We last heard from French Dismember worshipers, Iron Flesh back in 202o/21 for Summoning the Putrid, a damn fine release of Swedish death metal with a nice balance of melodic slicing riffs and more doomy passages.

Well, for the follow-up, Iron Flesh continues the same sound going full-on Dismember homage with 48 minutes and 10 songs of hacking melodic death metal with an HM2 buzz and some slower-loping songs that basically cull from the entirety of Dismember’s catalog notably the albums from Death Metal forwards.

“Overthrow ov the Sermon ov God” (“Override of the Overture” anyone ?) gets things going with a rip-roaring track of energetic leads and time changes. Then we get “Cursed Within”, a slower stomping track that recalls “Let the Napalm Rain” or the groovier tracks like “Casket Garden” from the divisive Massive Killing Capacity album. 

And that’s pretty much the rest of the album summed up in two killer tracks. I mean just listen to “In Agony You Must Reborn”, “To Become One with the Dead”, the title track or certainly “As Ghouls March On”. Pure Dismember worship circa Hate Campaign or Where Iron Crosses Grow, that recalls everything from “Questionable Ethics” to “Like Fire” and “Patrol 17”. Even down to Julien Helwin’s Matte Karki-like bark and the razor-sharp guitar tone the delivers subtle somber but melodic riffs and leads throughout.

And whereas the prior album had some sickly, slow tunes like “Death and the Reaper’s Scythe”, “Demonic Urn”, on Limb After Limb we get the likes of “Blessed Be the Creators”, with its solemn lead work, “Honour In Death” and closing instrumental  “A Procession of Living Cadavers” with its haunting opening cello.

Another solid entry in the genre, that makes no bones about its influence and is up there with Necrom, Carnal Ruin, Ripped to Shreds, Katakomba, In Pain, Entrails, Demonical, and such for the year’s best in the genre.

[Visit the band's website]

---

Comments