Flourishing The Sum of All Fossils

  full reviewuser ratings (50) 
Tracklist:
1. A Thimble's Worth
2. The Prospects of Rejection
3. By Which We're Cemented
4. In Vivid Monochrome
5. Momentary Senses
6. Fossil Record
7. Summary
8. As if I Bathed in Excellence

Ranking: #134 for 2011

user rating
3.8
excellent
Chart.

recommended by reviewer
Gorguts Obscura
Ulcerate Everything is Fire
Godflesh Streetcleaner
Pelican What We All Come to Need


  On 33 Lists

5.0
classic
Karl V.H. USER (74 Reviews)

November 5th, 2011 | 373 replies | 9,118 views

Summary: Flesh over steel.

10 of 11 thought this review was well written

1984’s The Terminator - written by James Cameron before he plagiarized movies and gained perceived industry cred – was a pinnacle in the sci-fi/ action genre that portrayed a cryptic tale of humanities impossible fight against a creation ironically created by man. The story was real; the atmosphere throughout the film was perfect foreshadowing into the demise of mankind by his own hands of work, summing up current controversy about how far mankind could go with technology without sacrificing what is real in this world. Long story short, the remarkable aspect to the film is the faultless contrast of cold, industrial technology that plugs away at a relentless pace versus the warm, human quality based on the humans will to survive. As much as I would love to indulge further on the films ideology, it’s wise to stop there and to focus on a rather unknown underground death metal band that has little in common with the movie’s plot but rather, the movies absolute essence of that impeccable quality to build a fire of burning flesh atop a cold mountain of industrial waste. On Flourishing’s debut entitled The Sum of All Fossils, the band ravishes in all things that turns our worlds upside down and inside out without ever stepping into the soulless death metal being ham-fistedly put together and instead goes for song writing that keeps you coming back for more!

One listen to The Sum of All Fossils and it’s immediately apparent how vast Flourishing’s sound is. Rooting their sound in Gorguts-ian atmospheric technical death metal, each and every song challenges this staple formula with many other sub-genres of extreme metal. While most tech-death bands sound as lifeless as a cheese-grater hit by a stick that is usually coupled with high production standards and a lack of any human feeling, the odd few know a thing or two about loosening up the strings and percussion. Flourishing’s amalgamation of old-school industrial, sludge, and a more linear type of post-metal are the key ingredients that put the emotion back into the cold punch of tech-death and is certainly a welcome treat into the tech-death fold. As found on songs such as “By Which We Are Cemented” and “In Vivid Monochrome”, 1989s Streetcleaner comes to mind with its slow-pounding rhythm attacks and scaled harmonics that bounces with ease in-and-out of the context of warped, atonal riffs that dominate each track. The sludge factor on tracks such as (insert whatever track you want) also loosens up the tone of the precise attacks while further scaling this brand of tech-death down to a more elastic level of songwriting. The punishment that all eight tracks bring to the table is further refined with injected bits of melody that the band utilizes in a post-metal kind of way. This is particularly evident on the tail-ends to “In Vivid Monochrome”, “Momentary Senses” and album closer “As If Bathed in Existence” where crescendo melodies are used to display a more palatable dynamic to an already ‘eargasm’ coagulation of extreme metal types.

As we all know from The Terminator franchise (not counting the lousy Christian Bale ***fest), the humans always won despite an oppressive gloom of the soulless machines potentially conquering the day. This fight between robotic vs. human qualities is a glimpse into the mayhem that Flourishing stir up on The Sum of All Fossils without being overly obvious of the many cross-genre pollinations happening throughout. To put it simply and summarize, this is technical death metal meant for a listener who likes their robotic tunes produced by a more human mind and less by a machine with no soul.

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Comments:Add a Comment 
Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

This is a 5, just to let you guyz know.

But seriously, get this now!

Digging: Vaura - Selenelion

ShadowRemains
November 5th 2011



13556 Comments

Album Rating: 4

yup this rules, maybe a bump to a 4.5 eventually

great review

check out the baring teeth album too

Digging: Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels

Digging: Dead Congregation - Graves of the Archangels

Tyraelxy
November 5th 2011



11943 Comments


Oh my god I need this

nice review wiz!

Digging: Walknut - Graveforests And Their Shadows

Digging: Walknut - Graveforests And Their Shadows

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

That Baring Teeth album is going to be played probably tonight when I get a moment. Thanks for nice words.

Ire
November 5th 2011



26947 Comments

Album Rating: 4

sucks

Digging: Bjork - Vespertine

Digging: Bjork - Vespertine

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

Sucks on?

Relinquished
November 5th 2011



14280 Comments


this meat


no way it's a 5 even though it's really great

Digging: Neurosis - Times of Grace

Digging: Neurosis - Times of Grace

Ire
November 5th 2011



26947 Comments

Album Rating: 4

there's a rush riff in the first song

Relinquished
November 5th 2011



14280 Comments


why would you rec that pelican album?

Auschwitz
November 5th 2011



1285 Comments


so is it "As If I Bathed In Existence" or "As If I Bathed In Excellence?"

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

Listen to the album and you will understand why I put it in. The post-metal melodies of that album fit this perfectly.

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

Auschwitz, pretty fucked up name you have there hahahaha. It's supposed to be "As If I Bathed In Existence".

DoubtGin
November 5th 2011



6329 Comments


no this is not

Voivod
Contributing Reviewer
November 5th 2011



3090 Comments


Excellent review, pos.

You are so right about the soulless/mechanistic tech-death metal bands.

I will check, as I like good tech-death mixed with weird influences.

Digging: Vauxdvihl - To Dimension Logic

Relinquished
November 5th 2011



14280 Comments


I don't see those kinds of melodies, they're too happy and I don't hear that here.


great to see you're still alive and kicking though karl!

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

no this is not

I'm sure you have better dm selections for me.

I don't see those kinds of melodies, they're too happy and I don't hear that here.

Maybe they are a bit happier but I see the comparison from an execution standpoint.

Crysis
Staff Reviewer
November 5th 2011



14156 Comments

Album Rating: 3

Listened to this once and it was good, but I wasn't taken aback or anything. Needs a bunch more listens before I really form a legitimate opinion of this, though.

pos pos pos pos pos pos neg pos pos pos pos

Digging: Mount Eerie - Clear Moon

Wizard
November 5th 2011



15848 Comments

Album Rating: 5 | Sound Off

Hey, I see a neg in there hahahahaha. This will take some time to warm up to Kyle.

Crysis
Staff Reviewer
November 5th 2011



14156 Comments

Album Rating: 3

Yeah it certainly seems like that kind of album, which is why I'm hesitant to say anything definitive about it.

ShadowRemains
November 5th 2011



13556 Comments

Album Rating: 4

the second half of A Thimble's Worth is awesome



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