I'll be honest, with a record called Homicidal Necrophile you kind of know what you are getting into. That's not to say that's a bad thing. In fact, Flesh Hoarder's delightfully over the top brand of Texas death metal isn't just ridiculously fucking fun but also a throat-ripping tribute to the endless power of the genre. Crunching forward with crazed riffs, fierce blasts and pummeling gutturals Flesh Hoarder border on the terrifying.
It's hard not to get caught up in the burning assault of Flesh Hoarder, the riffy attack that defines this record from front to back only serves to make Homicidal Necrophile all the more delightful. For me, the gore-obsessed madness of this band is what makes Flesh Hoarder so endlessly enjoyable. I remember seeing them years ago at a small club in Texas and all I could think was 'This is what death metal is all about!' because it is. Flesh Hoarder perfectly encapsulates the world of guts, riffs and mosh pits.
Sure this is a record that doesn't necessarily have a lot of 'layers' or artsy frills, but when you're listening to a song called "Hog Tied And Deep Fried" are you really looking for subtlety? Most of the song titles on Homicidal Necrophile are at least a little silly, but that's a huge part of why they work. A song like "Human Drapery" perfectly captures what it felt like to be listening to death metal in 10th grade as you just start to discover bands like Cannibal Corpse. The wild-eyed punishment of "Necrotic Slut Chunks" reflects the sort of manic madness that serves to make death metal such an important thing for the human psyche. It empowers our darkest aspects and allows us to embrace the suffering of the day-to-day.
Flesh Hoarder get this, most of the dudes in this band are happily married, but that doesn't seem to stop them for defiling our eardrums with over the top and borderline terrifying aural blasphemies that only the sickest minds could reasonably conjure up. This is a band who are delightfully twisted—what's not to love about that?
There is something inherently funny about just how extreme Homicidal Necrophile is. It's this sort of demented glory that serves to make Flesh Hoarder such an asset on the death metal scene. They have undeniable grooves and a sense of youthful energy that pushes them to new extremes with every passing track. They can dial it back into some gnarly fucking breakdowns but you get the sense that Flesh Hoarder feel like they can do just about anything within the gore metal genre.
There is a manic energy here, a devout sense of slaughter that only serves to make this record addictive. Flesh Hoarder push for the sort of chaotic blood magic that made death metal great in the first place. Now as they settle in after their first full length it becomes all the more clear that this band is destined to take on the world, one necrotic slut chunk at a time.
Score: 8/10
