Czech brutal tech hash-slinging slashers Cutterred Flesh ought to hold a seminar on pairing cheeky artwork with equally cheeky album names. Three years ago, the five-banger released the whimsically titled Sharing is Caring and paired it with imagery befitting its title and the brutality it contained. Today, Cutterred Flesh prepare their sixth assault, entitled Love at First Bite, and with it another gruesome but tongue-in-cheek slab of paint. Needless to say, just like before, this combo instantly makes this artwork one of my favorites of the year so far. The question remains, then, whether the album’s content can enamor me the same way as does its cover.
Cutterred Flesh chose not to fix what ain’t broken. Love at First Bite remains a brutal tech death record at its core, continuing right where Sharing is Caring left off. If you aren’t familiar with their work, Cutterred Flesh’s current sound starts with a strong Deeds of Flesh and Suffocation backbone, warped by the crushing bounce and swagger of Abysmal Torment. Using this concoction as a starting point, Cutterred Flesh routinely carve out a distinct approach time after time. In 2021, the Czech troupe accomplished this by using mournful melodies to create moments of unlikely beauty that belied their gory grit. Love at First Bite makes a lateral move from that space into environs more atmospheric, eerie, and oddly uplifting. Subtle and restrained use of bright (perhaps even major key in one spot) tremolos and airy atmospheric black metal lines trace fine streaks of drama and grandeur to songs which otherwise fit standard brutal death and tech molds (“Repeated Intersexual Misunderstanding,” “The Last Supper”). Armed with these gentle touches, Love at First Bite creates an intriguing brutal death experience that might grab a wider audience than your standard fare.
Love At First Bite by CUTTERRED FLESH
Even if I focus on the sections of Love at First Bite that fall solely under the typical brutal tech architecture, a fair portion of Cutterred Flesh’s material feels more engaging than the norm. Examples such as “Xenomorphic Annihilation—Earth Ravaged,” “Human Protein Concentrate,”1 and “Descent into Torment of Abyssal Whispers” do absolutely nothing new or novel. Nonetheless, they stand out as quality pieces in the medium thanks to extremely hooky riffs and mighty grooves. Late album cuts like “The Last Supper” succeed as well in part because Cutterred Flesh apply fresher techniques to the standard blueprint for slammy brutality, making its main themes extra memorable and impactful. That said, there’s still no ignoring the fact that these otherwise strong numbers lack enough novelty to elevate them as much as Cutterred Flesh certainly could have.
On the flipside, Love at First Bite’s more explorative tunes—such as the deceptively interesting “Repeated Intersexual Misunderstanding” and the rip-roaring triumph that is “Amanda”—make a strong case for the direction Cutterred Flesh ventured. By integrating atmospheric black metal twists and more uplifting melodies into their gruesome gruel, an unlikely synergy ascends. The spine-tingling final third of “Repeated Intersexual Misunderstanding” transforms what would otherwise be a bog standard brutal beatdown into a minor epiphany, its major harmonies striking a rare nerve that this genre never sets out to interact with in the first place. Meanwhile, “Amanda” draws from the cosmic well from which Mare Cognitum‘s epic majesty springs and reformulates it to fit a more violent, explosively energetic mission. Other tracks accomplish similar transmutations to a lesser extent, of course (see “Descent into Torment of Abyssal Whispers” and “The Last Supper”), but none are as successful as the aforementioned. Unfortunately, as Cutterred Flesh massage and flex newly acquired songwriting muscles, they tend to leave their brutal tech core somewhat atrophied in spots, weakening critical moments that required meteoric impact in order for this pairing of aesthetics to work best (“Code of Zuurith,” “Sarkam’s Wrath Unleashed”).
Consequently, Love at First Bite represents a record of several great moments amidst rock-solid material, but only a few wholly great songs. If listening with a non-critical eye, Cutterred Flesh’s latest offering possesses ample goodies to sate anyone’s bloodlust. I, however, want to see Cutterred Flesh push harder going forward. I believe they have something truly unique and unusual to offer the brutal tech-death scene, and at this point all I want is for this Czech cohort to really let me have it!
Rating: Good.
DR: 4 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: facebook.com/CutterredFlesh | cutterredfleshband.bandcamp.com
Releases Worldwide: May 24th, 2024
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