Band: Fleshvessel | Album: Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfolded | Genre: Progressive metal | Year: 2025
From: Chicago, USA | Label: I, Voidhanger Records
For fans of: Oranssi Pazuzu, Krallice, Panegyrist
Fleshvessel’s 2023 debut was an incredible statement in modern progressive metal. This Chicagoan act wove together black metal, jazz, modern classical, and experimental music to create a striking, singular record. This ambition (and tendency toward prolix album titles) continues on their sophomore release, Obstinacy: Sisyphean Dreams Unfolded.
Consisting of just four long tracks, the band has eschewed the brief interludes that punctuated their debut. The first of these epics is “Mental Myiasis”, which kicks off with some techy progressive death metal. It doesn’t take long for jazzy chords and dissonant twangs of clean guitar to emerge. This piece has some interesting structure, starting off as simply metal, only to have more jazz and experimental flavors creep in, and then to suddenly jettison them. It’s a unique approach, which gives the listener a lot to grab onto.
About three minutes into this song, though, arises my biggest issue with this album. The vocalist effects this shrieking, operatic style, and it just doesn’t land. I get what they were going for, but all I can think of is Dr. Rockzo, the Rock n Roll Clown. They use this voice throughout the record, and I just don’t like it. At least the music underpinning it is exciting and technical, full of thorny riffs and unexpected rhythmic shifts. This passage is followed by a quiet movement with narration where classical music melds with the band’s heavier fare. The song ends on an extended quiet, mellow passage, and it’s a wonderful coda to such an intense opener.
“Am” has a churning, unsettled opening riff, and the opening verse of this song is one of the rare points where a traditional rock groove emerges. It’s not long before Fleshvessel does what Fleshvessel does best and plunges headlong into a passage of beautiful, flute-led classical music. When metal storms back in, there are some psychedelic tones in the guitar and organ.
The band builds to a genuinely beautiful passage of lush synth tones, majestic guitars, and driving drums. Even the Dr. Rockzo voice can’t spoil it.
Heading into this epic’s final movement, eerie synths punctuate crushing metal. Guitars clang and crash, evoking chaos and destruction, and the structure of this passage is much more akin to a classical composition than anything rock-based.
A jazzy bassline opens “Cessation Fixation”, with warm synths buzzing in the background. Even as harsh, metallic guitars come crashing in, this groove provides an anchor point. This persists throughout heavy passages and more stripped-back ones. This sense of continuity gives Fleshvessel’s often-wandering music a sense of solidity. As this piece progresses, dashes of early ‘90s metal acts like Cynic, Atheist, and Coroner crop up in the guitarwork. Jazz motifs remain prominent, and some of the keyboards even sound like Herbie Hancock at points.
Obstinacy closes on a 16-minute opus, “It Lurched from a Chasm in the Sky”. After a quiet, almost warm opening, the band’s usual grimness takes hold, with biting metal pushing forward. Guitar lines interweave and interlock, making a subtly-hypnotic backing.
Psychedelic tones and textures are deployed often in this song, and there is also significantly more clean guitar here than elsewhere on the record. I really appreciate this band’s ability to have each song have its own unique character while also sounding as if it belongs to this collection of works. Fleshvessel also dabbles in some Latin jazz here, featuring a guest vocalist. This hopeful, danceable passage is both unexpected and right at home. In a quieter moment, rattling percussion and mournful violin evoke Middle Eastern music.
Fleshvessel continues to excel at the interplay between quiet classical music and jazz with crushing progressive death metal. Heading into the final moments, the music is ascendant and powerful. There are glimmers of hope, but the Sisyphean themes of this record add an inescapable weight.
Fleshvessel’s sophomore album is a truly striking piece. This band does not give a damn about what anyone else thinks; they’re making music they want to make. On repeated listens, I’m liking this album more and more. (The Dr. Rockzo voice isn’t so much growing on me as I am developing an auditory callus toward it. I still don’t like it.) This is such a dense, complex, and adventurous album, there is so much to discover on repeated listens.
Score: 87/100
The Elite Extremophile 