Ελληνικά
Three decades in, Fleshcrawl return sharper and more savage than ever. From thrash-rooted Morgöth to the HM‑2 buzzsaw that carved their name into death metal lore, the band survived lineup chaos, long gaps, and hard-earned reinvention. We talked with Bastian Herzog — drummer, last founding member standing — about raw demos, studio sessions with scene legends, the push to reclaim their roots, and the furious intent behind Epitome of Carnage. No apologies. Just pure, concentrated death metal.
Fleshcrawl started as Morgöth in 1987 with you and Stefan Hanus, evolving through names like Suffocation before settling on Fleshcrawl in 1991—how did those early demos like Festering Flesh and the Lost in a Grave EP shape your sound?
Through these early recordings, we found and solidified our path toward more extreme forms of metal and ultimately death metal. In the band’s very early days, when we were still operating under the name Morgöth, our sound was heavily influenced by thrash metal. However, we wanted to move in a more extreme direction, and the decision to switch to death metal was a firm one.
The songs featured on those two recordings later appeared in improved versions on our debut album, Descend into the Absurd. Sometime after the release of the debut, we then embarked on the path toward the HM-2 buzzsaw death metal sound that would become a defining part of our style.
The 1991 hometown show with Dead, R.U.Dead?, and Demigod is legendary in underground circles—what memories stand out from that gig, and how did it boost your momentum?
Oh man, that was l o n g time ago haha! I remember that the show happened in October and we had 30 degrees outside, fuckin great!
I can’t really remember the show itself in great detail anymore, but the venue was packed to the brim, the atmosphere was electric, and it was an amazing night for all the bands involved. The crowd went wild for every band that played! Those were the days. There was so much enthusiasm back then, and none of the scene saturation you see nowadays.
That show definitely motivated us and reinforced our determination to continue down the path we had chosen.
Your debut full-length Descend into the Absurd (1992) on Black Mark Production came right after signing—looking back, what made that album a breakthrough despite the raw production?
I would say that Descend into the Absurd had exactly the right balance of fast, grooving, mid-tempo, and doom-laden passages, making every song engaging from start to finish. The album maintains its intensity and sense of momentum throughout its entire running time. Many fans still regard it today as an absolute classic of the death-doom era.
Recording Impurity (1993) at Dan Swanö’s Unisound and later albums like Bloodsoul and Bloodred Massacre at Abyss with Peter Tägtgren—how did those studios influence Fleshcrawl’s brutal, melodic edge?
The song material was completely written and finalized by the time we started the recording sessions at Dan and Peter’s studios. The music itself didn’t change as a result of being in the studio. However, thanks to their many years of experience, Dan and Peter naturally had a significant influence on the sound and helped shape the final result and the way the records ultimately turned out, which was very cool.
A producer usually leaves their own stamp on an album during the recording process, and that was certainly the case here as well.
Lineup changes were frequent, from Alex Pretzer to Sven Gross on vocals and Mike Hanus switching instruments—what challenges arose, and how did they fuel evolution?
With the switch from Alex to Sven on vocals, we wanted to push into more brutal territory. That became quite evident on Bloodred Massacre. When Sven joined the band in 1996, he brought a venomous quality to his voice that was exactly what we had been looking for.
At that time, Mike handled both rhythm guitar and bass duties for a while. In the studio, that wasn’t a problem at all. For live shows, we had a session bassist, although there were also periods when we performed without a bassist altogether.
Fast-forward to 2019’s Into the Catacombs of Flesh after a long hiatus from Structures of Death (2007)—what sparked the return, and how did the 2020 refreshed guitar lineup inspire Epitome of Carnage?
At the beginning of 2008, I took a break from the band for family reasons. That hiatus lasted until the end of 2012, while the guys continued playing live with a session drummer in the meantime. When I returned behind the drum kit in early 2013, we started discussing and planning how and when we could tackle a new album – the successor to Structures of Death.
Unfortunately, more and more problems began to emerge within the guitar camp, which resulted in the band continuing to play live regularly, but making no real progress when it came to songwriting. That situation lasted for about five years – valuable years that were ultimately lost. In 2018, a change in the guitar lineup finally took place, and songwriting for Into the Catacombs of Flesh began in earnest. We were never at the point of burying the band; we wanted to prove ourselves once again. Into the Catacombs of Flesh was eventually released in December 2019.
The complete replacement of the guitar section in 2020 was once again due to issues within the string department. It seems we’ve had a bit of a recurring problem there, haven’t we? Haha!
Around late 2021 / early 2022, we began working on the songwriting for Epitome of Carnage with renewed strength and energy. The guitarists had a very clear vision: to take Fleshcrawl back to its roots—and that’s exactly what happened. The fire for old school death metal burns stronger than ever, and that’s something you can clearly hear on Epitome of Carnage.
“Epitome of Carnage” arrives seven years after Into the Catacombs of Flesh. What made this the right moment to return with a full-length album, and did the long gap change your mind set in the studio?
The first work for Epitome of Carnage began sometime in 2022, and some fragments and riffs are already four years old. At the time, we set ourselves the clear goal that there would be a 10th album. The release date was still unknown, but we knew it would come.
We were without a record label and under no time pressure, but of course we still wanted to complete the record as quickly as possible. In the end, it took until mid-2025 before the recording sessions for the album could actually begin. It was clear to everyone that the band could only continue to exist and grow with a new album – there was no way around it.
During the long seven years between Into the Catacombs of Flesh and Epitome of Carnage, we naturally became a bit lazy and sluggish when it came to studio work, haha. We were mostly just used to standing on stage and at the bar, hahaha.
The new material is presented as fast, raw, and direct. How did you balance that old-school Fleshcrawl core with any new ideas or fresh instincts that naturally appeared during writing?
The entire songwriting process happened naturally and automatically – we didn’t force or try to impose anything. Everything came out organically. The direction the album should take was clear, but the songs weren’t written with the intention that one should sound like Band A and the next like Band B. We simply composed and watched how everything developed.
Of course, riffs and ideas that didn’t fit Fleshcrawl at all were sorted out. You do need to apply a critical standard and make sure you don’t lose focus or get carried away in too many directions. In the end we were pretty sure, the final result would be Fleshcrawl as fuck and exactly sound like this band has to sound.
This album was shaped through relentless rehearsals and a natural flow of ideas. How different was the songwriting process compared with earlier Fleshcrawl records?
Not really that different – most of the ideas, songs, and riffs were written, as before, by the two guitarists, sometimes also together. Borisz, who is himself a very good guitarist, contributed a song called Embers of Wrath, in which I was also involved in terms of songwriting. Arrangements and fine-tuning were then done together in the rehearsal room, with last-minute changes made in the studio.
All in all, Epitome of Carnage was more of a team effort than Into the Catacombs of Flesh.
What does Epitome of Carnage say about the band’s current identity right now — especially after lineup changes, touring, and the time away from a full-length release?
The new album is the first musical statement from a band that has completely reinvented and revitalized itself – one whose passion and fire for death metal still burns as fiercely as ever, now attacking with renewed strength and energy. In this new lineup, everyone is pulling in the same direction. We’re hungry, we’re motivated, and we’re ready to prove what we’re capable of!
The album title suggests something elaborate and extreme, while the music seems to go straight for the throat. How do you connect that title to the overall atmosphere of the record?
Epitome of Carnage perfectly reflects what this album is all about. We wanted to create a record that embodies the pure essence of death metal – aggressive, uncompromising, and straight to the point. There’s no filler, no overthinking, and no unnecessary experimentation. Just crushing riffs, relentless intensity, and an atmosphere of destruction from start to finish. The title represents the culmination of everything that defines Fleshcrawl in 2026: pure carnage in its most concentrated form.
On the new record, where do you feel the strongest tension lies: speed, heaviness, melody, or brutality? And which of those elements did you push hardest this time?
I see all of those elements reflected on the new album – the songs bring all of those qualities to the table. Epitome of Carnage is a very diverse record, and there’s something on it for every death metal fan. We found the right balance between speed, brutality, and memorability.
In fact, we didn’t force anything during the songwriting process. Every song developed naturally, without us ever saying that a particular track had to sound this way or that way.
How did signing with Distortion Music Group, powered by Reigning Phoenix Music, affect the release process and your confidence in this album?
After signing the record deal, we began planning the release. In fact, this didn’t really affect the release process in any way—it all went according to plan. However, with the deal through Distortion Music Group, powered by Reigning Phoenix Music, we are very confident when it comes to the album’s promotion and PR. RPM is a label with the necessary power and expertise behind it.
Did working with a new label team influence any practical aspects of the album — such as promotion, rollout, or how you planned the singles and visuals?
DMG – powered by Reigning Phoenix Music is a professionally operating label with a strong PR and promo department. We planned everything together with the label. However, the videos for the two songs and the lyric video were filmed and edited by our vocalist Borisz; only the necessary equipment was rented.
What do you think listeners will notice first on Epitome of Carnage: the riffs, the vocal delivery, the drumming, or the production clarity?
The whole thing! Everything together hits you straight in the face!
The band has always lived in the old-school death metal lane, but this album is being presented as a fresh surge rather than a nostalgia trip. How do you keep that sound urgent in 2026?
Everybody in this band still breathes old school death, we all still have that fire burning strong and we all still got a lot of things on our bucket list!
Apart from that, over the years we’ve learned what good, efficient, and interesting songwriting needs to look like in order to still stand a chance in death metal in 2026 ????
After hearing Epitome of Carnage front to back, what do you hope fans and journalists understand about Fleshcrawl now that may not have been fully visible before?
For everyone who declared us dead and wrote us off after Sven’s passing and the Into the Catacombs of Flesh album, let it be said: Fleshcrawl are back on track – and stronger than ever! See you somewhere on the road!!!
