FleshTorture - Grotesca Doctrina De La Perversidad

After almost a 10 year hiatus, Nicaraguan death metal crushers FleshTorture are back with a new, ferocious album that is ready to slaughter the ears. Originally a sickening hybrid of death metal and grindcore the band has reigned in a bit with their new release “Grotesca Doctrina De La Perversidad” and changed things up a bit, but for the better. The grindcore elements are almost all but gone as the group has opted for more of a brutal death metal route in the vein of the likes of earlier Cannibal Corpse Chris Barnes era, but the drumming is still top notch and certainly grindcore-esque with its technicality in the Dying Fetus vein. The album also has more of cultural feel with the lyrics all in Spanish as opposed to English, so despite the language barrier fans will still enjoy it (or just look up the translations). Lyrically, the group stepped away from the sexual perversity of the lyrics and moved more towards the typical death and brutality that would be found on a typical modern Cannibal Corpse album, though despite the less sickening factor, it still speaks of brutality and carnage that will satisfy any death metal fan.

After a brief intro which unfortunately is very hard to hear (same with the outro), the more Cannibal Corpse meets Dying Fetus sounds start to break in with ‘Canibalismo Eclesiastico.’ A lot of the music features plenty of blast beats with fast tracks, guttural growls, and blazing riffs that are certainly pit crushers especially when it comes to a track like ‘Blasfemando En El Trono…’ But then later on in the album we get a bit more groove, almost like death n’ roll akin to Torture Killer where FleshTorture slow down and chug out those catchy numbers like ‘Tumba De Ninos’ and ‘Morgue.’ While the ferocity factor is turned down a bit, the band makes up for it in their guitar solos which just adds more melody and depth to the music. While some listeners might be turned off by the change in pace as it is a far cry from their grindcore days, the vocals still stay constant and aggressive no matter the instrument pace, so the music still slays. Sometimes the band will inject those higher pitched snarls but overall the one sided grunt is there to stay. For those looking for the most melodic guitar work, ‘Crematorio’ has an excellent opener and mid section that is distorted, but still captures tons of the groove of some of the earlier tracks while adding more depth to what FleshTorture can do.

Overall, it is safe to say that FleshTorture are not the torture machine they once were. The tracks are about the same length so fans should expect a pretty standard 37 minute album which is normal for most death metal albums. The good news is despite the lack of grindcore elements and less perversity, FleshTorture open themselves up to new possibilities with the sparse, yet tasteful melodic elements while still remaining sick and brutal as can be. ‘Grotesca….’ Is definitely an album that fans of fast to mid paced death metal will enjoy, even though there isn’t really anything new here that the bigger veterans haven’t done already. It still crushes, and those who are looking for that extra perverse factor can grind their ears to ‘Tumba de Ninos’ with its disturbing lyrics and yet grooving thump that makes death metal in general such an enjoyable genre.

3.5 / 5 STARS


1. Intro - Grotesca Doctrina De La Perversidad
2. Canibalismo Eclesiastico
3. Blasfemando En El Trono De Dios
4. Flagelando Al Mesias
5. Tumba De Ninos
6. Crucificado, El Muerto Y Sepultado
7. Aberracion Maligna
8. Morgue
9. Crematorio
10. Outro