Starting the year off strong on the album art front, Indianapolis’ technical death metal quartet Fleshbore adorn their sophomore record Painted Paradise with an idyllic landscape—courtesy of one Mark Erskine—that lives up to its title. Naturally, I was drawn to this depiction, knowing full well that those tunes which lurk just beneath may strike a darker, nastier tone altogether. Then again, extreme metal can be a fickle beast, and the promo sump even more so. That leaves me no choice but to dive right in like Mary Poppins into a chalk mural in the asphalt. And away we go!
If, like me, you play the game of “guess the sound by the artwork,” you might expect Fleshbore to align with technical death legends Fallujah. Guess again, hotshot. There’s nothing remotely atmospheric about Fleshbore’s approach. Instead, both 2021’s Embers Gathering and this year’s upcoming Painted Paradise trudge the serrated, blood-soaked trenches scoured by now-defunct touchstones Necrophagist and Spawn of Possession. Modernized with a subtle melodic bent and machine gun bars reminiscent of Archspire, and paired with a spewing vocal tone shared with acts like Aethereus, Fleshbore offer a sound that is at once deeply familiar to fans of the style and just barely distinct enough to start pulling away from the standard tech-death conglomerate.
When Painted Paradise hits hardest, it punches far above its weight class. Starting strong with opener “Setting Sun,” Fleshbore make an impressive first impression with crushing, high-tech riffing, and shredding lead work. The Spawn of Possession influence is strong here, but Fleshbore’s particular application of melody effortlessly straddles the boundary from their uncompromising inspirations and something altogether bouncier and more playful. Re-upping its riff payload with mid-album highlights “Inadequate” and “The Ancient Knowledge,” and signing off on another one-two detonation between “Painted Paradise” and “Laplace’s Game,” Painted Paradise’s back half maintains a relentless momentum that pulls more of that darkness which brought definition to Fleshbore’s relative levity at the start back to the fore. In this way, Fleshbore integrated much-appreciated dynamics from a wider perspective than on a simple song-by-song basis. Consequently, Painted Paradise makes for a deeply engaging, cohesive experience when given intent focus.
On the other hand, some of Fleshbore’s ambitious detailing threatens to derail that same experience. The initial source of this concern comes from the vocals. Embers Gathering offered plenty of rapid verse work that coalesced perfectly with the surrounding instrumentation. On Painted Paradise, attempts to push for an increased rate of lyrical fire result in a slight, but noticeable disconnect between the pacing of individual performances. Most clearly heard on earlier verses of “The World” and especially on the isolated, quasi-a-capella segments of “Target Fixation,” these vocal reaches cause palpable discomfort to these ears. I yearn for simpler lines that better support the songs themselves rather than requiring a vocalist to push the upper limits of their skill set. In other areas, less inspired riffing and cookie-cutter passages conspire to undermine Painted Paradise’s bid for tech-death domination. As examples, “Target Fixation” and “Wandering Twilight” offer plenty of quality portions that would easily satisfy the appetites of tech-death fans, but they lack the same impressive vivaciousness of Painted Paradise’s stronger cuts, thereby compromising listener immersion. Additionally, for those sensitive to production characteristics, Painted Paradise’s glossy finish and plastic snare tone might abrade the sensibilities of those wishing for a nastier palette to better complement Fleshbore’s vicious writing.
Rating Painted Paradise posed an interesting challenge when it came time to finalize my assessment. Initially, I was so put off by the floundering, albeit admirable, attempt to match Archspire’s words-per-second speed that I couldn’t lock into the rest of the content presented. In time, that avoidant impulse subsided enough that I could appreciate the greater quality of Fleshbore’s latest work. When it comes down to it, Painted Paradise is a strong early entry into 2025’s tech death canon, sure to appeal to fans of the style and likely to attract new blood to the ranks. At the very least, it solidifies Fleshbore’s status as a band to watch.
Rating: Good
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Transcending Obscurity Records
Websites: fleshbore.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/fleshbore
Releases Worldwide: January 24th, 2025
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