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Fleshgod Apocalypse - Labyrinth review



Reviewer:
8.5

374 users:
8.18
Band: Fleshgod Apocalypse
Album: Labyrinth
Release date: August 2013


01. Kingborn
02. Minotaur (The Wrath Of Poseidon)
03. Elegy
04. Towards The Sun
05. Warpledge
06. Pathfinder
07. The Fall Of Asterion
08. Prologue
09. Epilogue
10. Under Black Sails
11. Labyrinth

Imagine you're and old and deaf man. You once listened to music a lot, even composed it sometimes. On a hot summer night your dreams become weirder than ever, full of new unseen fantasies but cruel nevertheless. Was it a nightmare or a vision? And most of all... what is this shit all about? Well, mainly my thoughts on the new Fleshgod Apocalypse album seen from Beethoven's point of view, 200 years ago. Labyrinth indeed is not easily divided into its brutal and symphonic parts, it all makes it up to the one thing it has become. And that is already the first fact making it a better album than their previous record, Agony. The whole concept grew and the individual parts fit better together.

I must say I didn't like Agony in first place, it was just too mixed up with everything. But now I got to know what it should have been, what the band's original idea was. The new album isn't an easy listening either but after some time one gets into it. At first glance the weakest part surely was the Italian side of the music, e.g. the high pitched clean vocals appearing from time to time. I got used to it, though, the first time ever those kind of vocals actually grew on me. So, what can the listener expect with this one? The answer is balls. Fleshgod Apocalypse definitely need some balls for writing and playing their music and it also takes some to like it. Symphonic people becoming brutal, brutal people becoming symphonic, it's not an easy process.

Considering the metal side of Labyrinth, all performances must be applauded, especially the drummer giving a big middle finger to machine precision, however the hell he is able to do that with only two arms and two legs. Vocals appear in three different styles, which are the growled death metal ones, already discussed high pitched, and the classical female ones from a professional singer. Together with the other instruments it makes a great melting pot. Adding then the orchestrations raises it to a music which is already too-much-of-everything but still yearns for more. Listening from the beginning the average metalhead will be longing for "Prologue" somewhere in between the fifth and seventh song. But shortly after that interlude one is eager to continue on former paths. Finally the awesome track "Under Black Sails" gives the satisfaction to end the session with a good feeling.

Still some words on orchestral implementation? Well, it is always a difficult thing and very few bands have perfected the technique of adding a whole orchestra while getting a good mastering afterwards so the guitars won't perish. And somehow all of them used synthetic instruments, just as Fleshgod Apocalypse have done here. Their version isn't the best out there but comes quite close though, just a bit more gain to the guitars next time please. Favourite songs? No, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 9
Originality: 8
Production: 8

Written by Windrider | 05.08.2013




Comments

Comments: 18   Visited by: 647 users
05.08.2013 - 00:19
Mattybu

I found Agony to be an excellent mixture of the symphonic and death elements. It seemed to all complement each other on that album. So I'm not sure what this will be based on this review but I will certainly be checking it out.
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05.08.2013 - 01:05
psykometal
A staff guy...
Sounds promising. Looking forward to this.
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~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~

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05.08.2013 - 01:30
Rating: 9
Kuroboshi

The only thing I didn't like about "Agony" was the guitars being not to audible. It seems they haven't fixed that. :X Still looking forward to it though.
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05.08.2013 - 03:03
Rating: 8
Rulatore

Lucky guy. Can't fucking wait to hear it is there any possibility of hearing the guitars on this one ?
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05.08.2013 - 05:02
Rating: 9
Opethian

Written by Rulatore on 05.08.2013 at 03:03

Lucky guy. Can't fucking wait to hear it is there any possibility of hearing the guitars on this one ?


That was the first thing that i noticed about 'Agony'. A killer album, but i hope this time around they paid attention to detail with all of the instruments in the mixing
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05.08.2013 - 09:53
Rating: 9
Windrider
Raureif
Written by Rulatore on 05.08.2013 at 03:03

Lucky guy. Can't fucking wait to hear it is there any possibility of hearing the guitars on this one ?

Well there's already two songs online from which you can get pretty much the idea
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07.08.2013 - 15:30
Rating: 7
s_t_s

I like Agony more than Oracles but consider this as a whole... Will it be the same with Labyrinth ? Wish I could listen to the whole abulm before buying but it doesn't seem to have leaked yet
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07.08.2013 - 20:50
Rating: 9
Windrider
Raureif
Written by s_t_s on 07.08.2013 at 15:30

I like Agony more than Oracles but consider this as a whole... Will it be the same with Labyrinth ? Wish I could listen to the whole abulm before buying but it doesn't seem to have leaked yet

Read post above your post. That should do the trick.
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09.08.2013 - 16:11
Rating: 7
s_t_s

Written by Windrider on 07.08.2013 at 20:50

Written by s_t_s on 07.08.2013 at 15:30

I like Agony more than Oracles but consider this as a whole... Will it be the same with Labyrinth ? Wish I could listen to the whole abulm before buying but it doesn't seem to have leaked yet

Read post above your post. That should do the trick.


I listened to these tracks but would rather enjoy the full album before buying
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09.08.2013 - 17:41
psykometal
A staff guy...
Written by s_t_s on 09.08.2013 at 16:11

I listened to these tracks but would rather enjoy the full album before buying

Then wait til it comes out and look up a (full album) upload on YouTube.
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~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~

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10.08.2013 - 16:27
Rating: 7
s_t_s

Written by psykometal on 09.08.2013 at 17:41

Written by s_t_s on 09.08.2013 at 16:11

I listened to these tracks but would rather enjoy the full album before buying

Then wait til it comes out and look up a (full album) upload on YouTube.


Sure, will do that or... download illegally but I will get an official copy too ! Just need to wait a couple of weeks after release so that I can buy the CD from the US and pay it half the pruice in France
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12.08.2013 - 09:50
psykometal
A staff guy...
Nice. If anyone happens to Google "Fleshgod Apocalypse Labyrinth", this review is the very first link at the top.
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~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~

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12.08.2013 - 13:32
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by psykometal on 12.08.2013 at 09:50

Nice. If anyone happens to Google "Fleshgod Apocalypse Labyrinth", this review is the very first link at the top.



tried it but for me it's the seventh link.
I think it has to do with one's region and such.
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Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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12.08.2013 - 13:56
X-Ray Rod
Skandino
First in Sweden and eighth in Chile it seems.
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Written by BloodTears on 19.08.2011 at 18:29
Like you could kiss my ass
Written by Milena on 20.06.2012 at 10:49
Rod, let me love you.
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12.08.2013 - 16:31
psykometal
A staff guy...
Oh, well at least we're still getting on the first page.
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~Zep, Database and Forum Moderation~

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12.08.2013 - 17:53
Thrashette

Like what the review says, this sounds like they were going for the same type of concept as Agony but they carried it out much better. They made everything fit together well and had more variety, rather than making it sound like they played death metal while trying to drown it out with violins. I actually liked Agony, but I had to listen to it multiple times to really pick everything out and it still kind of feels like one massive song. So yeah, this basically has all the good points of Agony and less of its downsides.
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17.08.2013 - 19:27
MuhannadQandah

All I have to say is that it's better than Agony production-wise, yet I still prefer Agony.
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19.01.2014 - 17:14
Rating: 7
s_t_s

Written by MuhannadQandah on 17.08.2013 at 19:27

All I have to say is that it's better than Agony production-wise, yet I still prefer Agony.


Exactly my feeling ! Maybe there is too much of "everything" in Labyrinth ? I gets all mixed up and kind of loses identity. Like it but Agony is my Fleshgod Apocalypse fave !
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