Defleshed

Defleshed - Abrah Kadavrah
Hammerheart Records, 2000
Genre: Death Metal/Thrash

Abrah Kadavrah: 1996
1. Beaten, Loved and Eaten
2. Mary Bloody Mary
3. Wit ha Gambrel
4. In Chains and Leather
5. Abrah Kadavrah
6. Gone with the Faeces
7. Anatomically Incorrect
8. On Gorgeous Grounds
9. Body Art...
10. ...Pierced through the Heart
Ma Belle Scalpelle: 1994
11. Gathered Flies
12. Morbidance Blue Cafe
13. Simply Fell Towards
14. Many Mangled Maggots
15. Ma Belle Scalpelle
16. Mary Blood Mary (Live)
17. In Chains and Leather (Live)

This is the Hammerheart’s repress of Defleshed’s first two releases.  Defleshed kind of made their presence known with the release of “Under the Blade” and these first two releases “Ma Belle Scalpelle” and “Abrah Kadavrah” seem to have been overlooked quite a bit.  Honestly looking back at these recordings, I can sort of see why.  For the year of 1996, you can tell that Defleshed is trying out some new elements to a degree, but then again I can see how these recordings took a back seat to groups like Dismember and At the Gates.  Defleshed, I think was still searching for their own more unique sound overall with “Abrah Kadavrah.”  You can hear their influences, which I have no doubt was At the Gates, in songs like “Body Art…” which features a violin sequence something At the Gates was particularly noted for.  I think, however, that Defleshed was looking to create music that was a lot more intense than their predecessors and they succeeded in that presentation somewhat on this album.  Defleshed ended up forming into a whirlwind assault to the listeners as they sped through every track.  In their origins, though, we can hear that as songwriters they were still segregating between the pure Thrash and Death Metal riff sequences on “Abrah Kadavrah.  Such as they would play a Death Metal riff then they would play a Thrash Metal riff, which gives you a feeling of the Death/Thrash aspect, but they didn’t blend these perfectly at all.  Things were still too up and down at this stage and it pulls the listener in different directions, sometimes awkwardly. 

On the “Ma Belle Scalpelle” recordings you can tell their roots are in a more traditional Death Metal approach, bringing to mind comparisons such as Sinister, the earlier works of Morbid Angel, etc.  They eventually progressed out of the traditional world and started experimenting on “Abrah Kadavrah,” but they didn’t reach the pinnacle of their sound, so in the meantime they were being watched, but they weren’t becoming a sensational act.  They seemed to still be looking for that perfect blend of intense and brutal aspects of Death Metal with the catchiness of Thrash riffing.  These two albums in the end were a good start for this band.  They would eventually grow into much more.

Overall this release is great to have if you enjoy listening to how bands evolved over the years or if you’re a fan of that old school Death Metal sound like you will find on “Ma Belle Scalpelle.”  “Abrah Kadavrah,” while having good songs in the overall, truly is their transition album and as I have noticed with bands either your transition album is a great success or it’s a little shoddy.  Defleshed’s transition album is somewhere in the middle of those two, to be honest.