Review by Carl on December 24, 2022.

A good while ago I wrote a review for the band Decaying Flesh from Indonesia, and as it turns out they do not only have a Decaying Flesh there, but also a band called Decayed Flesh. If that isn't a cheap-ass excuse to write a review for the latter, I don't know what is, so let's get this show on the road, I say!

Like most brutal death metal bands from the country of Indonesia (and it seems like they have a veritable plague of those over there), Decayed Flesh know what they are doing. Perhaps not overly original and somewhat lacking a face of their own, they do know how to deliver the goods in style, though. Stylistically, Decayed Flesh remind me of bands such as Kraanium, Guttural Secrete and Korpse (the Dutch one), also combining blasting ferocity and bludgeoning groove, but with a sort of old school vibe to it. Listening to their debut full length, it struck me that their compositions are well thought-out and varied, with tight musicianship across the board. The down-tuned riffing is a good deal above average, and has me thinking of the first albums of Malevolent Creation and Cannibal Corpse more than once. The guttural lead vocals are backed up by some excellent scraping backings, and combined with the bludgeoning music they form a way above average monolith of brutal death metal. It's a monolith that has me thinking "where have I heard this before?" throughout, but the sheer power and excellent musicianship wipe away any trace of doubt one might have concerning their intentions. Lack of originality has seldom bothered me, and with brutality as intense as on this album, who cares anyway?

It has to be mentioned that the production on this album is good too. Not as dense as is the case with a lot of brutal death metal bands, it allows the vocals and guitars the space to breathe, making the overall sound more transparent and open. That makes it all the more a shame that the drums came out sounding somewhat lacklustre and lifeless. If those had sounded fuller, it would have made this album that bit more vicious. You can't win them all, I guess.

This is an excellent dose of modern brutal death that may not be the most original out there, but taken at face value, this is a banger to be reckoned with. From all of the brutal death metal bands from Indonesia I have heard so far, Decayed Flesh are among the better ones, and keeping in mind the insane quality of most of them, that's saying something.

Rating: 8 out of 10