REVIEWS - "A Beautiful Sickness" CD (page 11)

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LivingForMetal - (9 out of 10) by Steve Saks. February 2006

Hailing from Virginia by way of France, I present to you : Project: Failing Flesh. The Band consists of Kevin 131 : Instruments, Tim Gutierrez : Instruments ,and ex- Voi Vod, Eric Forrest : Vocals. Their debut album A Beautiful Sickness released last year was engineered/recorded by Kevin 131, and features Riff Master General Tim Gutierrez laying down riff after riff building a wall of sound that is Thick and Heavy. Eric Forrest has never sounded better. His vocals still have that unique Voi Vod sound but are heavier this time around with some experimental moments thrown in to keep you wondering...What comes next?

PFF A Beautiful Sickness contains 10 tracks, the last one being an excellent cover of Venom’s Warhead. The production is top notch, everything sounds so crisp and heavy. A killer drum sound mixed with the tightness of Heavy/Thick guitars comes off with Machine Gun precision. This one bangs away with experimental Viola’s and Keyboards added at the perfect time to create a truly original sound...More bands should take note...This is how a debut album should sound: Bold, Unique and full of Artistic beauty while still being able to Crush!

The title track A Beautiful Sickness is a real Banger and kicks things off nicely. This up tempo thrasher changes speeds and even adds a nice touch of keyboards half way through, before it kicks into a blast beat...only to takes things down a notch when you least expect it. This kind of stuff is "Thinking" man’s Metal, and yet catchy as hell.

Planet Hell starts off with some thick guitars yet again and lush keyboards added for atmospheric effect before all "Hell" (pun intended) breaks loose. Did I mention how much I love the guitar sound on this album? Or the way the drums snap and bang away? Did I?

The next one up is the plotting 9mm Movie. This one just builds and builds. The sounds of the Viola remind me of the great Celtic Frost and sound perfect in this song, it is so nice to hear different instruments in a song other than the typical guitar and drums.

Scene Of The Crime that starts off with a nice little intro before the amps are turned up, and the crunching guitars take over. I love the lyrics to this one...the memorable chorus "Live..at the scene of the crime"  A bold statement exposing all of our morbid curiosities , and the media’s addiction as well as our own to stop and stare at that "car wreck"..we all have done it. It’s songs like this that separate good bands from Great bands, PFF fall into the latter category.

The chugging of guitars start off Entrance Wounds. An up tempo song with some odd sounding keyboards thrown in to spice things up a bit, Again added for perfect effect. Not long after the 2 minute mark, the band shifts into high gear taking this one up a notch. PFF are very competent musicians and each song sounds natural, not forced.

Long Silent Voices starts off an excellent thrasher. Eric Forrest’s vocals are killer on this one. This one almost comes to a stop with just Tim Gutierrez riding his guitar riff, until again the song takes it up another level, finally closing with an atmospheric, orchestra type of ending. A soundtrack for the Apocalypse if you will.

Dementia Pugilistica in contrast to the ending on previous track Long Silent Voices, starts off an up tempo thrasher. A welcomed change of pace that always has you asking yourself...What is coming next?

The next track Taste Of The Lie is full of different sounds. This is a mid temp one, that really makes you listen to every effect they throw in. This song sounded great on my CD Walkman. The Industrial influence is not over used, just added for effect... I love how the volume increases on the end of this song, finally to total distortion.

Highwire Act is another mid tempo thrasher, with some cool guitar riffs once again. This one slows just a bit again before breaking into another blast beat, then tapering off with the warm sounds of the amplifier’s sustain.

Warhead closes A Beautiful Sickness in great style, The voice dub taken from The Exorcist is fantastic " The power of Christ, compel’s you! " Terrific stuff here. I remember when my brother took me to see The Exorcist when I was younger... It scared the hell out of me..great memories, indeed. A perfect way to close the album.

A Beautiful Sickness has to be one of the best produced debut’s I’ve heard in quite some time, Hats off to Kevin 131 and Tim Gutierrez for a job well done. With the addition of Eric Forrest the future looks very bright for PFF.

I wait patiently for their new CD The Conjoined, Having already heard the internet only cover track The Usurper from Celtic Frost, recorded during The Conjoined sessions. PFF is set to conquer all in 2006. Just thinking aloud... I would love to see PFF open for Celtic Frost on their reunion tour this summer. That would be a killer show, things dreams are made of. \m/

Mondo Gordo - by Tommy Hash. May 2005

These guys are literally the new leaders of the technical death metal movement. They keep their music down-to-earth, yet the utmost discreet chops are present within the song structure, musicianship and arrangements, letting the riffs and hooks design the sound that is everything but failing.

With P:FF consisting of Eric Forrest (from E-Force/Voivod), Tim Gutierrez (guitar), and the multi-instrumentalist/producer known as Kevin 131, A Beautiful Sickness makes for one brutal, gut wrenching and tight record.

The trio puts all the right elements in place at the appropriate times, tracks such as "Planet Dead" and "Long Silent Voices" featuring thrashing axework with subdued darkness that brings along pipe organs, pianos and/or string arrangements to the forefront. "9mm Movie" blends tragically-minded strings with dark grinding guitars, sort of setting a Gothic atmosphere; even electronic elements are found on the record with "Taste Of The Lie." There are, of course, tracks that feature more straightforward blistering heaviness such as "Highwire Act" and the title cut rounding out the record's diversity.

Project: Failing Flesh stands out on its own in the world of extreme metal. There are hints of In Flames, Dark Tranquility and Grave Digger here, yet P:FF has its own developed sound, which is a major feat for this genre. In the end, no stone was left unturned when it came to the production aspects -- there was a lot of work put into A Beautiful Sickness, and it definitely shows, being one of the most amazing death metal records that have hit the racks lately.

Jackal Blaster - by Jeramy Ponder. May 2005

Featuring the return of former Voivod vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest in a new metal band, Project: Failing Flesh is postmodern death thrash with an original sound, innovative ideas, and a bizzarely fresh presentation in creativity. Within the death metal blueprint A Beautiful Sickness is lined with keys, strings, vocal effects, electronics, and violas to create a musical dementia in experimental cacophony. Similarities to Forrest's work with Voivod is obvious and direct, which is a good thing. I always found Forrest's contribution to the four Voivod albums fascinating and criminally underrated. Maybe now he will be able to get the respect he deserves because this is an excellent, original death metal album that needs to be heard.  Featuring a straightforward, headbanging version of the awesome Venom classic "Warhead" to close the record, A Beautiful Sickness is one of the best releases I have heard in awhile. Highly recommended!

Harm Magazine - by Tgod. April 2005

Project: Failing Flesh is an awesome new three piece band out of Virginia. "A Beautiful Sickness" is their impressive debut released in North America through Candlelight Records. It opens with the title track and jumps out at you in Fear Factory fashion and the second track "Planet Dead" will assure you that you won't be popping this out of the cd player any time soon.

Project: Failing Flesh was created by instrumentalist/producer Kevin 131 and guitarist Tim Gutierrez, and with the addition of vocalist/bassist Eric Forrest (Voivod, E-Force) has really become a force to reckoned with. Their sound is distinct, as can be heard on the third track "9mm Movie", with a slow pounding heavy guitar beat along with an assortment of keyboards and strings that are put together brilliantly with Eric's vocals. "Scene of the Crime" follows, again in a Fear Factory heavy style, with crushing guitar chops and soothing synthesizers. The heavy pounding continues through "Entrance Wound" and "Long Silent Voices." The speed picks up for "Dementia Pugilistica," taking on a more Ministry type sound, showing that the band can stay tight while revving up and "Taste of the Lie" keeps it hard and heavy. "Highwire Act" is my favorite track, starting out with some crushing drums and trading guitar chops for some good rhythm, then switching back. They end this baby, fittingly, with a cover of Venom's classic "Warhead." Awesome!!

These guys aren't resting on their laurels either, as they are already back in Assembly Line Laboratories, working on their next battery of sound tests, called "The Conjoined." I'll certainly be looking forward to that.

Harm Magazine - (8.8 out of 10) by Shadow. November 2004

This Project: Failing Flesh act is part of a new generation in the extreme spectra of metal music. Co founders Tim Gutierrez and Kevin 131 found in ex Voivod, current E-Force vocalist the pipes they needed to complete their experiment. The result is nothing but an impressive work of intense and high quality modern form of x-treme metal bound to satisfy the more demanding type of music maniac like myself! “A Beautiful Sickness” bears well its name because this stuff is crazy but the complexity and ingenuity involved makes it, in most instances, simply amazing. True though the production work is way up there helping the sound to be right in your ear, the way it should be. From the beginning you can feel the punch of this music and you know this is not a cheap garage production! Even if I’m aware off the x-treme nature of this opus, I would have hoped for a less harsh/screamed vocals from Eric but maybe it’s just me…Only two guys doing all the music is outstanding if you consider the high quality and musicianship that is involved for each and every instrument being played. What you get is plenty of crazy / punching drum parts, great crushing riffs, crazy (again) keyboards and so on. On my favorite track called “9mm Movie”, the pace is moderate, the riffs great as usual and an out of this world solo is performed on a cello…Later on another crazy (again!) number “Taste of the Lie” things turn a bit techno / industrial with some of the weirdest sounds that could possibly come out of a keyboard. Then a couple other tracks are more “in your face” namely “Entrance Wound” and “Dementia Pugilistica”. The same goes for “Highwire Act” although this one comes with some guitar work “a la Led Zeppelin” which is fine by me.

“A Beautiful Sickness” is worth getting if you are looking for an intelligent, weird extreme metal album.

Mindspell - by Jeb Toocrass. April 2005

I am definitely a fan of Eric Forrest’s work with Voivod so I was curious to hear what he had come up with in Project: Failing Flesh. Not surprisingly “A Beautiful Sickness” is a solid effort. Imagine if you can (or dare) the staccato (and blistering) metal of bands like Pantera or Meshuggah constructed over a framework of soaring and haunting goth all filtered through a death metal band. Now imagine, and this is harder, that the above description actually works. It doesn’t come across as yet another foray into dark metal and although it often feels doom laden, it doesn’t really sound like doom either. Rather, this comes across as a band that means business (and their business is to crush your cranium). As I understand it, this is a re-release of a self financed release and if so, I’m even more impressed as the sound is very grandiose and rather looming. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised.

The Great Nothing - by Mark Fisher. May 2005

Project: Failing Flesh is a tremendously interesting band. Just the members themselves, Tim Gutierrez, Kevin 131 , and Eric Forrest (Voivod) are enough to make you interested in what they could produce and rightfully so. What they have created undoubtedly ups the bar for music fans, even those outside of the metal realm.

“A Beautiful Sickness” is a combination of the electronic and the organic. While its’ tempting to immediately bring up a band like Meshuggah when mentioning that, it doesn’t really apply here. PFF have created a place all their own and they really don’t sound like anyone else.  

The strings and synth combination that begins “Planet Dead” creates a pretty haunting sound and by the time the guitars roll in and it’s all out friggin’ war. And who better to lead the war than Eric Forrest? He sounds even more brutal than he did on his debut for Voivod. “Scene of the Crime” is another standout track on the album, just for its utter brutality. The cover of venom’s “Warhead” is an interesting choice in the context of the album but the band pulls it off really well. It definitely ends the album with a different dynamic. Lyrically the album is quite interesting as well. It’s sort of a cross between Ripley’s Believe it or Not! and CSI.

“A Beautiful Sickness” begins with innovation and forward movement and ends paying respect to those who paved the way. This is a great album form start to finish. Anyone looking for something fresh and new that doesn’t ever lose it’s edge, this is it.


Key Tracks: Planet Dead, Scene of the Crime

Deadtide - by S. Gregory. June 2005

The reasoning escapes me now, but I’d somehow gotten it into my head that I was going to hate this album, even though Eric Forrest is a vocalist I’ve always liked (Voivod and E-force). Maybe I thought it was going to be yet another nu-metal malignancy, more aural cancer; and while “A Beautiful Sickness” is more new school than old, it’s way better than the usual fare and there’s not a bit of rapping to be found… imagine my relief! In fact, this is a pretty raging piece of music that doesn’t always stick to the script

So this is mostly Tim Gutierrez and producer/instrumentalist Kevin 131 unleashing a bunch of strong songs all of which feature some unusual instrument choices (organ, violin, piano… in fact, it may all be keyboards, I’m not sure) somewhere along the way, but all given sharp and pointy form courtesy of Forrest’s vocals which sound as good here as on any of his Voivod work. Gutierrez is pretty damn proficient at whatever metal sound he wants to deliver on guitar and while I’m not sure who plays drums, they’re tight and fit this kind of heavy metal quite well. Not sure who plays bass on this, either, but I'm guessing from photos on the website that it's Tim.

There’s all kinds of different feels to these songs, and that’s something noteworthy as it helps each song to have it’s own identity. That’s not your speakers blowing up at the end of “Taste of the Lie”, for instance! And I can’t remember the last time someone pulled off a breakdown in a metal song on a piano (“Long Silent Voices”). The title track has a cool organ part; “Planet Dead” sports a violin and keyboards; “9mm Movie” has a industrialized slow grind feel to it with some wicked cool Forrest vocal; “Scene of the Crime” is hard driving metal infused with electronic swells and murmurs; “Entrance Wound” is heavy and speedy and sprinkled with piano; “Dementia Pugilistica” is just raging! I don’t know if they could have gotten a better fit for the vocals; Forrest’s voice seems tailor made for the music. Top it all off with a cool cover of Venom’s classic “Warhead” and you’ve got a album that is mostly stronger than I ever expected it to be.

“A Beautiful Sickness” is damn good album. I like the instrument choices, and I love the forthright nature of the music. Sure, you can hear Tim’s influences, but that’s a good thing when done honestly as this is. And there’s plenty of variety, so no matter where you fall in the metal spectrum, you’ll find something to like on here. I can dig it!

Standout Tracks - A Beautiful Sickness, 9mm Movie, Long Silent Voices, Dementia Pugilistica

Musixline - November 2004

Bien qu'un fumiste ait chroniqué leur dernier album du fait de la présence d'un VIP dans leur line-up, je me doute que Voivod ne dise pas grand chose à pas mal de monde ici (si vous êtes déjà au parfum, sautez au paragraphe suivant). Or donc, ce groupe québecois, dont le premier album a été réédité sous la forme d'un très beau package triple CD à l'occasion des vingt ans de sa sortie, est donc un groupe aussi reconnu que méconnu.

Mais j'y reviendrai un autre jour. Or donc, durant la 2nde moitié des 90s, devant faire face à la défection de leur chanteur et de leur bassiste, les deux membres survivants firent appel à un anglophone, du nom d'Eric Forrest, pour pallier à ces deux absences. C'est avec ce bonhomme que le groupe sortira deux albums de cyber-metal étouffant (suivi d'un live) avant que le bonhomme ne soit victime d'un accident de la route en tournée, suivie d'un rééducation qui a peut-être (mais je m'avance) poussé les membres originels à refaire copain-copain avec leur premier chanteur tout en intégrant Jason Newsted, ami de longue date nouvellement disponible quite à son départ de Metallica. Une fois remis, Eric Forrest montera quand à lui E-Force (son surnom) en 2001 et enregistrera un album en 2003 avant de déménager à Toulouse, où il s'acquinera avec des musiciens bien de chez nous pour faire perdurer son projet.

Tout ça pour dire que Project : Failing Flesh n'est pas un groupe d'Eric Forrest, mais le projet de deux Américains, qui se retrouvèrent fort dépourvus lorsqu'ils eurent fini d'enregistrer leur premier album. Ayant tenté sans succès de travailler avec qq chanteurs locaux, le groupe finit par chercher qui parmi les pointures pourrait assurer ce rôle. Leur dévolu tomba donc sur le Toulousain de fraîche date, qui ne se fît pas prié.

Musicalement, on a affaire à du thrash, moderne à souhait, habillé de mélodies et de sonorités sureprenantes, pour ne pas dire dérangeantes à première écoute. Il n'est en effet pas banal d'entendre sur un titre relativement plombé quelques parrties de piano ou de violons, choquantes au départ, avant de finalement donner une certaine originalité au tout. Par dessus, ou plutôt nageant dans, cette palette d'instruments variés, la voix d'Eric Forrest est toujours la même : éraillée, rauque, rappelant sa performance sur les adeux albums les plus extrèmes de Voivod. Bref, du thrash moderne, riche, ambitieux, mélodique et varié tout en restant efficace. Vivement recommandé.

Truemetal.it - (80 out of 100). July 2005

Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles - (7.5 out of 10) by David Perri. issue #89. July 2005

Ex-Voivodian Eric Forrest is back in the fray, this time fronting Project: Failing Flesh as opposed to the quite bad-ass E-Force band he released a record with back in 2003. In any case, no matter what the moniker, Forrest knows how to write a thrash tune – despite the absence of death metal elements, A Beautiful Sickness is an extreme record that’s pretty damn good, playing it old school with a touch of the modern (yet going nowhere near Shadows Fall nor even The Haunted). Project: Failing Flesh also stays away from the spacey weirdisms that made Voivod so unmarketable, this new band reflecting on the metal fan’s universal want, namely speed, straight-up groove, and an aggressive (testosterone-filled?) good time. The plot does thicken though, as early 90’s, Fear Factory production is employed, unwittingly making A Beautiful Sickness an exercise in juxtaposition ‘cos the clinical/digital mix and warm/analog riffs interplay constantly. Unfortunate bouts of Cradle-esque keys also become apparent here and there, but once that gothy annoyance is tuned out in favour of the craziest riffs later-day Testament never wrote, you know you’re back home sweet home.

In Music We Trust - by Jeb Branin. issue #71. August 2005

I am definitely a fan of Eric Forrest's work with Voivod so I was curious to hear what he had come up with in Project: Failing Flesh. Not surprisingly A Beautiful Sickness is a solid effort. Imagine if you can (or dare) the staccato (and blistering) metal of bands like Pantera or Meshuggah constructed over a framework of soaring and haunting goth all filtered through a death metal band. Now imagine, and this is harder, that the above description actually works. It doesn't come across as yet another foray into dark metal and although it often feels doom laden, it doesn't really sound like doom either. Rather, this comes across as a band that means business (and their business is to crush your cranium). As I understand it, this is a re-release of a self-financed release and if so, I'm even more impressed as the sound is very grandiose and rather looming. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised.

Metal Maniacs - by Keith Bergman. vol. 22, issue #9. November 2005

Within the first three minutes of the opening title track, Project: Failing Flesh has veered from deceptively simple thrash to a strange keyboard-laced part with robotic vocals, to full-on blast beat fury. It's a teaser of things to come from this interesting band, chiefly known as the outlet of Eric Forrest, the vocalist/bassist who fronted Voivod for several albums in the mid-1990s.

There's not really any one place on A Beautiful SIckness that could be pinpointed as the band's typical sound. "9mm Movie" marries a malevolent, stomping chunk riff to swelling, psychotic strings. "Taste of the Lie" melds industrial and metal in a way that seems largely forgotten lately, an ugly, bruising sound pioneered by Canadian cyborgs like Inner Thought and Obliveon in the last decade. "A Beautiful Sickness" and "Planet Dead" employ a lot of head-down, wide open thrash, which later reoccurs in "Dementia Pugilistica" at the exact moment when you start wishing for the band to pick up the pace a little.

Those who liked Forrest's overdriven, nihilistic work in Voivod will like Project: Failing Flesh as well (check out "Entrance Wound" for the closest approximation here). This band maintains that throat-scraping heaviness (Forrest sounding ever more like Sacrifice frontman Rob Urbinati) and strikes a good balance between electronic experimentation and muscular thrash. (And it ends with a crushing cover of Venom's "Warhead.")

Femforgacs - (10 out of 10) by Pataki Zoltan. November 2008

+ in both English and Hungarian (below).

You might have read an interview earlier with the American Project: Failing Flesh. At that time, Tim Gutierrez, one of the key figures of the band answered my questions, so this time I would not include the necessary biographies and discographies this time. I believe my interrogation was pretty thorough so let’s see what the guys have put together five years ago…

The music of Project: Failing Flesh can best be described as post-trash metal due to its experimental nature. One can hear unique ideas that point way beyond the usual threshing and flopping of trash metal. The over 40 minutes long record was released by Karmageddon Media, with two different covers: the one that I got from Tim does not even slightly resemble the one that can be found on the internet. Basically we have a Voivod-like concept with some industrial effects here and there, as well as a huge dose of sci-fi and social criticism, and of course heavier and more melodic aspects. Each and every song contains some kind of odd, weird idea; yet they together give the big picture. The best example is 9mm Movie, in which the virtuoso melodies of the bass even excels that of Apocalyptica’s. In addition to all the classical elements, we can mention Taste of the Lie which follows the tradition of noise and industrial genres. They even added a Venom cover (Warhead) which is at least as dirty and thick as the late Prong… A Beautiful Sickness (as the title suggests) is beautiful and twisted at the same time. I could go on and on about it since the guys created one extraordinary record.

The sound is heavy and perfect (sometimes even turns into death metal) the instruments and the various moods express pain and terror with intense switches. We’ve got heavy riffs, beautiful solos at some places underlined by awesome keyboard. If you were a fan of Eric Forrest’s voice and what he did in Voivod, you might already know, or if not, you should definitely get acquainted with Project: Failing Flesh. In fact, everyone who is interested in a band that is not forced behind usual concepts and the whole hybrid-like metal scene, I can only recommend this band to you! It’s unbelievably intense, experimental and catchy, that deserves to have a place in the collection of every mature music-fan!

Az amerikai Project: Failing Flesh-sel már olvashattatok interjút, amelyben kérdéseimre Tim Gutierrez a csapat egyik kulcsfigurája válaszolt, így hát az alapvető biográfiai és discográfiai dolgoktól eltekintenék – hiszen azt hiszem alaposan faggatóztam, nézzük tehát a horda első lemezén mit hozott össze öt éve…

A Project: Failing Flesh zenéje a post-thrash metal kategóriába sorolható be leginkább a kísérletező kedvük miatt, hiszen rengeteg olyan zenei megoldást hallhatunk amely túl mutat a thrash metal megszokott csapásain és új mezsgyéket húznak meg… A Karmageddon Media jelentette meg a több mint 40 perces anyagot két eltérő borítóval is (amit én kaptam Tim-től és amelyik fedőt a világhálón lelhető fel, véletlenül se hasonlítanak egymáshoz). Alapvetően a Voivod féle koncepció érvényesül, akadnak ipari hatások, ahogy nagy adag sci-fi és társadalom kritikai halmaz burjánzások is, s persze húzósabb és dallamosabb dolgok is egyaránt. Minden dal tartalmaz valami olyan megoldást, ami nem oda illő, mégis egész képet alakítanak ki, erre a legjobb példa talán a 9mm Movie, amiben a nagybőgő virtuóz dallamai az Apocalyptica-t is maga mögé szorítja, de a rengeteg klasszikus zenei ötletfoszlány mellett kemény ipari és noise törések mentén haladó Taste of the Lie is megemlíthető, ahogy a korong végére belékeltek még egy Venom feldolgozást is (Warhead), amely legalább olyan mocskos és vastag, mint a késői Prong dolgok… A helyzet az A Beautiful Sickness-szel hogy címéhez méltóan egyszerre gyönyörű és beteges illetve rengeteget lehetne írni róla, hiszen nem egy mindennapi anyagot dobtak össze a srácok.

A hangzás súlyos és tökéletes (néhol szinte death metallá lesz a dolog), a hangszerek és hangulatok erős váltásokba determinálják a fájdalmat és az iszonyt - kapunk súlyos riffeket, szép szólókat és remek billentyű sémákra fekszik rá néhol az egész, illetve akik rajongtak Eric Forrest hangjáért és a Voivod-ban betöltött szerepéjért (azok tudják mire utaltam az imént), azok már rég ismerik, vagy esetleg ha nem ideje pótolni tudatlanságuk, illetve bárkinek ajánlott ismerkedni a Project: Failing Flesh nevével, aki vevő a nem megszokott koncepciók mögé befeszített thrash metalra, ismerve a ma már végképpen hibriddé lett fém zenei scenét… lesznek páran! Hihetetlenül intenzív, kísérleti és magával ragadó lemez, aminek méltó helye van minden érettebb zenehallgató gyűjteményében!

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