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If I hadn't heard a track off this, I never would have been interested, as this looks like the sort of splattergrind I normally hate. But I would have been oh so wrong to ignore this, and you would be too. So here's a simple, one-line album review for labels: SIGN THIS MOTHERFUCKING BAND!

BTF are either a death band with thrashy riffing, or a thrash band with death vocals, depending on how you want to see it. The vocals sound a bit like Glen Benton (Deicide, Vital Remains) but are mostly less guttural than standard deathgrunts. The style is thrashy and heavy, but less brutal than most Florida-style death metal. What sets this band apart and makes them cool is that the songwriting here is so fucking good. There are a lot of death bands that can't write songs; they play heavy as fuck or really really fast but they don't know how to write a good song. Beyond The Flesh are aces at this. Every song is tight and smartly written and expertly performed. And the riffs! The riffs won't stop coming! These guys couldn't stop playing cool riffs if you put them in a 12-step program. Every time you think 'okay, I've heard everything they're going to do in this song' they start ripping out another awesome, headbanging lick, and then another, and another. It never fucking quits. You simply cannot stop listening to this for fear of missing the next part.

The package is very professional, with classy cover art and a good interior layout. I can't say the lyrics are great, but they aren't bad either. I just wish they had a more focused approach. I think it kind of hurts an album when one song is about one thing, and the next song about something completely different. I'm not saying everyone should be Nile, but an album needs a theme.

This band rules. Every time I'm tempted to write off new bands from my home country (especially east coast bands) something like this comes along and gives me hope. Right out of the gate Beyond The Flesh are set to give established death/thrashers like Witchery and Desaster a run for their money. Hard and heavy, catchy and addictive, you can't fucking go wrong with this one. Get it, get it now.