siLLy puPPy Let the demons and divas play! FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE have become the masters of mixing lush symphonic orchestral arrangements with their trademark brutal death metal that somehow infuses them with touches of power metal including the melodic and often sweeping guitar solos. LABYRINTH is their fourth overall release (3rd full) and continues their tradition of changing things up without sacrificing any of the elements that makes them fairly unique in the burgeoning extreme metal world these days.

What is the same is their usual formula of taking ample amounts of extreme metal, most notably in the death metal department which includes the grim, guttural and growly vocals of Tommaso Riccardi, the down tuned brutal guitar and bass assaults and the frenetic technical wizardry of Francesco Paoli’s extraordinary brutal and beastly drumming performances. Like “Agony” where the band stepped up the classical orchestral aspects, LABYRINTH carries that torch even further by extending the role of the symphonics. And once again the tracks all flow together seamlessly as to give a simple album feel broken into many acts or parts rather than completely detached pieces of music. 
What’s different on this album is how much more the band has expanded their sound and songwriting. In the beginning the symphonic aspects were tamped down by the death metal and by “Agony” finally found their equal footing but on LABYRINTH they are allowed a lot more room to breath, expand and dominate. The scales are certainly more tipped in this direction as the death metal beast although not having been even close to retired has at least taken a back seat for significant portions of the album. We simply get more completely classical parts that not only make up intros and outros but grace transitioning sections within tracks as well as vying with the metal parts in every part of the album. There are also more uses of Paolo Rossi’s clean vocals as well as the operatic diva enchantress duties of Veronica Bordacchini who has free reign at times while other times being part of the beauty and beast team where all three vocalists are harmonizing together.

This is the most diverse album by FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE yet. The arrangements are much more complex and both the classical and metal characteristics have expanded their tentacles into new arenas. The classical not only includes more operatic moments but incorporates expanded Chopin-esque piano and for the first time has acoustic classical guitar as well as the usual neoclassical soloing. On the metal side there are different types of riffs that emerge now and again. There are moments of thrash, industrial and traditional metal in the mix that don’t replace the dominate death metal but merely augment. And the way all these instrumental roles mix together sounds fresh and unlike previous albums as well.

At this point, the increase in symphonic involvement does bring bands like Septicflesh to mind however FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE remains more extreme and complex than their Greek cousins and often brings the Canadian Unexpect to mind in its frenetic and unforgiving fusion but once again doesn’t quite throw down the extreme avant-garde gauntlet like that band has. The sound stays within the parameters of the sonic collaborative frenzy of classical music with death metal and only mildly extends those boundaries. This is another brilliant album by FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE and i only prefer this one slightly less to “Agony” simply because in the balancing act of symphonic vs. metal i feel they went a little overboard with the symphonic aspects but it is simply a matter of taste and only a minor quiver since the compositions overall exude a more sophisticated approach hinting at the fact that FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE are continuously evolving their sound and haven’t yet unleashed the best that the beast has to offer.

UMUR "Labyrinth" is the 3rd full-length studio album by Italian death metal act Fleshgod Apocalypse. The album was released through Nuclear Blast Records in August 2013.

Stylistically the band´s music might be rooted in brutal technical death metal, but they incorporate symphonic orchestral arrangements to their material and also male clean vocals and female operatic singing in addition to the growling vocals. The latter is the dominant vocal style on the album. The playing is on a very high technical level and especially drummer Francesco Paoli should be mentioned for his incredibly fast and adventurous playing. There is a neo-classical edge to some sections, but I´d call this symphonic before I´d call it neo-classical tinged.

The album feautures a professional and powerful sound production, which successfully combines the brutal technical death metal foundation of the music with the classical symphonic orchestration. It´s not necessarily an easy task producing music as layered as this is without losing a couple of details in the sometimes chaotic soundscape.

Upon conclusion "Labyrinth" is a high quality release by Fleshgod Apocalypse and yet another example of why they are often refered to as one of the leading symphonic death metal acts on the scene. Be prepared to be met with a non-stop wall of sound, very well played technical parts and a brutality level that´s pretty high on the scale. There are plenty of melodic moments on the album to compliment the more raw parts of the music though, so "Labyrinth" may speak to quite a few extreme metal listeners. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

Kev Rowland These Italians first became known when they released their debut two track demo in 2007, which then got released as part of a 4 way split. In early 2008 the band started to perform live in the Italian and European underground scene supporting bands like Behemoth, Origin, Dying Fetus, Hate Eternal, Suffocation, Napalm Death etc. At this time they were known for their work as a brutal death metal band, but soon started to move into a more symphonic area, combining the brutality with choirs and orchestras. In 2011 Francesco Ferrini, the pianist and orchestrator who had worked with the band from the beginning, joined as full-time member which enabled them to have even more grand symphonic arrangements on ‘Agony’, while ‘Labyrinth’ takes it to a whole new level.

Somehow, the combination of a death metal band at full power with an orchestra also giving its’ all enhances the brutality and rawness, as well as providing a very different dynamic. There are moments during this album when the listener just has to take a step back in awe as the combination of choirs, strings, brass and metal with death growls is incredibly powerful. If ever music could be described as being totally ‘over the top’ then it is this.

The mixing and mastering work of Stefano “Saul” Morabito is just stunning, with everything perfectly balanced. In fact, the only real concern I have about this is how on earth are they going to be replicate this in a live environment? Brutal, symphonic, powerful, amazing. This is one of the finest metal albums you will come across this year, whatever the sub genre.

adg211288 Labyrinth (2013) is the third full-length album by Italian death metal act Fleshgod Apocalypse. While the group's early work including debut album Oracles (2009) took on the brutal technical death metal niche of the genre, their prior album Agony (2011) saw the band shift into the smaller but steadily growing market of symphonic death metal. The prior album established Fleshgod Apocalypse as one of the most intense bands to emerge within the style, retaining their brutal death metal aspects while their technical side, though present, ended up seeming like they buried under the rest of the music. Agony was a thoroughly intense affair that set the standard for others to follow but ultimately it came across as an inferior album to Oracles for me.

A couple of years later and Fleshgod Apocalypse follow up Agony with Labyrinth. On the surface it would seem not much has changed, the band line-up including guest female vocalist Veronica Bordacchini (In Tenebra) are exactly the same, and unlike the shift between Oracles and Agony on Labyrinth the band is still doing exactly the same thing as they were the last time around. The only different, and it's an important difference to note, is that Fleshgod Apocalypse seemed to have really honed their craft since the release of Agony. The technical elements are better utilised and once again have become a defining feature of the band's music alongside the excellent as ever symphonic parts, which extends into some piano playing which I've always found adds an interesting layer to death metal music. Vocalist Tommaso Riccardi sounds as deep and powerful as ever and while one of my complaints about Agony, the rather unneeded and irritating clean vocals of bassist Paolo Rossi, are still present, they're not used so much on the album, while Veronica Bordacchini's guest soprano gets even more of a look in, and in contrast to Rossi's singing fits in perfectly.

The music is notably less orientated within brutal death metal than it was before though. Labyrinth is still heavy and intense, but restrained. In my view that's a good thing, as it allows both the symphonic and technical guitar aspects to shine, whereas on Agony only the former was really able to. I'd understand though if those who listened to Fleshgod Apocalypse because of their brutal death metal thought Labyrinth was a lesser album from the band, even if that's not something I could ever agree with on a objective or subjective level. To my ears because of the little changes Fleshgod Apocalypse have made to their sound it allows Labyrinth's songs to have more identity between themselves. The band still doesn't vary their formula an awful lot once the album gets going, but the results are a lot more satisfactory than before. The music is really epic sounding. Agony seems in comparison to just be symphonic backed brutal death metal. Labyrinth on the other hand is the real deal. An exceptional grade rating is deserved.

92/100

(Originally written for Heavy Metal Haven: http://metaltube.freeforums.org/fleshgod-apocalypse-labyrinth-t3152.html)