PROJECT: FAILING FLESH - reviewsCONJ1

P:FF just released their new record and to me, this album is the best that Eric Forrest put out since his Voivod days. You still got some good metal with very brutal riffs and also the industrial elements are there too but it's really easy to say why The Conjoined is a better record....simply because the songs are better! More hooks, more catchy riffs that will stick in your head and the musical arrangements have been more than well done, the headbanging grooves are amazing and the electro samples fit perfectly! Regenerate is a very good example of all that! The guitars are up front and the riffs are effective and the overall sounds are quite unique. If you want to hear something fresh that sounds different then I think you've found the band to check out!

The highly anticipated sophomore effort from Project: Failing Flesh - The Conjoined is finally here. Project: Failing Flesh have upped the ante and even topped their excellent debut A Beautiful Sickness, which is no easy task to do...The Conjoined is easily one of the strongest releases in Metal this year.

Every song on The Conjoined crushes and is filled with some sick guitar riffing courtesy of Tim Gutierrez (who also co-produced the album with Kevin 131) and also contain the distinct vocals of Eric Forrest (ex-Voi Vod and current E-Force), who in my opinion has one of the most original voices in Metal today. Kevin 131 also adds other instruments and programming as well as engineering and mixing the album at his own Assembly Line Studios. Kevin 131 definitely has the pulse and sound of the Metal world today, the production and mix on The Conjoined is tighter and more crushing than that of major label bands I have heard...killer stuff!

Project: Failing Flesh are true fans of Metal and write and produce songs that they themselves would want to hear. The Conjoined not only shows growth within the band, but they have carved their own original sound and have taken things to a heavier more twisted level this time around. Too many bands sound similar to my taste these days...Project: Failing Flesh sound like themselves, they write catchy and crushing songs and for that it’s Horns way High!

Track by Track:

Storming out of the gates is the crushing opening track Final Act Of Treachery, a perfect album opener filled with double bass drumming, thick wall of sound guitars from Tim Gutierrez and killer vocals from Eric Forrest. The keyboards are added in for effect in just the right spots and add to the darkness of the song.

Through The Broken Lens keeps things heavy and dark with chugging guitars, but it definitely has a twisted sound to it. The tempo changes and haunting vocal melodies from Forrest really create a haunting and twisted sound. Forrest has a wide range of vocal styles and on this song, from guttural screams to melodic dark and softer passages which work perfectly here.

Next up is the uptempo Regenerate which contains one of the catchiest choruses I have heard in a Metal song this year “science cures nature’s mistake- transform or eradicate- neurocycles resonate-recycle to regenerate... generate” This is one catchy and heavy song that will stick in your head after one listen. Excellent vocals again from Forrest, and you can actually understand the lyrics too! No cookie monster vocals here my friends.. killer song!

The haunting title track The Conjoined is next up and features horns, trumpets as well as heavy guitars, bass and drums. The horns and trumpets are added in the middle section of the song and really give the song a twisted sound and work perfectly. The Conjoined has many meanings on different levels, from being stuck or conjoined in a relationship or situation where there is no way to set yourself free and the obvious more twisted idea of being a Siamese twin and being conjoined to another human, if you can imagine how horrific and twisted that would be...that’s how the song itself sounds...this song could be a mini soundtrack to a movie...a very disturbing and twisted movie.

Sick guitar riffs start off Motionless. An out right thrasher with crushing rhythms and guitars and the killer chorus “far too deep to form screams-far too deep to scream” I know I’ve already stated how much I like the vocals of Forrest, but he has truly outdone himself on this album. The song writing is top notch, I still can’t believe this is only the second album from P:FF, they sound like seasoned veterans.

Unsight Unseen is a short instrumental with piano, violin and a spoken passage, which would make an excellent introduction before they storm the stage live. “This is the ape and tiger in us, granted...but it is in us” this song need to be heard to be appreciated. Killer stuff here, my friends.

Eve Of Demise is a fast thrasher, yet very controlled and precise. Blast beat drums match the fast guitar riffs then things slow just a bit to create a powerful rhythm during the verses. Another catchy chorus “walk into the absence: eve of demise” A very heavy song with some slight keyboards added in near the latter part of the song to create a darker atmosphere.

Synesthesia has a very Sabbath/Down doom type sound with killer percussion effects and other random noises added in, which work great. You need to play these songs with headphones on for maximum benefit (I’ve had this cd on my Ipod for many months now)...there’s so much going on besides the typical guitar ,bass, drums and vocals...you have keyboards, inventive percussion, horns, violin and other effects added in perfectly, not overdone, every song is a true listening experience.

Next up is another thrasher called Second Impact Syndrome. If you like double bass drumming and thick chugging guitars as well as some speed breaks..this is your song. Excellent riffing by Gutierrez on this one...fast and on point.

The pace slows down for Surface Noise. At first a slow and prodding heavy number with horns that add to the darkness of the song then the tempo shifts to all out thrash , only to return to the heavier, crushing part when you least expect it...this one is a roller coaster of a song with many tempo changes and assorted twisted riffs thrown in to match wicked vocals of Forrest.

The Hand That You’ve Been Dealt closes The Conjoined in killer fashion. Just by the song title, you just know this song is gonna kill...and it does! At first it seems very catchy and almost ‘metal’ radio friendly, but then the pace becomes frantic with guitars riffs and drum beats that match in intensity. A song about the many aspects of the daily grind and negativity we deal with daily...do we need to deal with it? And put up with the hand we’ve been dealt? “Hand you’ve been dealt...throw it away” excellent album closer!

Project: Failing Flesh have really taken the bull by the horns with The Conjoined. From the songs, to the production, and even the killer artwork and lyrics..this is major league stuff here. P:FF have expanded and grown with The Conjoined, every song is winner...not one weak track and the whole album flows effortless and is very heavy with a killer production and mix.

It’s obvious Project: Failing Flesh really took their time and worked the songs to create not only catchy, memorable songs, but crushingly heavy songs as well. The Conjoined is easily one of my favorite Metal releases this year thus far...Excellent.

Do you hunger for the days when Voivod were firing on all cylinders and flailing away like a sci-fi action movie, harder than Arnie on a Terminator mission? I do, I miss the spark of albums like the mighty Negatron (still an all time favourite) but you can relive this passion again, you can put aside the woe of Voivod gone grunge as the answer to your pain is here in the form of Project Failing Flesh.

The main reason for these Voivod comparisons is due to the fact that the singer of this band is none other than Eric ‘E-Force’ Forrest and as far as I am concerned he has one of the most powerful RRROOOAAARRR’s (sorry just couldn’t resist that) in the business. Project FF proved that they had the thrash dynamics of Eric’s former band on their rather spiffing debut ‘A Beautiful Sickness.’ However things have been taken to another level with ‘The Conjoined’ as instrumentalists Tim Gutierrez and Kevin 131 have taken the experimentation here to the outer limits (yeah I know) and really made the musical dynamic stand out on album number 2.

That angry bellow ploughs in along with chunky guitars and booming drums as 1st number ‘Final Act Of Treachery’ makes its mark felt so hard you can feel the angry red marks weltering up on your flesh from their slap. Some skewed percussion disengages from the bombast and has the track lurching away and weird synthesized peels G.G.F.H. laden to the max add some industrialist fuel to things. By comparison to this, some drum and bass trickery on Regenerate brings to mind mid-period Pitchshifter (another band who sadly went straight up their own butts) add to this some guitar scythes with a touch of Pulkas, Godflesh or even Killing Joke about their brutal cutting action and you now have a band amalgamating Industrial and Thrash tendencies together with a consummate ease.

This has to be my personal surprise album of 2007. When the band wanted to send us a demo, I jumped at the opportunity to hear a band that had internet rumblings of being a solid progressive metal act. I had no idea how good this album was going to be until halfway through. This record isn't "tech" by any means. It is, however, representative of the style of music we at The Apparatus champion. P:FF have something very powerful in this record. I see P:FF as the Richard Wagner of heavy metal. This band's record is the "Ride Of The Valkyries" of this year.

P:FF's music is a kind of symphonic, deathy, moody thrash. There really isn't a genre that you can easily lump them into other than "metal" and that's a good sign. Many tracks possess many different textures and moods. I can't exactly say why P:FF is so good. I guess it's the atmosphere. There. I broke down. I said it. I used a rather loose, subjective term to criticize a very tactile thing. While I sometimes give a little extra leeway to a band for just being technical, it's really the overall composition and my idea of the band's intent that finalizes my opinion. P:FF display an atmosphere that I have never heard before and there is something about it that is so alluring and correct-feeling that I can't not listen to the whole record in one outing.

This CD is like Emperor, Meshuggah, Overkill, and Isis all in one, to use only the broadest terminology. Those bands don't use real strings and horns to accent their songs, though...at least no songs I've heard. I'm not going to give away any of the neat little tweaks this band has given us; if you're interested, get the record and hear for yourself. Project: Failing Flesh has something that crosses so many genres and sounds that it kind of becomes a genre unto itself, albeit a genre many will find rewarding and, hopefully, permanent.

If you're reading this and are a metal fan worth a grain of salt, chances are you've heard "A Beautiful Sickness" from Virginian experimental thrashers Project: Failing Flesh and absolutely loved it. "But so what," you're saying, "that was four long years ago. What's next?" Glad you asked! After what's seemed like an eternity, we finally have its follow-up, "The Conjoined", in our grubby mitts, and we're glad to report that the news is all good here. The uniqueness of the band has not worn thin one bit, and they sound every bit as fresh and exciting as they did the first time around. This was four years well spent.

But for those out there who've been caught unawares (and shame on you!), P: FF has been an ongoing… um… project for multi-instrumentalists Tim Gutierrez and Kevin 131 for some time now. However, it wasn't until the addition of ex-Voivod and current E-Force vocalist Eric Forrest that things really took off for these guys. Musically, there is no possible way that P: FF can be mistaken for any other band. But while there are plenty of unorthodox instruments and samples used here, the main emphasis is making seriously heavy thrash fucking metal. Both the new-school blast beats of "Eye of Demise" and the old-school thrash assault of "Final Act of Treachery" are enough to send any extreme metal fan into a moshing frenzy. Forrest's vocals are the perfect complement to the zaniness and heaviness of Gutierrez and 131, employing a husky growl almost identical to how Snake sounded on the first few Voivod albums. Actually, more than once Voivodcomes to mind during this album: the title track's intro is quite reminiscent of "Tribal Convictions"… then of course the trumpet kicks in and all convention gets tossed out the window. Fans of "A Beautiful Sickness" get the idea - as we all know, there are two kinds of experimentation: the pompous and/or drugged out kind used to alienate listeners, and the kind that shows significant strides in originality and is used to reward listeners. This is most definitely the latter. It's the little touches like the "Addams Family" sounding organ in "The Hand That You've Been Dealt" or the techno drum & bass intro of "Regenerate" that shows just how much effort these guys put into this album, and with repeated listens comes new discoveries. Of course, these are just a few of the experimental quirks to be found in "The Conjoined" - we won't spoil the whole thing for you.

Truth be told, it hasn't been since the Swiss one-two punch of Celtic Frost and Coroner that such an exhilarating musical achievement has been made in the thrash metal genre. Now all that's left is to see whether or not the metal community has enough brains to recognize a modern classic when they see one. Granted, there's still going to be assholes out there such as the death metal purists or dinosaur elitists who throw a bloody fit every time their boat is rocked who aren't going to give this album a chance (or, at the very least, won't do so until a decade or two from now). You know what? Fuck them! Stagnation is the most deadly threat to metal, and an album like "The Conjoined" is a breath of fresh air that's helping to keep the scene alive right now. End of review - submit to the pleasures of the FLESH already!

Their debut, “A Beautiful Sickness”, made us drool a lot. Now they’re back, after almost four years, and by now it’s a confirmation: Project: Failing Flesh are the new nightmare synthesis between metal and industrial sounds. Well, that’s the reason why “The Conjoined” represents an improvement: the implant of electronic, industrial and sick keys elements on the thrash background stratum reached levels of absolute completeness. How saying: “A Beautiful Sickness” was a modern thrash metal album with experimental edges, “The Conjoined” is an equal part hybrid. What Voivod could be doing after the legendary “Negatron” and “Phobos” if, instead of steering towards the more human vibe of the homonymous reunion, they decided to explore the world of synthetics: it’s not a case Eric Forrest decided to find home in such a project! The riffs are wicked, glacial and obsessive, often dissonant, and it’s impossible not to recall the inhuman mechanism of Ministry, though “The Conjoined” is their opposite, from a certain perspective: the pieces of Al Jourgensen are dry and unadorned (even if always engaged conceptually), the arrangements of Kevin 131 and Tim Gutierrez are thick and chiseled. Nothing’s missing: trip-hop rhythmical patterns (“Regenerate”), isolationist arpeggios (“Through The Broken Lens”), saxophone grins (the title-track, “Surface Noise”), vocal melody flashes (“The Motionless”), anguishing avantgarde black memories (“Eye Of Demise”)…as you maybe have understood, you must just scroll the tracklist to find something new in every track, something nice, stupefying. To conclude we can only mention the most tasty songs for the traditional thrashers are the opener “Final Act Of Treachery”, “Second Impact Syndrome” and “The Hand That You’ve Been Dealt”: try to resist headbanging. To listen, an absolute duty.

Il loro debutto, “A Beautiful Sickness”, ci aveva fatto letteralmente sbrodolare. Adesso sono tornati, dopo quasi 4 anni, ed oramai è una riconferma: i Project: Failing Flesh sono la nuova sintesi da incubo tra metallo e sonorità industriali. Anzi, semmai è proprio in questo che “The Conjoined” rappresenta un miglioramento rispetto al debutto: l’innesto di componenti elettroniche, industriali, di tastiere dementi e malate sul sostrato thrash metal di partenza ha raggiunto dei livelli di compiutezza assoluta. Come dire: “A Beautiful Sickness” era un disco di thrash metal moderno con fortissimi accenti sperimentali, “The Conjoined” è davvero un ibrido in parti uguali. Ossia quello che i Voivod avrebbero potuto fare dopo i leggendari “Negatron” e “Phobos” se, invece di ripiegare nelle sonorità più umane dell’omonima reunion, avessero deciso di esplorare il mondo dei sintetizzatori e dell’elettronica: non è certo un caso che Eric Forrest abbai deciso di partecipare ad un disco come questo! I riff sono cattivi, glaciali ed ossessivi, spesso e volentieri dissonanti, ed è impossibile non pensare anche al meccanicismo disumano dei Ministry, per quanto “The Conjoined” ne rappresenti, per certi versi, l’antitesi: laddove scarni e disadorni (anche se sempre concettualmente impegnativi) sono i brani del gruppo di Al Jourgensen, sempre fitti, cesellati e densi sono gli arrangiamenti dei brani di Kevin 131 e Tim Gutierrez. Che davvero non vi fanno mancare nulla: pattern ritmici trip-hop (“Regenerate”), arpeggi isolazionisti uniti a gracchianti dissonanze (“Through The Broken Lens”), ghignanti apparizioni di sassofono (la title-track, “Surface Noice”), sprazzi di melodia vocale (“The Motionless”), inquietanti reminiscenze di black avanguardistico (“Eye Of Demise”)…come avrete capito, basta scorrere la tracklist per trovare in ogni pezzo qualcosa di nuovo, di bello, di stupefacente. Per concludere basta ricordare che i brani probabilmente più appetibili per i tradizionali thrashers d’annata (e più vicini al lavoro d’esordio) sono l’opener “Final Act Of Treachery”, “Second Impact Syndrome” e “The Hand That You’ve Been Dealt”: provate a resistere all’headbanging. Ascoltarli: un dovere assoluto.

I was amongst the lucky few who had the honor to see this band develop from the very beginning. I reviewed the demo 'A Beautiful Sickness' back in September 2003. And when the gents got their deal at Karmageddon, the debut-album also ended up on my desk. And now…now the second album has found its way onto my pile of this month's work. So, you are dealing with a content Lord here.

The first demo and album was a thrash-fest-a-go-go, but the years have matured Tim Gutierrez, Kevin 131 en Eric Forrest. Project: Failing Flesh has taken its avant-gardistische industrial/ thrash sound a couple of steps further and comes up with something which is more compelling than ever. Dear reader, believe me when I say to you that this is a top-notch album and an absolute must hear if you're into some good and rugged musical off-roading. Pianos, threatening sounds, raunchy riffs, and light footed soundscapes, yes, it's all there. Just listen to gems like 'Unsight, Unseen', title track 'The Conjoined' or 'Eye Of Demise'. Every one of those brings out a different side of the band, but fit together like hand in glove. Yep, again this band makes a believer out of me.

It's clear that Tim Gutierrez, Kevin 131 and Eric Forrest took their time to come up with this follow-up to the 'A Beautiful Sickness' album, but if that's the time it takes to produce this kind of stuff, all is forgiven. The sound made a giant leap forward and deserves to be picked up by large audiences. With a sound which fills the void between bands like The Konvenant, Voivod and Venom, that must be in the cards, right?

Ik hoorde bij de gelukkigen die deze band vanaf het absolute begin heeft kunnen volgen, want de demo 'A Beautiful Sickness' landde in september 2003 al op mijn bureau. Die demo leverde de mannen een deal bij het roemruchte Karmagedon op. En ook die release kwam bij mij langs. En nu…nu is het nieuwe album eveneens op mijn matje gevallen. U treft een tevreden Lord.

Was het eerste album nog een feest van thrashende gitaren, de jaren sindsdien hebben de band met frontman Eric Forrest zeker goed gedaan. Project: Failing Flesh heeft zijn avant-gardistische industrial/ thrash geluid verder ontwikkeld en het is spannender dan ooit. Beste lezers, dit is stomweg een verdomd goed album en een must-hear als je van muzikaal off road tochtjes houdt. Piano's, dreigende geluiden, lompe riffs, lichtvoetige geluidscollages, jawel, dit is met recht "een beetje vreemd, maar wel lekker" te noemen. Luister maar eens naar 'Unsight, Unseen', titelnummer 'The Conjoined' of 'Eye Of Demise'. Stuk voor stuk nummers die volledig andere invalshoeken hebben, maar door de band op listige wijze tot een samenhangend geheel worden gesmeed. Ik voel mezelf wederom in vervoering raken door dit trio alleskunners.

Het moge duidelijk zijn dat Tim Gutierrez, Kevin 131 en Eric Forrest de tijd hebben genomen om de opvolger van 'A Beautiful Sickness' te maken, maar dat betaalt zich dan ook dubbel ende dwars uit. 'The Conjoined' is een opvolger geworden die een band laat horen, die een grote sprong voorwaarts heeft gemaakt en die het verdient door een breed publiek te worden opgepikt. Moet kunnen als je geluid zich ergens in de grote ruimte tussen The Konvenant, Voivod en Venom bevindt, toch?

Project: Failing Flesh’s debut album “A Beautiful Sickness” (2003) paved the way for this follow up, an orchestra of sonic renewal. And where that first album was highly original and musically very demanding, “The Conjoined” is light-years ahead of it’s predecessor. It’s one of those records you can’t describe, as the variety and intensity it captures are almost peerless. There’s a foundation of industrial monotony, which goes hand in hand with it’s sinister groove. Added to that are bits that any and all instruments can produce, and with Eric Forrest throwing his vocal chords into the ring, bloody battle commences. It can and does go in any and every direction imaginable, like a mutated snake looking for a way out of a maze. It’s interesting though, as the band never seems to lose it’s cool. Even when I find myself thinking “How the hell did they do that?”, they find their way out. Strong, bold and above all proud. Imagine if Ministry, Fear Factory and Voivod violently collided with the apocalyptic soundtrack of the best sci-fi film never made. “The Conjoined” is strong enough to make stars fade, but it’ll also light up your speakers.

Noen liker drager og trollmenn og andre er fascinert medisinske termer, sammenvokste tvillinger og store doser dommedag. Project: Failing Flesh er i den siste gruppen. De peiser på friskt med en slags industriell rask dødsmetall og sitter med flere gode kort på hånda. At de har med Eric Forrest, tidligere i Voivod, er jo heller ikke noe minus. Denne plata tror jeg kan trekke midt i blinken hos en stor mengde metallfans.

Project: Failing Flesh ligger sånn midt mellom Meshuggah og Fear Factory. De har de tekniske finessene til de første og tilgjengeligheten til de andre. De har en strålende flink vokalist som både er høy og tydelig samtidig som du kjenner følelsene stikke gjennom i hver eneste sang. Litt som Satyricon er bandet basert rundt 2 multiinstrumentalister som er perfeksjonister i studio, ingenting på The Conjoined er tilfeldig, de små samplene som krydrer bildet kommer i akkurat så store doser at du merker dem, de flyter aldri over. Jeg nyter de to første låtene, men det er på nummer tre at jeg vet at denne plata vil holde seg på spillelista mi. Litt drum and bass i starten setter den industrielle følelsen der den glir inn to råe gitarlinjer som sklir inn og ut av miksen før trommene bryter gjennom, stødig og maskinelt. Som nevnt tidligere er det herr Forrest som virkelig tar kaka. Stemmen hans minner mye om Peter fra The Haunted, like sint, like tydelig på uttalen når han presser stemmen til sint skrik. Merk deg også gitarene i denne låten når de benytter seg av skikkelig merkelige gitarsignaturer, de spiller utenom trommebeaten og skaper flott asymmetri. Dette er tekniske godsaker samtidig som det er tilgjengelig for de som strengt talt liker rett frem ekstremmetall.

Mer spennende blir det også på tittelsporet der du faktisk får trompet i første del av sangen, spilt over kamptrommer ala Sepultura (et annet band som kommer raskt til minne når du hører på disse amerikanerne) med en skikkelig dronegitar i bakgrunnen. Selv en hel blåserekke mot slutten samt orgel blir ikke for mye eller for rart, det gjør meg bare mer og mer sikker på at Project: Failing Flesh ikke nøyer seg med halvparten, de vil gå hele veien. Følg også med den flotte illusjonen av maskiner som bryter sammen på slutten av denne låten, skapt av hamring på bassgitarens strenger og lek med bryterne på gitaren.

Resten av plata følger de foregående låtene med masse variasjon og nydelig riff som du bare vil rive ut fra plata og lime inn i hodet ditt. Strukturen der en tung og industriell sang etterfølges av en raskere, mer thrashbasert låt gjør at du aldri vil kjede deg når du hører gjennom plata. Project: Failing Flesh holder en flott balanse i det at de leker seg med svært eksperimentelle elementer uten å skli helt ut på vidda. Jeg tror du vil like denne plata, det gjør i hvert fall jeg.

Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles (BW&BK) - (7.5 out of 10) by Martin Popoff. May 2007

Tim Gutierrez, Kevin 131, and Eric Forrest (vocals, and not vocals and bass, as he plied with Voivod) return with a second record of bewildering sophistication a notch up on the purer thrash of the debut. Indeed The Conjoined ping-pongs everywhere sonically like Lyzanxia or Mnemic, and like those bands, and like the old schoolers these guys are, there is no truck played to metalcore – this is grim art for extreme fans of substance. Hell, even Killing Joke is evoked, and Grip Inc. (!), as the guys smoke-choke grey and greyer metal often crumpled in Meshuggah-like origami whammies (proceed to title track, which inside that dizzying fray, even manages to bring in horns like Dimmu now and Lucifer’s Friend 36 years ago). Strings, industrial bits, spoken samples, blastbeats, tastes of all those big black metal bands when they went proggy and/or ploddy (mostly Satyricon)… it’s all here in impressive collage form, along with a coursing Voivodian vibe, a bit weird, given that Kevin and Tim are the main writers. Of course, Eric is there singing like a hollowed-out chain-smoking raven, but he’s not exactly Voivodian himself, more of an anomaly of that band at a weird yet under-rated caustic time well under the radar.

Ministry, Fear Factory, Strapping Young Lad e Grip Inc hanno riscosso grande successo negli ultimi quindici anni in una scena che dopo capelli cotonati, toppe e skate necessitava di nuovi lidi a cui approdare, mescolandosi a elettronica, rumoristica e partiture di matematica freddezza.
I "Project: Faling Flesh" si inseriscono pienamente in questo filone e pur con risultati inferiori a quelli delle band sopracitate, riescono a confezionare un disco di buona qualità che ha tutti gli elementi per piacere a chi vive di pane e thrash contaminato.
Un disco dalla durata non eccessiva, vario nelle ritmiche (hit clamorosa "Eye of the Demise") e negli arrangiamenti (i vuoti di "Trough the broken lens", il techno-thrash di "Regenerate" e il sax acido della titletrack), stupendamente guidato da un fantastico Eric Forrest (già all'opera nei Voivod) e perfezionato da una buona produzione: in poche parole, un disco da avere. Grande riconferma.