Over the past month or so I’ve written a bit about the emerging Brooklyn-based metal act Fliege. And as you may recall, the act which was founded back in 2016 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.”
The band recently expanded into a trio with the addition of Chris Palermo (synths). Building upon a rapidly growing profile, the band’s soon-to-be released, highly-anticipated full-length debut The Invisible Seam is slated for release next week. 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.
So far, I’ve written about two of the album’s previously released singles: album title track “The Invisible Seam,” a certifiable Headbanger’s Ball-inspired headbanger, centered around towering 80s metal riffage, thunderous, industrial metal-like drumming, Bentley’s howled vocals and a shimmering and brooding bridge — and “Four Suns” another Headbanger’s Ball-era ripper with atmospheric synths and a decided feel of unease and dread. “Love Plague,” The Invisible Seam‘s latest single features shimmering and atmospheric synth arpeggios, some crunchy 80s power chord-based riffage, pummeling drumming and Bentley’s howled vocals, and while nodding at Moving Pictures-era Rush, Ministry, Slayer and John Carpenter, the album’s latest single may arguably be the bleakest they’ve released to date, as it offers an intensely ambivalent view of love.
