Customer Reviews

Reduced to Ashes

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nothing else can be said about this release except that Deeds of Flesh have put out another fine piece of grindcore with Reduced to Ashes. The sheer brutlity of this is what most Deeds fans will love about it. Where as "Mark of the Legion" contained more intricate time changes, this one does too, but the songs are more drawn out. It really starts to pick up in the second half of the CD, with the tracks "Human Trophies", "Banished", and the nearly 12 minute long "The Endurance" (Mike Hamilton needs a standing ovation for his performance on this one). I cannot stress how much I reccomend this to any fans of "Deeds" or of other grindcore, but it is definitely not meant for a novice listener. The time and key changes on here will throw someone off without an ear to pick out the intricacies. Highly reccomended!!

The severely underrated `Deeds of Flesh' provide for the under-appreciating masses Reduced to Ashes.

Deeds of Flesh are frequently over looked, partially for their association with other `brutal American DM' bands that often lack in the song writing dept. - Deeds are an exception to this, and although not every song is pure gold, there is real song writing talent here that absolutely shines. Deeds of Flesh would also be a bigger name by now had they benefited from better production earlier in their career. Well... production wise, they're slowly getting there. MotL was a step up in the clarity of definition for the guitars, but suffered in pure character, leaving even the relatively sloppy produced PofW Deeds best sounding record... Till now. The guitars now have a warm, thick, excited tone, up front where they should be. Drums are well balanced with them. - The only nit-pick I'd bother to mention is the sound of the snare, almost too `tonal.' I don't like it when the snare disappears leaving nothing but high hat, but the flip side of that... is an overly distracting snare, which this may be for some people. These are truly minor issues however, and fans should cut self-financed underground bands like Deeds some slack... Besides, as I said, they're getting there... On to the music:

Nothing real avante garde here, but I wouldn't say `nothing new,' as Eric and company have put together some of their tightest arrangements. Deeds tend to walk a fine line between slightly technical and plain kick ass. They use tremolo picking as a foundation, with palm muted power chords, pinch harmonics... Typical techniques really, with a few curve balls, but ultimately made relevant with Deeds simple talent for simply picking the right notes. - Which ultimately makes for a very strong result. And they really do put all this together with a tasteful sense of keeping everything dense, extreme and deadly.

Others have cited the later half of this record as the strong point, while I'm favoring the first. - Really for the first two songs, which I think are absolute CLASSIC death metal songs. The 12 minute `Endurance' is absolutely awesome and entertains without the use of extended atmospheric interludes or the like... just 12 minutes of devilish musical storytelling. Not as many `hooks' on this record, requiring a bit more familiarity before real appreciation kicks in.

It's perhaps also worth mentioning that, however unimportant, the album cover, presentation and over all theme of the record is all nicely tied together, making this record a cohesive entity of an album.

I would get Path of the Weakening before this record, but this is real strong. Hopefully the next will be the absolute devastator.

WHAT CAN I SAY ABOUT DEEDS OF FLESH, THEY CONTINUE TO PUT OUT SOME OF THE MOST BRUTAL DEATH METAL AROUND. i HAVE MOST OF THEIR ALBUMS AND i CAN'T SAY WHICH ONE I LIKE THE BEST, BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL GOOD.REDUCED TO ASHES CONTINUES IN THE DEEDS LEGACY, WITH LONGER AND MORE STRUCTURED SONGS AND VOCAL PATTERNS THIS ALBUM TRULY SHREDS, AND REALLY PUTS THE WORLDS DEMISE INTO VIVID PRESPECTIVE. I WOULD RECOMEND THIS CD TO A HARDNED METAL HEAD BUT LIKE ALL DEEDS ALBUMS IT AINT FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. ALSO CHECK OUT PATH OF THE WEAKINING, TRADING PIECES AND MARK OF THE LEGION YOU WILL SHED TEARS OF METAL JOY.

Amazing these guys never cease to impress me. This album is great for anyone who is into technical death metal along the lines of hate eternal, divine rapture, and origin. I actually like deeds of flesh alot better than origin because of the simple fact that they can actually break into a groove without loosing any speed or heaviness, anyway if your into death metal, there should be no reason why you shouldn't have this brilliant cd.

The ending riff to Endurance is where death metal gets its magic. This album is good...Check it if you are a fan of Deeds and have not heard it...go to the last track and do nothing until it is over...you will be pleased...

Tis the grind that beith the juice.