Dead Flesh Fashion - Thorns

Dead Flesh Fashion – Thorns
Year of Release – 2011
Label - Midsummer Records
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This band released a very impressive debut a couple of years ago called Anchors. The band played noisy, dissonant hardcore and sounded like they were on the edge of chaos. The band specialised in off time grooves and a sludgy sound that was somewhat similar to Gaza.

Thorns, the band's follow up to Anchors is more of the same but with the added advantage of better songwriting and a greater sense of dynamics. Right from the album opener Flies, it's apparent that this band has evolved from 2008. The dissonant Jesus Lizard like guitars that open the song are backed up by an amazing rhythm section that plays counterpoint in a lurching lumbering manner before the band gets on the same page and pummels the listener with its dissonant heavy as fuck grooves. It's also quite apparent that the band has a much better grasp of dynamics this time around. The transitions from loud to soft and fast to slow are seamless and Thorns isn't just a one trick pony. Kissing the Neck of Inertia is another great song with an awesome dissonant groove and enough technicality to make most modern death metal bands pee themselves. (III) sounds like a bastard child of Coalesce and Today is the Day while Where the Night Goes for Orchid is vaguely melodic but maintains the band's trademark dissonant groove and penchant for being just heavy as fuck.

I suppose you already know if you'll like this. The band is heavy and manage to build an impenetrable wall of noise while making sure that each song retains its individual flavour. I suppose the roots of this band lie in hardcore but at the same time Dead Flesh Fashion are a lot more than just that. The musicianship is of a very high standard through out and while Botch and Today is the Day probably played a part in their formative years, today the music sounds like a heavier The Ocean with emphasis on the groove and excellent songwriting chops.

Thorns is an album worth checking out particularly if you like bands like Gaza and Today is the Day or even like The Ocean and want something a little less progressive and a lot more heavy. Dead Flesh Fashion is a name worth remembering.