Genre : Avant-garde death metal, Progressive death metal
Released : July 28th, 2023
Label : I, Voidhanger Records
FFO : Horrendous, Imperial Triumphant, Sulphur Aeon,
Between The Buried And Me, Ne Obliviscaris
"Bloodborne themed avant-garde death metal?
Say less." was my thought process going into Fleshvessel's ambitious debut full length.
However, little did I expect the sheer scope and outlandish stylistic diversity this album has to offer, perfectly capturing the beautiful, grotesque and otherworldly atmosphere of the cosmic/gothic horror fictional setting of Yharnam and its realms beyond, where the Great Ones lie in wait while humanity foolishly attempts to transcend from itself.
There is so much happening throughout "Yearning : Promethean Fates Sealed", which almost feels as though it is structured like a play in four acts with brief interludes separating each "act", from the surprisingly gorgeous and melancholic piano, cuatro and string arrangement of opening track "Winter Came Early" to the ambient pianos, synths and jingles of Beckoning Bell that bookend album closer "Eyes Yet To Open".
And of course, the immense frenzied and unpredictable kaleidoscopic score of experimental death metal that occurs in between.
I could list out the many different stylistic influences, tone shifts and the wide array of various orchestral instruments not often encountered in death metal that give this musical eldritch beast its pulse, but that would lessen the pleasure of surprise and discovery if you should choose to venture (and you should) into Fleshvessel's twisted creation.
Had I listened sooner, "Yearning : Promethean Fates Sealed" would have probably found its way in my end of 2023 list-posting, but better late than never as they say.
I hope you put a decent amount of points in Arcane as you're gonna need to line your brain with eyes for this one, it's a lot to take in and to unpack even after multiple listens.
Just keep an eye on that Frenzy bar yeah?