Fleshgod Apocalypse – Opera

Written by on 07-09-2024 at 09:02.

In the five years that have passed since the release of Veleno, Fleshgod Apocalypse leader and motormouth Francesco Paoli has had quite a lot to deal with. In 2021, he had a severe climbing accident, followed by a long and painful recovery process involving surgeries and prolonged therapy, including relearning how to walk. Now, the man himself believes that the best stories are born from pain, so he didn’t have to look far for inspiration for the sixth album of his Italian symphonic death metal band. Opera is the album’s title. It’s well known that it literally means “works” (plural of work), and thus you can comfortably assume that the title refers to the segments of his recovery that are worked into the album.

At the same time, the title also carries that other meaning: that of the art form where classical music and theater are combined. In fact, the intro is already a piece of opera, powerfully sung by Veronica Bordacchini, who also graces the album cover as a warrior. But rest assured: the death metal side remains. You can hear it in the mechanically tight drums, the shredding guitars, and in Francesco Paoli’s thundering grunt. They all take a prominent place, along with a modern bouncing bass, in the occasionally devastatingly destructive Pendulum (listening tip for fans of Septicflesh).

Doesn’t it get a bit stuffed and full when you try bringing together two such urgent music genres in this way? Oh, definitely, especially with the full sounding mix that Jacob Hansen (Epica among others) has given the album! But due to the ingenuity with which the music is written, that’s actually never a problem.

In the interview I had with Florian Magnus Maier – classical composer and passionate metal musician – he said that you can immediately recognize a band when the symphonic part is written by someone who has studied classical music. Examples he mentioned were Dimmu Borgir, Septicflesh, and … Fleshgod Apocalypse! And Florian knows his stuff, because pianist/arranger Francesco Ferrini knows what he’s doing on Opera, never choosing the easiest path. Just listen to how the classical instruments stumble over each other in the forward-driving Morphine Waltz, which based on the title we expected to be much calmer. Apparently, Paoli seems to rage when high on morphine. But anyway, this is clearly not metal with some strings underneath, whether from a box or not. The classical music has its own place here and often goes its own (wild) way, after which the main theme takes things back on track and takes the listener along to the next sonic adventure.

Favorite song on the album is Bloodclock, in which the forceful attack of metal and the knowledge of classical music are also linked to wrenching emotions like manic rage and despair: “Drop by drop, all my blood, turns this granite to red, tick tock, like a clock till my veins are emptied (…) But I’m not dead yet!” while we already hear the pain-relieving angel choirs of death. Goose-bumps!

At War With Myself with its dragging horns underneath the guitars (or at least it sounds like horns) is pretty much as good. Here, it’s the classical elements and the question-and-answer interplay of soprano and growl (even when fighting yourself, there are two parties) that drag you into the story.

Let me also mention the lyrical guitar solos that you find throughout the album and that sometimes remind you of the string work of a band like Megadeth. No small praise, I know. For an example, listen to Matricide 8.21 and the unlimited declaration of love Till Death Us Do Part. By the way, the band does indulge in some (honey)sweetness in these songs. Sometimes perhaps a bit too much for my taste, but I am certain that there is a large (festival) audience for these two songs. Fortunately (for me), in Per Aspera Ad Astra, the music gets a lot harder and especially fiercer again: “I’m coming back from the dead, to fuck this world!“. Of course with such lyrics, a ‘little’ guitar underneath is allowed. Now that we’re at it, just one very small note. While Veronica reigns in the opera pieces, she sometimes impresses somewhat less when she uses her “normal” singing voice against the fully expanded instrumentation. Particularly in I Can Never Die, she hits the notes a bit on the edge for me, but that is, of course, a matter of personal taste.

“Art is pain, and so is life,” Robyn Schneider once wrote. Francesco Paoli seems to agree when he says: “Opera is a nightmare while you’re awake, but that’s how life sometimes is.” I don’t want to go as far as call the album a nightmare. On the contrary, Opera has the power to give a listener some strength and inspiration in difficult times. Impressive and at moments also touching!

Score:

85/100

Label:

Nuclear Blast Records, 2024

Tracklisting:

  1. Ode to Art (De’ Sepolcri)
  2. I Can Never Die
  3. Pendulum
  4. Bloodclock
  5. At War With My Soul
  6. Morphine Waltz
  7. Matricide 8. 21
  8. Per Aspera Ad Astra
  9. Till Death Do Us Part
  10. Opera

Line-up:

  • Francesco Paoli – Guitar, vocals
  • Francesco Ferrini – Piano, orchestration
  • Eugene Ryabchenko – Drums
  • Fabio Bartoletti – Guitar
  • Veronica Bordacchini – Vocals

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