It’s been two years since the last effort by California’s Deeds Of Flesh, and as usual, there have been a few line-up changes. Jimmy T left the group for the second time in late 2000 and was replaced by ex-Impaled founder Jared Deaver who parted ways with the group in mid-2001 and currently plays in another Unique Leader signed-act, Severed Savior. Original drummer Joey Heaslet also left the group for the second time and was replaced by another Vile member, Mike Hamilton.

The group didn’t have time to recruit new members prior to the recording of their full length so they entered the studio as a trio; Mike on drums, Jacoby on bass and vocals and Erik handling guitar and vocal duties. Amazingly enough, as a trio they are far more powerful than they were as a quartet, with Mark Of The Legion turning out to be the band’s most powerful material since their crushing Gradually Melted demo.

Mike Hamilton’s drumming is on par with all prior Deeds Of Flesh drummers, with blazing blasts galore. At these speeds and with this intensity, it’s no wonder they go through as many drummers as they do. The music itself can only be described as awe-inspiring. Deeds Of Flesh continue to play some of the most technical death metal, there seems to be a different riff and beat on every bar. It’s not over-the-top technical like Inbreeding The Anthropophagi, it’s more in the vein of their last full-length, Path Of The Weakening. The thing I’ve always enjoyed about Deeds Of Flesh is that, unlike other death metal acts, they don’t revolve their songs around a single riff and try to build around it; they combine a thousand different riffs, beats and patterns into every song. The most impressive thing to me is the harmonized guitar work, all done by Erik Lindmark. The band intended to tour with two guitarists, so Erik plays a dual role on the recording. The dual vocal assault of Erik and Jacoby is still probably the best in all of metal today, from the piercing screeches to the sickening gurgles; every grunt, growl and shriek is perfectly placed.

There are no bad songs on this album, with the title track being the most impressive and enjoyable, I cannot even count the number of times I’ve replayed the song both on CD and in my head, with several riffs reminding me somewhat of something Immolation would do. Forget the silly brutal death metal bands who play three riffs in monotonous repetition to get people ‘moshing’, the sheer insanity of Deeds Of Flesh’s music get people butchering one another even when they’re nowhere near a stage. If you thought Hate Eternal or Decapitated were technical, you obviously haven’t heard this disc yet. This is what death metal is all about. Buy this fucking album, it is most definitely among my top 10 for 2001!

Written By: Teufel