Flesh of the Stars – Hide (Review)

Flesh of the Stars are from the US and play Doom Metal. This is their début album.

Taking their cues from bands such as Sleep and Black Sabbath, Flesh of the Stars play Traditional Doom Metal with an occult, sinister vibe and 70s accoutrements. Throw in a few elements of bands like Electric Wizard and Ice Dragon and you have a hugely impressive début that is head-and-shoulders above most who attempt this style.

And that’s the thing in many ways; this kind of music has been absolutely done to death, but Flesh of the Stars play it so damn well it’s hard to care. The level of songwriting and dark atmosphere on this album is downright freaky in itself. Surely they’ve sold their souls for these songs?

Out of these seven tracks only four of them are actual songs, so Hide leaves you hungry for more. It’s an addictive release as it’s so very easy just to start playing it again once you’ve listened to it; the hallmark of a great album.

The band create an impressive atmosphere with their music and there are some genuinely creepy/eerie moments on Hide. The interplay between the, (largely), restrained, introspective vocals and the fuzzy guitar is perfectly judged and everything fits into place where it should.

Well, I can’t say enough nice things about this. It’s always great when you discover a band who seem so perfectly attuned to what they’re doing that it’s a genuine pleasure to listen to. This is especially true when the band isn’t actually doing anything different or ground-breaking; Flesh of the Stars are just so massively good at what they do that it’s probably immoral.

Essential.

Favourite Track: Grim Baptist. Well, what a stunning song!