In 2011, there were two albums that got everyone’s attention in the world of Death
Metal. The one whose name cannot be spoken and which starts with an I just like an
Illuminati conspiracy (and maybe it was one in the end) and
Nader Sadek’s
In the Flesh, which actually most people thought should have been the one whose name cannot spoken instead.
In the Flesh was dark, technical, powerful and highly emotional. It was everything a deathster could wish for except for its small duration. Only 30 minutes of music is frustrating when music is that good.
Hell,
Doom Metal bands have longer EPs with just one song… So when
Nader Sadek, the band and the man behind the concept announced something new was cooking, people got heated up only to discover that
Nader Sadek’s “sophomore” release would be a live album:
Living Flesh.
Then another burst of frustration.
Why the hell release a live album after a debut album when the debut was already so damn short to start with?
That was the question. The answer though will satisfy the people that held
In the Flesh in high esteem.
Live,
Nader Sadek’s music takes a whole new direction. It’s darker, faster and almost occult. Augmented with the addition of Sean Frey (lead guitar) and
Carmen Simoes (vocals,
Ava Inferi), the original line-up performs music that should be more associated with rites than a mere assemblage of notes. It becomes operatic, the concept thought out by
Nader Sadek, the man, breathes sulfur. I haven’t seen any video of it, but I can only picture it pitch black with occasional red flares. Though it’s all based on how it’s recorded, I think you’ll be able to tell that the audience was mesmerized, watching those guys play with probably both awe and dread in their eyes.
This is a beautiful but traumatic experience. Simoes’ female vocals even add to the liturgical experience and though the petroleum-based concept is nothing but religious (or is it?), you’ll feel as if attending some rites of passage. Because there is communion.
Communion from the audience, swallowed by this one time breach in the void, communion also between the musicians. Though a super-band comprised of members from different horizons, you can tell these guys know how the magic works, it takes great skills but it takes also a solid experience of past live experiences.
And these guys manage, even if it was just for one night, the magic clearly took place.
Songs are intertwined with discrete industrial samples from no other than
Nader Sadek and despite playing faster than on the record, the control the music has on you never fades away.
Tucker’s vocals seem higher pitched than on the album but they also feel rawer; live conditions indeed. You won’t get “annoying” addresses to the public from his part as the whole band is dedicated to the music, not to the audience.
The crowning achievement of the concert is definitely Mounier’s fantastic drum solo in between tracks
Rusted Skin and Of This
Flesh. I usually don’t really like solos going on forever, regardless of the instrument, however the perfect fusion of it between these two tracks, the mastery and the feeling behind the drum kit are just flawless, you could almost wish he’d never stop and though quite different in style than his rabid playing on
Cryptopsy’s None So
Vile, there are no word to tell how Mounier is gifted.
So, my dear friends, if you weren’t sure that this could actually be a “useless and uncalled for addition” in
Nader Sadek’s discography, I certainly hope this will convince you to look further than your (and my initial) misconceptions. This is truly a great work of art and the perfect, and not redundant, companion to
In the Flesh. I just reviewed the “sounds” and a DVD version is also scheduled to be released and for once, I feel this could be worth the purchase. Unless you don’t want your clothes and face to be smeared in petroleum.
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