Thrash/Death Metal from Australia
Scourged Flesh - Released from Damnation (Rowe)
2006
1. Resurrection Day
(5:51)
2. Prince Of Peace (3:52)
3. In The Image Of God (4:04)
4. Released From Damnation (5:19)
5. Evangelistic Rituals (3:22)
6. Dark Eyes (5:49)
7. Spiritual Awakening (3:52)
8. Destiny (4:30)
9. Triumph This Prophecy (3:30)
10. Wait For The Other Side (4:56)
Scourged Flesh are a power trio from Austrialia who play old school death/thrash metal. Their debut album, "Released from Damnation" has an independent, underground production. Those concerned with pristine production should look elsewhere. Those who love metal for metal should find something to like here. There is plenty to like here. Scourged Flesh have a huge (early) Mortification influence, from the vocals, to the openly Christian lyrics, to the music, to the album cover art. The cover art is by Troy Dunmire, who has done work for Mortification, among others. Musically, these guys stick to a lot of mid-paced songs, with heavy, downtuned, guitars. The band knows how to write some heavy riffs. However, they need to work a bit on their guitar solos, or employ a lead guitar player. These guys look young in their band photos, so I can only assume that "Released from Damnation" is only a taste of what is to come as these guys mature as a band and as musicians.
Scourged Flesh – Welcome to the End of the World (Soundmass) 2009
1. Death And Destruction (6:05)
2. War Machine (5:15)
3. Chains Of Slavery (4:21)
4. Shadow Storm (5:47)
5. Extinct (5:40)
6. Waves Of Disaster (6:16)
7. Napier (4:58)
8. Episodes Of Hate (4:10)
9. Blood On Thy Hands (4:45)
10. Unleashed (7:23)
"Welcome to the End of the World" is the second full length release from Perth, Western Australia death metal band Scourged Flesh. On my first listen through, I was actually surprised by how much I enjoyed this album. Color me impressed! I honestly don't really remember much about the first full length release. I must confess, I've lost a bit of interest in death metal over the years, but something about this one captured me and slammed my head against a brick wall from the very first listen. Heavy, brutal death/thrash metal with a hint of melody throughout. I'm not sure I'd label this melodeath, though I have heard the term applied to this band. Frankly, this is just good quality grunt 'n grind death metal with harsh, death metal vocals. There are some clean vocals used as well, though these are used sparingly, mostly as background vocals such as those used on “Waves of Disaster”. One complaint I hold against a lot of death metal bands is that their songs all tend to blend together and sound the same. That is not the case with “Welcome to the End of the World”, which offers a variety of tempos throughout as well as some memorable riffs, some progressive songwriting, and even some memorable hooks in some of the vocals.
One minor negative, on the first couple spins of this CD I found the "mouth solo" in "Extinct" to be pretty darned funny and amusing. It’s cool that this band can have some fun and not take themselves too serious. However, with repeated listens, I sort of wish that the song had a serious solo instead. The mouth solo version could have been left for a b-side or an EP or something differnent. Otherwise, “Welcome to the End” is a stellar release. Perhaps Scourged Flesh are the successors to Mortification's Christian death metal crown?