the mix with this song. This is a punishing track that has some more layered vocals and beefy guitar work as the rhythms thunder along like a semi down a steep grade. The lead that starts before the two minute mark shreds like all get out.
Oncoming Apocalypse
More of that Kreator like thrash starts off “Oncoming Apocalypse.” I’m digging how these dudes have combined some technical thrash influences into their bruising death metal — it definitely works in their favor. Dude. The 1:38 mark sees the guys ramp it up to redonculous speed with blasting drums and manic guitar work. Now this is some good shit here. I want more of it!!
Engraved Flesh
The title track is a brief piano based instrumental that, while creepy in tone, would probably have been better suited for an outro.
The Parasite’s Curse
After a long fade in that builds to a decent chugging pace, Symbolic spend the next few minutes tearing up the speakers with some more Swedish death metal influences added to their sound. There are a couple of nice explosions of activity as the band shifts from pummeling rhythms to beefy mosh and back again while a couple of leads break up the pace a bit. This is a pretty epic sounding song that actually wraps up the album pretty well.
~ ~ ~
Additional Notes:
N/A