- Fleshcrawl
Infobox musical artist
Name = Fleshcrawl
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin =Germany
Genre =Death metal Melodic death metal
Years_active = 1987 – present
Label =Metal Blade Records
Associated_acts =
URL = [http://www.fleshcrawl.net www.fleshcrawl.net]
Current_members = Sven Gross Mike Hanus Oliver Grbavac Nico Scheffler Bastian Herzog
Past_members = Wendel Dopfer Alfred Handke Gero Schmidt Alex Pretzer Markus Amann Stephan Hanus Tobias SchickFleshcrawl is a
death metal band formed in 1987 inIllertissen ,Bavaria ,Germany . Their most recent album, "Structures Of Death", was released in 2007, underMetal Blade Records .cite web | url = http://www.fleshcrawl.net/fc_content.php?option=bio_en | title = Biography | work = Fleshcrawl | accessdate = 2007-03-26 ] [cite web | url = http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=847 | title = Fleshcrawl | work =Encyclopaedia Metallum | accessdate = 2007-03-26 ]Biography
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 band, Suffocation, 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 , and on June 1992, they recorded their debutstudio album , "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", atDan Swanö '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 ", which was released in 1997 with Sven Gross replacing Alex Pretzer as the lead vocalist. Both albums were recorded at Abyss Studios byPeter Tägtgren of Hypocrisy. [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 withKataklysm and Vader, as well as participating in festivals withCannibal Corpse andDark Funeral . After returning from their tour, Fleshcrawl signed a recording contract withMetal Blade Records , and on January 2000, they released their fifth studio album, "As Blood Rains from the Sky, We Walk the Path of Endless Fire ", which was produced atStudio Fredman inGothenburg ,Sweden .On September 2001, Fleshcrawl began recording their sixth studio album, "
Soulskinner " at Studio Underground inVästeras , Sweden. In 2002, Stefan Hanus was replaced by Oliver Grbavac and the band played atWacken Open Air . On November 2002, Fleshcrawl played their first tour inJapan in support of Hypocrisy. [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 ", which was musically similar to "Soulskinner". "Made Of Flesh" was released onFebruary 23 ,2004 inEurope and Japan and onMarch 9 , 2004 in the United States, [http://www.fleshcrawl.net] and following its release the band played a few shows, including theSummer Breeze Open Air 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=71018] [http://www.fleshcrawl.de] Following the album's release, Fleshcrawl played a few shows around central Europe with bands such asCarnal Forge , Dismember, Enslaved, 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/Melodic
Death metal bands as Grave and Dismember. 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. [http://www.inmusicwetrust.com/articles/66k05.html] However, the band's drumwork since the mid-to-late 1990s, highly comprised of high-speed, rolling double-bass drums andblast beats is comparable to that of many brutal death metal bands, such as Nile andSkinless , 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 intros and interludes.Fleshcrawl's lyrical themes are generally characteristic of typical death metal, and encompass such concepts as
insanity , horror, doomsday,war ,murder ,misanthropy ,genocide , gore,slavery , andsacrifice , among other lyrical concepts familiar to death metal. [http://www.darklyrics.com/f/fleshcrawl.html] [http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=847]Members
Current members
* Sven Gross –
vocals (1997–present)
* Mike Hanus –guitar ,vocals (1992–present)
* Oliver Grbavac –guitar (2002–present)
* Nico Scheffler –bass guitar (2007–present)
* Bastian Herzog – drums,vocals (1987–present)Former members
Vocals
* Wendelin Dopfer (1989-1990)
* Alex Pretzer (1990–1996)Guitar
* Alfred Handke (1988–1992)
* Gero Schmidt (1991–1992)
* Stephan Hanus (1987–2002)Bass
* Markus Amann (1991–1994)
* Tobias Schick (1998–2004)Discography
tudio Albums
References
* [http://www.anus.com/metal/fleshcrawl.html American Nihilist Underground Society]
* [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=71018 Blabbermouth News Article, 22.Apr.2007]
* [http://www.metalblade.de/index.php?mod=artists&page=news&id=36&set_lang=english Metal Blade Records News Article, 12.Mar.2007]External links
* [http://www.fleshcrawl.net Official website]
*myspace|bloodyflesh
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.