Band: Fleshgod Apocalypse
Title: Mafia
Label: Hammerheart Records / Willowtip
Distribution: Hammerheart Records / Willowtip
Release date: February 7th 2011
Review: EP / MCD

Some bands just appear out of nothing, and shake the world mercilessly. Such a band is the formation Fleshgod Apocalypse, formed in 2007 in the centre of Italy. The band was formed by three members of defunct Tyrannic Ethical Reconstruction, Paolo ‘Hammer’ Rossi (b, v) (ex-Airlines Of Terror), Francesco ‘Scythe’ Paoli (d, g, v) (ex-Hour Of Penance), and Francesco ‘Aeshla’ Struglia (d) (Promaetheus Unbound, ex-Lord Vampyr, ex-Shadowsreign, ex-VII Arcano) – the latter left in 2009 – and colleague / friend Cristiano ‘Nepesh Ra’ Trionfera (g, v, k) (Promaetheus Unbound, ex-Lord Vampyr, ex-Shadowsreign, ex-Eyeconoclast). After a promo-demo in 2007 and the contribution on a four-way-split in 2008 (Da Vinci Death Code, Ripper Tattoo Productions) with Modus Delicti, Onirik (the Italian one, of course) and Septycal Gorge, the year 2009 was kind of important: the recruitment of former Atemno- and Human Cluster-member Tom Riccardi (v, g), and the release of the studio debut. This one, which was called Oracles, was available through Candlelight Records and Willowtip Records, and got recorded with session drummer Mauro Mercurio, known from Eyeconoclast, Hour Of Penance (ex) or Rust Of Reason (rip).
Additional info: in mean time (2010), the band got joined by Francesco Ferrini (on piano), Tommaso’s colleague in Atemno and session / guest member of Human Cluster.
The Mafia EP was recorded in 2010 at the famous 16th Cellar Studio with producer Stefano ‘Saul’ Morabito - he used to be member of several formations higher mentioned guys are or were involved with, like Hour Of Penance, Rust Of Reason and Eyeconoclast, and he’s known as producer for e.g. Theatres Des Vampires, Murder Theory or Nefertum, to name but a few.
The five tracks last for twenty four minutes and go on in the vein of Oracles, yet with a few minor differences. First difference is the addition of so-called ‘heavy metal vocals’ (read: clean voices) by Paolo Rossi. And in spite of my inborn allergy for clean voices on a Death Metal album, I can appreciate it this time.
Second difference is the complexity. Mafia still stands for extremely technical stuff, but in comparison to the debut it sounds less mathematically précised. Call it rather ‘traditional’ this time…
Mafia consist of three new songs, which still sound strongly influenced by the North American scene (think: everything between Hate Eternal, Deicide, Morbid Angel, Origin, Nile and that kind of deadly pleasure). Another comparison: Hour Of Penance, one of the other bands some of Fleshgod Apocalypse’s members are / were involved with – and some Polish bands might come to mind too: Behemoth, Vader or Yattering, to give you a direction. Like (some of) these bands, Fleshgod Apocalypse add stuff like keyboards and piano (like Oracles, the finishing title track on this EP is an instrumental outro), nicely contrasting with the hyper-kinetic and monstrous Death-assaults.
Mafia comes with a tight cover track as well: Blinded By Fear of At The Gates. Faster and more intense than the original, but uninspired and therefore superfluous.
Nice are the orchestral / symphonic passages, the use of some samples, and the few slower parts within this speed-terror; and the production too is correct: massive and modern.

75/100

Ivan Tibos.