Founded back in 2016, the up-and-coming Brooklyn-based metal act Fliege began as an inside joke shared between its founding duo of Coleman Bentley and Peter Rittweger: a metal band based solo upon David Cronenberg’s 1986 remake of The Fly. Although they initially wrote and recorded their self-titled debut demo for a laugh, the effort received praise from Decibel, who called the six song set infectious,  and went on to say “Every once in a while, a band comes along, transgresses all genre boundaries and cuts a demo that stands as a genuine demonstration of a singular sound.”

Building upon a growing profile, the band, which recently expanded to a trio with the addition of Chris Palermo (synths) will be releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut The Invisible Seam on January 31, 2020. Interestingly, the newly constituted trio’s full-length debut finds the band moving on to more serious cinema as an influence: Ingmar Bergman’s existential masterpiece, The Seventh Seal. “Our demo tackled The Fly, but we soon realized we had to expand from that universe in order to have anything new to say,” the band’s Coleman Bentley explains in press notes. “So for this one, we chose Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, the story of a Swedish knight returning home from the Crusades to find his homeland ravaged by the plague. He challenges Death to a game of chess, staving off his advances long enough to make it home one last time — questioning mortality, the meaning of life, and the existence of God, while trekking across a dying countryside.  Within the framework of that film, we tackle the nihilism of modern life and the paradox of depression – not wanting to live but not actively wanting to die.”

Musically, the material on The Invisible Seam reportedly features a much more refined sound than its immediate predecessor: the addition of Chris Palermo finds the band adding synths to their sonic palette; but along with that, the album features Bentley’s vocals taking up a more central role while ensuring that it’s also heavier, more heartfelt and more grander, in order to fit the epic concept behind it. Along with this decided refinement of their sound, the newly constituted trio’s full-length effort finds them drawing influences from the likes of Immortal, Nine Inch Nails, Judas Priest, Cloud Rat, John Carpenter and a lengthy list of others.

Now, as you may recall, last month I wrote about album title track “The Invisible Seam.” Centered around towering 80s metal riffage, thunderous, industrial metal-like drumming, Bentley’s howled vocals and a shimmering and brooding bridge, the song was a certifiable Headbanger’s Ball-inspired headbanger that found the trio further cementing their reputation for intelligently pushing the boundaries of thrash metal both sonically and thematically.  The album’s second and latest single “Four Suns” continues in a similar vein as its immediate predecessor: a Headbanger’s Ball-era ripper, with fiery and towering riffage, thunderous drumming, Bentley’s howled vocals and atmospheric synths. But unlike its predecessor,”Four Suns”  is a pummeling and forceful bit of unease that in light of the most recent developments in Australia, Iran and elsewhere should hit close to home.

“‘Four Suns,’ as they say in Hollywood, is our threshold to adventure—a fitting intro to both Fliege and the world of ‘The Seventh Seal,’ marked for death by forces beyond understanding,” the band’s Coleman Bentley told MetalSucks. “Following Antonious Block, medieval knight, and his squire as they embark on a journey home from the crusades, it’s an OSDM-tinged banger that paints a picture of world a in rot. Graves overfed. Doors painted red. Eyeless corpses gazing up at a quartet of flaming stars that will soon burn them alive. Sound familiar? It should.”