Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
The genre is not for everyone, but Death Metal exists because of a natural requirement to explain humanity’s darker elements in such a way that could be considered more theatrical than what the art of cinema for example could depict, even literature of such gruesome imagination would be relegated to a store cupboard out of the reach, and yet in the hands of masters what comes across in audio is sculptured visibility, it is the virtuosity of carving out a figure to which can leave the listener, the fan or the enquiring novice, gaping in wonder at the sheer strength of musicianship given a voice of anger and fierce outlook.
Italy’s KAIVS have stepped forward and taken on the supposed lords of the genre in the northern European colossuses to whom many display their affection and their rigorous venting adoration to, and in the humongous After The Flesh the sense of domination and fury rides high in the blood and gives the listener an enormous push of endorphin release which captivates and enthrals in the same way that arguably early devotees to the cause found when groups such as Amon Amarth, Opeth, and even Vomitory, all slayed the Nordic scene.
With riffs that don’t just crunch the bone but mercilessly and without shame devour them as if they were morsels of food, the sheer power in the sound is enough to praise the resurgence of the southern part of the continent’s thunderous love for imparting of a tale filled with relentless and uncompromising drive.
The fearsome foursome, Jacopo Simonelli, Leonardo Sastro, Tiziano Mortician, and Max Foam bring epics such as Beyond The Autopsy, For Satan Your Flesh For God Your Soul. Krushing All Alters, the excellent Sepulchrist, and Blasphemer After the Flesh to the fore and they are unashamedly ready to make merry and call first orders on the fan’s attention.
A seismic revelation, After The Flesh is ruthless in its determination to accede to the highest possible temple of praise, and it succeeds with honour; in a crowded genre KAIVS bring their own sense of destiny to the attention of the audience.
Ian D. Hall