Afterbirth is a brutal death metal band from New York making strides to add new layers to the genre. The band released one 4 track demo back in 1994 only to vanish into obscurity shortly after. After a long hiatus they reformed and dropped another demo back in 2014 and followed it up with a well received album in 2017. The year is 2020 and Afterbirth make their triumphant return with Four Dimensional Flesh. Don't let the band name fool you, these guys are playing some brutal death metal but it is far from a run of the mill, dime a dozen releases that seemingly drop everyday. Four Dimensional Flesh while still bringing the brutality, almost feels like a journey of sorts.
"Rooms to Nowhere" is my personal favorite from the album, although I will say it is very hard to pick just one. The strange guitar part towards the mid-section of the track has been forever embedded in my memory since first listen. There's little moments like this sprinkled all throughout the album that really make it stand out from the pack. The band effortlessly keeps the listener guessing and manages to build an atmosphere while still staying in the realm of a genre that is built almost exclusively on crushing the listener at all costs. The drumming is masterful and really the backbone that holds everything together. The whole album gives the feeling of rushing through a maze where every corner holds another monstrosity, but, occasional you take a turn and run into something beautiful. Well, maybe not beautiful exactly, but there is some refreshing breaks from the controlled chaos occasionally spattered in there for good measure.
Overall Four Dimensional Flesh is a breath of fresh air for the genre. While I've always loved me some knuckle-dragging brutal death, it's nice to see a band coming to the forefront offering something much more dynamic than what one would normally expect. The band manages to add progressive tinges to one of the most brutal a primitive styles of music known to man. This one may even be a good gateway album for someone looking to get into the subgenre, as I could see many people who typically don't gravitate towards the more brutal stuff finding something to love here. If you go back and listen to their 1994 demo it is shocking to see the development Afterbirth has had since then. All too often we see bands that vanished into obscurity in the 90's come back and release a subpar album. Afterbirth bucks that trend and I think most would be hard pressed to find another band make a return quite like they have. The demo they'd released back in the day was pretty awesome, especially for the time, but these past two full lengths are a whole different beast altogether. I highly recommend anyone into extreme metal in genre give this a listen along with the previous full length! It will be very interesting to see where the band goes next. Definitely a name to keep a look out for in the future! GET IT!!
"Rooms to Nowhere" is my personal favorite from the album, although I will say it is very hard to pick just one. The strange guitar part towards the mid-section of the track has been forever embedded in my memory since first listen. There's little moments like this sprinkled all throughout the album that really make it stand out from the pack. The band effortlessly keeps the listener guessing and manages to build an atmosphere while still staying in the realm of a genre that is built almost exclusively on crushing the listener at all costs. The drumming is masterful and really the backbone that holds everything together. The whole album gives the feeling of rushing through a maze where every corner holds another monstrosity, but, occasional you take a turn and run into something beautiful. Well, maybe not beautiful exactly, but there is some refreshing breaks from the controlled chaos occasionally spattered in there for good measure.
Overall Four Dimensional Flesh is a breath of fresh air for the genre. While I've always loved me some knuckle-dragging brutal death, it's nice to see a band coming to the forefront offering something much more dynamic than what one would normally expect. The band manages to add progressive tinges to one of the most brutal a primitive styles of music known to man. This one may even be a good gateway album for someone looking to get into the subgenre, as I could see many people who typically don't gravitate towards the more brutal stuff finding something to love here. If you go back and listen to their 1994 demo it is shocking to see the development Afterbirth has had since then. All too often we see bands that vanished into obscurity in the 90's come back and release a subpar album. Afterbirth bucks that trend and I think most would be hard pressed to find another band make a return quite like they have. The demo they'd released back in the day was pretty awesome, especially for the time, but these past two full lengths are a whole different beast altogether. I highly recommend anyone into extreme metal in genre give this a listen along with the previous full length! It will be very interesting to see where the band goes next. Definitely a name to keep a look out for in the future! GET IT!!
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