IItalian grandmasters of orchestral death metal FLESHGOD APOCALYPSE are finding spontaneity rewarding on new album, "Veleno". On "Veleno", they’ve matured, blended more efficiently their musical vision, and walked away with 11 songs that sound like a new band with an insatiable prey drive. “Veleno is the most spontaneous album we’ve ever done,” says Fleshgod Apocalypse’s multi-instrumentalist Francesco Paoli. “We’ve always been super-honest with our music, but being honest doesn’t mean you are completely spontaneous. For instance, we’ve never recorded a single note without being 100% sure it was the right one to our ears.”
Formed in 2007 in Perugia by Paoli, bassist/vocalist Paolo Rossi, guitarist/vocalist Cristiano Trionfera, and drummer Francesco Struglia, Fleshgod Apocalypse quickly set off a firestorm of interest after releasing their only demo, "Promo ‘07". After a short stint on Dutch indie Neurotic Records, the group signed a deal with Candlelight Records for Europe and Willowtip Records for North America. The result of the deal was debut album, "Oracles", in 2009. Based off the first track alone – “In Honour of Reason” – Fleshgod Apocalypse were hailed as Europe’s finest newcomers.
But it was follow-up album, "Agony" (2011), where the Italians became maestros of orchestral death metal. Through the use of woodwinds, brass, strings, and percussion, Fleshgod Apocalypse transformed their technical death metal, effectively widening the sonic palette. Albums like the mega-epic "Labyrinth" (2013) and the ultra-ornate "King" (2016) followed, ramping up the group’s penchant for Bach-, Paganini-, Mozart- and Beethoven-inspired overtures combined with savagely brutal death metal.
