Reviewed - 08/15/05

The Human Virus
[Malicious Intent Records]

For all intents and purposes, Force Fed Flesh is the latest band to master that most extreme of musical genres affectionately referred to as death metal. "The Human Virus" does feature a few sparks of creativity, but for the most part it is just like many other contemporary brutal death metal albums. That is, this is an EP that has all the right components, but more often than not fails to assemble them into any sort of noteworthy configuration.

The first three tracks on this EP are good, but nothing special. "Abomination" features thick meaty riffs, rampant shredding, and two levels of death metal vocals (in much the same manner as Deeds of Flesh and Dying Fetus). There is some interesting slap bass, but nothing that hasn't already been done by Agiel or Cryptopsy. Slow and fast death metal are present in comparable amounts, and the lower-end guttural vocals are pleasantly reminiscent of the sound of a bowel infection. "Peel Back the Skin" is much of the same, albeit with a few more awe-inspiring blast beats and a handful of quirky tempo changes. And "Ripped from the Womb" (now there's a painful thought) sounds slightly more thrash-influenced, though fails to elevate Force Fed Flesh any farther than the previous two tracks.

But it is with "Post Mortem Rot Pile" that Force Fed Flesh begins to display signs of being special. To call the opening riff 'quirk' is an understatement. It is an unholy mutation of skiffle-influenced rock, heavy on the bass and possessing a compositional sound quite unlike anything I can remember having heard before. This morphs into an alternating pattern of ultra-fast blasts and ultra-slow doom death riffs. There is also an odd 'power chords played on the bass' rock riff to mix things up. And a final intestinal vocal growl. All within the span of ninety-three seconds. "Crucifixtion" (sic) is also quite interesting, touching on the moody melodic, returning to the same fast/slow death metal dichotomy that encompasses much of the rest of the EP, and showing off a well-written guitar shred riff or two.

As I'm sure I've mentioned in at least one previous review (and forgive me for repeating myself), death metal is one of the most critical genres of extreme metal. It is a style that is based (in my opinion, at least) around the concept of humans creating music that is as brutal, extreme, and difficult to play as possible. So understandably, that is a tough order to fill. Force Fed Flesh do fairly well, especially for a debut EP. With any luck, a subsequent full-length will emphasize and expand upon the more interesting elements present in "The Human Virus."