Fossils ‘Flesh Hammer’ LP/DD 2014

Fossils are a Danish noise rock duo who play drums and bass guitar. They are about to release their second album. The album is called ‘Flesh Hammer’. The name sounds unpleasantly like that of a sex-toy. It is produced by Klaus “Q” Hedegaard Nielsen (Beta Satan, Entombed). ‘Flesh Hammer’ has ten tracks and lasts twenty minutes. It is short, sharp and to the point.

The opener is called ‘Carnivore Arrest’. All the songs have daft names. Once you’ve heard the first track you know what you’re in for. It’s tight, agitated, and urgent. The bass distortion is razor-sharp, the drumming robotically tight. This is just two men in a room playing the fuck out of their instruments, yet it sounds almost industrial.

It would be impossible to describe every section of every track on the record. They are all in exactly the same vein. They’re all pretty brilliant. There were a few immediate standouts for me:

Dirty half-time slog ‘Fillet Horizon’ is all grizzle and thump. Then comes a neat little breakdown and when the distortion kicks back in I’m left wondering whether there’s a guitar dropped into the mix, or whether the sound is just that huge anyway.

‘Stun’s intro is about as grandiose as Fossils get. A colossal, weighty groove mashes you into the ground. Distorted harmonics chime like an error code as the drums work themselves into a frenzy. The track hurtles off, leaving nothing but scorched tarmac and cloud of dust in its wake.#

‘Flesh Hammer’ closer ‘Crackhorse’ sounds like Lard playing Nintenocore. The dancey high-hat work is ridiculous and sounds like someone has set a drum machine to the wrong BPM for a laugh. It’s angry, angry fun.
I’m sure that the more I listen to the album, the more other tracks will become my new favourites. There is no “downtime” on ‘Flesh Hammer’. Even in their succinct high-hat, bass drum, and teeth -rattling clean bass moments, Fossils play like they’re jogging on the spot, chewing gum. It’s urgent, it’s relentless, and it’s effortless. Go to their YouTube page and see them recording. They are machines. This is smash and grab music. Grab it.

Label: Indisciplinarian Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | YouTube

Scribed by: John Reppion