CoC : Fleshcrawl - Soulskinner : Review

Fleshcrawl - _Soulskinner_
(Metal Blade, 2001)
by: David Rocher (7.5 out of 10)

Fleshcrawl's sixth full-length, _Soulskinner_ totally lives up to its blatantly poetic title, and righteously embodies all the sweaty finesse and growling delicacy I have by now come to expect from Germany's own old school Swedish deathsters. Needless to say, once again, as their fans will most likely already have anticipated on, little has occurred in the scope of a hypothetical musical evolution Fleshcrawl may one day choose to follow. Such a whimsical trend would be most unworthy of these Germans' blasting career, and the only change showcased by _Soulskinner_, when compared to Fleshcrawl's previous opus, the 50% early Dismember, 50% _Heaven Shall Burn_-era Marduk release _As Blood Rains from the Sky..._, is that _Soulskinner_ actually tends to be somewhat slower -- whilst nonetheless retaining all-out frantic breakneck velocity. An extra slab of massive heaviness and chunkiness (quite reminiscent, in fact, of _...For Victory_-era Bolt Thrower riffage) has successfully been introduced into the raging, mangling maelstrom invoked by the rhythm department, efficiently capped off by Sven Gross' bowel-churning growls. _Soulskinner_ is as blatantly unoriginal and efficient as death metal will ever get, and though I doubt whether it will actually earn Fleshcrawl any new fans, the simplistic, ruthlessly outspoken death metal it offers is bound to content the hordes of the band's existing followers.

(article published 12/4/2002)

ALBUMS
9/9/2007	J Smit	5	Fleshcrawl - Structures of Death
10/5/1996	G Filicetti	7	Fleshcrawl - Bloodsoul

GIGS
12/8/2000	P Schwarz	Vader / Vital Remains / Fleshcrawl / Rebaelliun	Invadering From Across the Seas