{"id":21434,"date":"2014-08-29T00:00:21","date_gmt":"2014-08-29T00:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=21434"},"modified":"2014-09-03T21:54:42","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T21:54:42","slug":"album-review-phobiatic-fragments-of-flagrancy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/album-review-phobiatic-fragments-of-flagrancy\/","title":{"rendered":"PHOBIATIC – Fragments Of Flagrancy (2014) | Album \/ EP Reviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

PHOBIATIC
Fragments Of Flagrancy<\/strong><\/span>
\n\"\"
\nUnundeux (2014)<\/span>
Rating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Contemporary technical death metal just doesn\u2019t seem to be my bag of late. The latest bunch of metallers with a fetish for the complex side of extreme metal is Germany\u2019s Phobiatic with their sophomore album Fragments Of Flagrancy<\/em>. I wasn\u2019t that impressed by 2012 debut An Act Of Atrocity<\/em> either, in spite of its intricate meanderings and jarring techniques. <\/p>\n

This newbie follows on from where the debut left off in that it\u2019s a rather jarring experience built upon fast-paced segments which are interrupted by squirming, spasmodic solos and thrashy intervals of jazzy intervention.<\/p>\n

Sure, it\u2019s all very clever and fronted by the chesty barks of one Sebastian Meisen who is of the Glen Benton (Deicide) ilk when it comes to his frothing, but as each track of the ten writhes and fidgets, I\u2019m not alienated but instead rather exhausted by the intricate prowess of the quartet. I\u2019ve probably played songs such as \u2018Abnormal Dilation\u2019 30 or so times, and still it has the same effect; little! <\/p>\n

At least with \u2018Downward Spiral\u2019 there is that unrelenting pace, while at the other end of the spectrum the combo slows things down for the meaty \u2018House In Cleveland\u2019, which at first begins like an old-fashioned thrash speed-fest before lowering itself into a lumbering chug. The constant interruptions from the squiggling solos actually makes it rather predictable fair, however. At least the five minute \u2018House In Cleveland\u2019 is long enough to savour, as most of the other tracks are over before three minutes.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t deny the eye for technicality with contemporary death metal bands. If you hear a track such as \u2018A Genius Of Manipulation\u2019 or \u2018Metropolis (Of The Dead)\u2019 where guitarist Robert Nowack comes to the fore, then I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll find something to savour within the complex framework this band has constructed in order to bedazzle, and yet when kept a little simpler, as with the aforementioned \u2018House In Cleveland\u2019, the band seems to become a formidable and more imposing force.<\/p>\n

In fact, the subtlety displayed complements Meisen\u2019s in a more beneficial manner, otherwise his vocal growl seems to play second string to those fidgety seizures. As a more solid and slightly more compromising combo, Phobiatic has a hint of Suffocation about its barrage, and when the mood leans towards a thrashier aspect I\u2019m reminded of brutal Brazilian outfit Krisiun. For me the highs are all too infrequent though, even if as separate entities the members shine \u2013 especially bassist Michael Stifft, who may have spent too much time listening to Cannibal Corpse! The other aspect which I\u2019m not entirely sure about is the higher vocal expressions of Meisen who is able to slot in amongst the jarring passages, but I\u2019m just not a fan of a double attack within this style. <\/p>\n

So, in a sense this record is one that is a tad fragmented; in one instant offering some raging old school-styled death metal, the next veering off into a complex yet contemporary territory that doesn\u2019t always sit comfortably. I\u2019m sure a majority of death metal fanatics will submit to this punishment, nevertheless.<\/p>\n

Neil Arnold<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PHOBIATICFragments Of Flagrancy Unundeux (2014)Rating: 6\/10 Contemporary technical death metal just doesn\u2019t seem to be my bag of late. The latest bunch of metallers with a fetish for the complex side of extreme metal is Germany\u2019s Phobiatic with their sophomore album Fragments Of Flagrancy. I wasn\u2019t that impressed by 2012 debut An Act Of Atrocity […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,1403],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-album-ep-reviews","category-phobiatic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21434"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21437,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21434\/revisions\/21437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}