Fleshcrawl
Encyclopedia
Fleshcrawl is a death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 band formed in 1987 in Illertissen
Illertissen
Illertissen is a town in the district of Neu-Ulm in Bavaria. It is situated approximately 20 km south from Ulm nearby the river Iller.-Coat of arms:...

, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. Their most recent album, Structures Of Death, was released in 2007, under Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...

.

1987-1997

Fleshcrawl was formed by Stefan Hanus and Bastian Herzog in 1987 under the name Morgöth.http://www.fleshcrawl.net In 1990, after original lead vocalist Wendelin Dopfer left the band, Alex Pretzer was signed on, the band changed their name to Suffocation, and released a demo tape called Festering Flesh. After the release of their demo tape, the band was forced to change their name because the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 band, Suffocation
Suffocation (band)
Suffocation is an American death metal band that was formed in 1989 in Long Island, New York. The band comprises vocalist Frank Mullen, guitarists Terrance Hobbs and Guy Marchais, drummer Mike Smith and bassist Derek Boyer. Suffocation rose to prominence of death metal and created a blueprint for...

, had released their first vinyl cut earlier. The band was officially renamed to Fleshcrawl and then released their first 7" EP Lost in a Grave in 1991 through Morbid Records.

In 1992, Fleshcrawl signed a recording contract with Black Mark Productions
Black Mark Productions
Black Mark Productions is an independent record label based in Sweden and an office in Germany that specializes in extreme metal releases, perhaps best known for its close connection to Quorthon, leader of the defining black metal band Bathory until his death in 2004...

, and on June 1992, they recorded their debut studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

, Descend Into The Absurd, at Montezuma Studios. Shortly after the release of Descend Into The Absurd, Mike Hanus, brother to founding member Stefan Hanus, replaced Gero Schmidt as one of the guitarists, and in 1993, they began recording their second studio album, Impurity, at Dan Swanö
Dan Swanö
Dan-Erland Swanö is a Swedish musician who is currently the vocalist, guitarist, ex-bassist and ex-drummer for the band Nightingale as well as the Owner of Unisound but he achieved fame as the vocalist and songwriter of progressive death metal band Edge of Sanity.As a multi-instrumentalist he is...

's Unisound Studio.

In 1995, Markus Amann left the band and Mike Hanus took over as the bassist for studio sessions. In December 1995, Fleshcrawl recorded their third studio album, Bloodsoul, which was released in 1996. Shortly after the release of Bloodsoul, Fleshcrawl began recording their fourth studio album, Bloodred Massacre
Bloodred Massacre
Bloodred Massacre is the fourth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is their first release to feature their present vocalist, Sven Gross....

, which was released in 1997 with Sven Gross replacing Alex Pretzer as the lead vocalist. Both albums were recorded at Abyss Studios by Peter Tägtgren
Peter Tägtgren
Alf Peter Tägtgren is a Swedish musician and producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of the death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band PAIN in which he is the only member....

 of Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...

.http://www.fleshcrawl.net

1998-present


In 1998, Tobias Schick took over as the new bassist, allowing Mike Hanus to return to playing guitar exclusively. After the release of Bloodred Massacre, Fleshcrawl left Black Mark Productions and joined a month long tour with Kataklysm
Kataklysm
Kataklysm is a Canadian death metal band. They call their musical style "northern hyperblast" after an advertisement in M.E.A.T. magazine describing another band, Fear Factory, as "hyperblast". The term refers to the extremely fast blast beats that Kataklysm's drummer, Max Duhamel, fuses into the...

 and Vader
Vader (band)
Vader is a Polish death metal band from Olsztyn, formed in 1983. According to Piotr Wiwczarek, the band's founding singer and guitar player, the band's name was inspired by Darth Vader from the Star Wars film series. Lyrical themes include stories by H. P. Lovecraft, WW2, horror and anti-christian...

, as well as participating in festivals with Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...

 and Dark Funeral
Dark Funeral
Dark Funeral is a black metal band from Stockholm, Sweden, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They are one of the bands to have emerged in Sweden during the Second wave of black metal....

. After returning from their tour, Fleshcrawl signed a recording contract with Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...

, and on January 2000, they released their fifth studio album, As Blood Rains from the Sky, We Walk the Path of Endless Fire
As Blood Rains from the Sky, We Walk the Path of Endless Fire
As Blood Rains from the Sky... We Walk the Path of Endless Fire is the fifth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.This album is highly typical of Fleshcrawl's mid-to-late career material, and resembles contemporary work by such melodic/Swedish death metal bands as Dismember,...

, which was produced at Studio Fredman
Studio Fredman
Studio Fredman is a recording studio in Göteborg, Sweden, owned and operated by producer Fredrik Nordström.It is popular among Swedish metal bands, with artists such as At the Gates, Deathstars, Nightrage, Dimmu Borgir, Arch Enemy, Soilwork, Dark Tranquillity, Amon Amarth, In Flames, Zonaria,...

 in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

.

On September 2001, Fleshcrawl began recording their sixth studio album, Soulskinner
Soulskinner
Soulskinner is the sixth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.-Track listing:# "Soulskinner"# "Dying Blood"# "Carved In Flesh"# "Breeding The Dead"# "The Forthcoming End"# "Deathvastation"# "Legions Of Hatred"# "Forced To Kill"...

at Studio Underground in Västeras
Västerås
Västerås is a city in central Sweden, located on the shore of Lake Mälaren in the province Västmanland, some 100 km west of Stockholm...

, Sweden. In 2002, Stefan Hanus was replaced by Oliver Grbavac and the band played at Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air
Wacken Open Air is a summer open air heavy metal music festival. It takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany...

. On November 2002, Fleshcrawl played their first tour in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 in support of Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy (band)
Hypocrisy is a melodic death metal band from Sweden. It was formed in 1990 in Ludvika, Sweden by Peter Tägtgren.Musically, the band started off with a traditional death metal sound on their first albums, and soon drifted to become a melodic death metal band. The lyrics in their early stages -...

.http://www.fleshcrawl.net

During 2003, the band played few live shows in order to focus on writing their seventh studio album. On November 2003, Fleshcrawl again entered Studio Underground in Sweden to record their seventh studio album, Made of Flesh
Made of Flesh
Made of Flesh is the seventh studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is considered the sequel to Soulskinner, and is the first of their albums to feature their current guitarist Oliver Grbavac, who joined the band to replace founding member Stefan Hanus.Being widely considered a...

, which was musically similar to Soulskinner. Made Of Flesh was released on February 23, 2004 in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Japan and on March 9, 2004 in the United States,http://www.fleshcrawl.net and following its release the band played a few shows, including the Summer Breeze Open Air
Summer Breeze Open Air
Summer Breeze Open Air is a heavy metal music festival in Germany. It takes place annually in Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria. It was first held in 1997. The festival had been held in Abtsgmünd until 2006 when it was moved to its new location of Dinkelsbühl. The festival draws around 40,000 attendees annually...

 heavy metal festival in Bavaria, Germany.

In 2005, Fleshcrawl released a compilation album, Crawling In Flesh - The Best of Fleshcrawl, which featured fifteen tracks from their first 4 full-length albums.http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7105891/a/Crawling+In+Flesh.htm

In early 2005, Nico Scheffler replaced Tobias Schick as the band's bassist and the band began to work on their eighth studio album, Structures Of Death.http://www.metalblade.de/index.php?mod=artists&page=news&id=36 It was released in Europe on 24 September 2007. http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=71018http://www.fleshcrawl.de Following the album's release, Fleshcrawl played a few shows around central Europe with bands such as Carnal Forge
Carnal Forge
Carnal Forge are a Swedish band, best classified as thrash metal with some melodic death metal influences. The songs tend to be very fast and violent. Their name originates from a song on Carcass's album Heartwork.- Biography :...

, Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...

, Enslaved
Enslaved (band)
Enslaved is a progressive black metal band formed in June 1991 in Sveio, Norway, and currently based out of Bergen, Norway.-History:Enslaved was formed in June 1991 by Ivar Bjørnson and Grutle Kjellson when they were 13 and 17 years old, respectively. The band name was inspired by an Immortal demo...

, and Jungle Rot, and also played several metal festivals including the Protzen and Queens of Metal Open Air festivals.http://www.fleshcrawl.de

Style

Fleshcrawl, although their overall style has evolved over the years, remains quite similar- and often compared to such Scandinavian
Scandinavian death metal
Swedish death metal is a death metal music scene developed in Sweden. Many Swedish death metal bands are associated with the melodic death metal movement, thus giving Swedish death metal a different sound from other variations of death metal. Unlike American death metal groups, the first Swedish...

/melodic
Melodic death metal
Melodic death metal is a heavy metal music style that combines elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal with elements of death metal. The style was developed during the early and mid-1990s, primarily in England and Scandinavia...

 death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....

 bands as Grave
Grave (band)
Grave is a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1986 by vocalist and guitarist Ola Lindgren, who is their only constant member. The band had particular success in the early 1990s, and their first four albums, Into the Grave, You'll Never See..., Soulless and Hating Life, cemented their...

 and Dismember
Dismember (band)
Dismember was a Swedish death metal band that formed in 1988. They are well known in the death metal underground. They split up in October 2011.-History:...

. Like these bands, Fleshcrawl creates a familiar, mid-range guitar tone with rapid tempos and short guitar solos consisting of fast, nimble alto-range progressions. However, the band's drumwork since the mid-to-late 1990s, composed mainly of high-speed, rolling double-bass drums and blast beats is comparable to that of many brutal death metal bands, such as Nile
Nile (band)
Nile is an American death metal band from Greenville, South Carolina, formed in 1993. Their music and lyrics are inspired by Ancient Egyptian/Near Eastern mysticism, history, religion, and art, as well as stories by H. P. Lovecraft.- History :...

 and Skinless
Skinless
Skinless is a death metal band that was formed in 1992 and disbanded in 2011.-History:Skinless was formed by Ryan Wade and Noah Carpenter in the town of South Glens Falls, New York...

, but at the same time, is down-tuned enough to not lose its kinship with the melodic death metal genre.http://www.metal.de/cdreviews.php4?was=review&id=1983&search_highlight=fleshcrawl

Occasionally, they incorporate organs and other instruments, such as trumpets and kettle drums into their music, particularly in their instrumental
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....

 intros and interludes.

Fleshcrawl's lyrical themes are generally characteristic of typical death metal, and encompass such concepts as insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...

, horror
Horror (emotion)
The distinction between horror and terror is a standard literary and psychological concept applied especially to Gothic literature and film. Terror is usually described as the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience...

, doomsday
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...

, war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...

, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

, misanthropy
Misanthropy
Misanthropy is generalized dislike, distrust, disgust, contempt or hatred of the human species or human nature. A misanthrope, or misanthropist is someone who holds such views or feelings...

, genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

, gore
Graphic violence
Graphic violence is the depiction of especially vivid, brutal and realistic acts of violence in visual media such as literature, film, television, and video games...

, slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

, and sacrifice
Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals or people to God or the gods as an act of propitiation or worship.While sacrifice often implies ritual killing, the term offering can be used for bloodless sacrifices of cereal food or artifacts...

, among other lyrical concepts familiar to death metal.

Current members

  • Sven Gross – vocals (1997–present)
  • Mike Hanus – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , vocals (1992–present)
  • Oliver Grbavac – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

     (2002–present)
  • Nico Scheffler – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

     (2007–present)
  • Bastian Herzog – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , vocals (1987–present)


Studio albums

Album information
Descend into the Absurd
Descend into the Absurd
Descend Into The Absurd is the first studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was the only Fleshcrawl album on which guitarist Giro Schmidt appeared....

  • Released: November 23, 1992 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Black Mark
Impurity
Impurity (Fleshcrawl album)
Impurity is the second studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was their first album to feature guitarist Mike Hanus, brother of founding member Stefan Hanus and it is the only Fleshcrawl album thus far that does not bear the "carved-in-flesh" Fleshcrawl logo.This album is...

  • Released: May 31, 1994 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Black Mark
  • Bloodsoul
    Bloodsoul
    Bloodsoul is the third studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It was the last Fleshcrawl album to feature vocalist Alex Pretzer, and the first on which guitarist and founding member Mike Hanus played both guitar and bass...

  • Released: June 4, 1996 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Black Mark
  • Bloodred Massacre
    Bloodred Massacre
    Bloodred Massacre is the fourth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is their first release to feature their present vocalist, Sven Gross....

  • Released: October 13, 1997 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Black Mark
  • As Blood Rains from the Sky...
    As Blood Rains from the Sky, We Walk the Path of Endless Fire
    As Blood Rains from the Sky... We Walk the Path of Endless Fire is the fifth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.This album is highly typical of Fleshcrawl's mid-to-late career material, and resembles contemporary work by such melodic/Swedish death metal bands as Dismember,...

  • Released: April 11, 2000 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Metal Blade
  • Soulskinner
    Soulskinner
    Soulskinner is the sixth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl.-Track listing:# "Soulskinner"# "Dying Blood"# "Carved In Flesh"# "Breeding The Dead"# "The Forthcoming End"# "Deathvastation"# "Legions Of Hatred"# "Forced To Kill"...

  • Released: January 15, 2002 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Metal Blade
  • Made of Flesh
    Made of Flesh
    Made of Flesh is the seventh studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl. It is considered the sequel to Soulskinner, and is the first of their albums to feature their current guitarist Oliver Grbavac, who joined the band to replace founding member Stefan Hanus.Being widely considered a...

  • Released: March 9, 2004 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Metal Blade
  • Structures of Death
    Structures of Death
    Structures Of Death is the eighth studio album by the German death metal band Fleshcrawl, which was released 21.September.2007 in Germany, Austria, Italy, and the Czech Republic, then released in the rest of Europe on 24.September.2007...

  • Released: September 21, 2007 (Germany
    Germany
    Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

    )
  • Label: Metal Blade


  • Demos

    Album information
    Lost In A Grave
    • Released: 1991 (Germany
      Germany
      Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

      )
    • Label: Morbid Records

    Compilations

    Album information
    Crawling In Flesh
    • Released: March 22, 2006 (Germany
      Germany
      Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

      )
    • Label: Black Mark


    External links

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