Style: Death Metal, Black Metal, Progressive Metal (Mixed vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Insomnium, Kardashev, Ne Obliviscaris
Review by: Christopher
Country: Washington, USA
Release date: 24 October, 2023
Sickened Seed is the second full-length from the Seattle progressive blackened death metal trio A Flourishing Scourge. On their self-titled debut, the band managed to get Samus “66 Samus” Paulicelli on drum duties. I don’t know if Samus was unavailable or what, but on this sophomore they’re having to make do with some dude called [checks notes] “Hannes Grossmann”… and the mix and master is handled by some guy called [checks again] “Jens Bogren”? Huh, well I hope they know what they’re doing!
Sickened Seed opens with pensive world percussion and some sort of lute before those croaking, blackened harshes kick in alongside thick riffs, cultivating a Kartikeya vibe. These folkier interspersions rear their head occasionally, alongside a string quartet who accompany on many tracks and some playing with ambient vocals which often recalls An Abstract Illusion. “Unfurled Spines” explodes into life like an old Opeth track, all growls and melancholic lead lines over nasty riffs, with a blackened quality. And the sudden break into backing chorals, soft piano interspersions leaves the metal behind and sees the rest of the song melodic and introspective yet still possessed of a heavy, crescendous quality. The two opening tracks set the tone for Sickened Seed.
“In Miasmic Despair” is another hefty blackened death track which soon finds itself breaking into a much calmer passage with alternative percussion and pretty harmonics before returning to a massive climax with swells of organ. Plenty of moments, such as the chaotic autotune section on “Serial Eyes” and the cleans that open “Lines in the Sand” remind me of some of An Abstract Illusion’s work on Woe, a more audacious stripe of prog death. Meanwhile, A Flourishing Scourge’s “Woe” centres the clean vocals, ballad-like almost, before exploding into the fastest, nastiest riffs on the album. Grossman seems intent on cracking the hi-hat with his blast beats, and a proper black metal solo bifurcates the song.
A Flourishing Scourge have real confidence in their proggier forays, however, Sickened Seed sags somewhat in the middle, particularly in the heavier sections which feel as though the band have found every combination of those gnashing growls, blistering tremolo riffs and frantic drumming that they can think of. Fortunately, the rear of the album picks up again, with “Woe” perhaps proving their strongest offering.
I know I’ve praised A Flourishing Scourge’s proggier aspirations but, oddly there’s also an issue here. Overall Sickened Seed amounts to slightly less than the sum of its parts and I think the reason for this is that the progressive forays are actually quite safe; all of the cool ideas A Flourishing Scourge throw at the wall are successful because they’re familiar; I’ve heard them elsewhere before (often on An Abstract Illusion’s Woe). Being a little less original than the genre’s elite is hardly a huge problem. Between their own promising musicianship, Bogren’s luscious production and Grossmann’s preternatural sticksmanship, A Flourishing Scourge have far too much going for them for this to be a serious worry, but I’d love to see them develop these proggy ideas further in future.
Sickened Seed is a bold, powerful record, one that proves a strong addition to this year’s blackened death releases. The raw talent on display is palpable and while I’d like A Flourishing Scourge to push beyond what their contemporaries are doing there’s nevertheless a hell of a lot to enjoy here from a band who are clearly well placed to make a name for themselves.
Recommended tracks: Woe, Unfurled Spines, Serial Eyes
You may also like: The Circle, An Abstract Illusion, Lamentations
Final verdict: 7/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter | Metal-Archives page
Label: Begotten Records
A Flourishing Scourge is:
– Tye Jones (vocals, guitar, additional instruments)
– Kevin Carbrey (bass)
– Andrew Dennis (guitar)
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