Artist: Alchemy Of Flesh
Country: USA
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2023
Every now and then I am testing myself. Testing to see if things can change or that I should change my mind on certain things. In that light, I occasionally try something from the Redefining Darkness Records label again, despite not being able to remember when there was something from that label that could really appeal to me. I was persuaded this time by the artwork of ‘By Will Alone’ by American one-man project Alchemy Of Flesh, which also has an attractive band name and logo…
Unfortunately, that once again proved to be only outward appearances. Because, without wanting to sound cheeky or disrespectful, Alchemy Of Flesh is also of the same cloth as almost the entire Redefining Darkness Records stable. Alchemy Of Flesh also sounds far too recognisable without even touching the level of its musical examples. The music here is clearly in the same mould as Morbid Angel, Malevolent Creation, Vader and Vomitory. However, it never really sounds convincing, nowhere does it sound “evil” and it lacks a powerful sound. It is flat and uninspiring, even vocally Tim Rowland is nowhere remotely impressive. It is records like this that I become increasingly pessimistic about the future of the Death Metal genre. The flat-footedness of the material on offer combined with the soulless productions render the once blistering and challenging genre harmless, toothless and simply put: boring. Next time I will think twice before venturing into something from the label again and I think I should also take a closer look at the artwork, I should have known better since upon closer look this album is inspired by the Street Fighter game (really, pfff). It may be age, but I’m going to turn on ‘Deicide’, ‘Altars Of Madness’ or ‘Seven Churches’.
