A love of Video Games, Lovecraft, and Morbid Angel.   An Interesting mix.  Tim Rowland’s solo Alchemy of Flesh project is one of the biggest surprises of the year in my opinion.   The attention to detail in gear selection and sound is quite impressive here.  Something else that catches my attention is the killer artwork by Mike Browning (Ex Morbid Angel/Nocturnus).

Kicking things off with “Pain Primordial” Rowland wanted as close to the Trey Azagthoth sound as possible in term of the rhythm guitars.  This is in no ways a solo fest.  This is a clean of a performance for a debut as I have heard in some time.  Alchemy of Flesh is more about groove elements then heavy blast elements.  To be specific this reminds me a lot of Gateways to Annihilation, “House of Earth” opens with riffing that sounds like it could have come right from it. Think “Summoning Redemption” Vibe.  Absolutely Crushing.

Lyrically, the song topics range from Authors to games like: Quake, Morrowind, Silent Hill.  Pretty unique lyrical premise for Death Metal. “Lobsel Vith” has a Cannibal Corpse vibe with the way it kicks off with the bold minor third harmonies. “Slipgates to Annihilation” is the most moshable tune and has some of the most crushing riffing on the album.  “Knotters of Entrails” has the most non-Morbid Angel intro of the tracks on Ageless Abominations before going into grooves that sound just like Morbid Angel.  Alchemy of Flesh pull no punches in telling you what they are going for.

“Sleeping Chaos” is one of the few tracks on the album that has blast beats. The production on this is fantastic for a debut.   Rowland did a fantastic job in all aspects of the instrumentation and vocal performances.  “Lava Storm” has the eldest school Morbid Angel vibe of the tracks on the album and by old school I would say, Covenant.  The flow to the album is solid.  Most of the tracks are around same length and there are no dull moments.  The closing track “Opener of the Way” opens with a mix of heaviness and harmonic dread.

Overall, this is a very entertaining record.  Maybe not the most original release but it is meant to be an homage.   This is worth picking up.  Check it out.

[Visit the band's website]

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