With the end of the year getting closer and closer, people like me who wait until the year fully comes to a close start to gather our favorite releases and rank them for all you maniacs to judge us over. But many labels and artists keep that in mind with some still daring to put out releases in the final days of the year to give us yet another album to agonize over if it’s good. And the word “good” does not even come close to the upcoming Feral record that’s the most perfect way for death metal to close out the year with in every form.
Just by that cover alone, “Flesh for Funerals Eternal” already has my attention, but then it’s with the distinct Swedish death metal vibes cranked up incredibly high that makes these ten tracks a true tour de force of Swedish death the likes of which I haven’t heard since the last Entrails record. In fact, Feral really feels as though you took Entrails and did the seemingly impossible of making them even fucking heavy, toss some mouth-watering riffs into the mix, and then make it one of the most infectious pieces of death metal we’ve gotten all year. Right from the get-go, “Flesh for Funerals Eternal” is everything but a lightweight as Feral knows not the art of escalation and instead prefers to use the time-tested technique of getting right into the thick of it as we’re immediately greeted with a vicious array of death metal that truly melts your skin right off only to continue for the entirety of the record. And whereas many bands would fall into the trap of feeling monotone by the halfway point of the album, Feral makes it into fucking art as there’s no point in “Flesh for Funerals Eternal” that’s dull by any means, keeping true to the intoxicating nature that this whole album boasts at every turn. At every turn we’re given something increasingly delicious with this record as Feral know exactly what the listener wants from crunchy riffs, glorious vocals, and impeccable instrumentation that shows this act is more than perfect to close out the year with and something that even after listening to over and over again for hours I still can’t get over.
Sweden’s brand of death metal is something that many of us, myself included, will never be able to get over, but it’s every now and then we get a truly exemplary album from a unique band that brings us something that we’ve always been salivating for, and Feral has done just that with this virtually infallible record of bone and blood. In every way, “Flesh for Funerals Eternal” is a grand work that’s sure to get many death metal fans going right off the bat, and I’m more than happy to already be one of them well before this behemoth releases upon the world!
“Flesh for Funerals Eternal” releases on December 30th via Transcending Obscurity Records!
LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Flesh for Funerals Eternal” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Feral on Facebook here.
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