Album review: Pupil Slicer – Fleshwork

Watching Pupil Slicer’s full vision unfold has been one of the great pleasures of UK metal in recent years. First spilling from the depths of the underground in an abrasive blur like the aural equivalent of their skin-crawling band name, 2021 debut Mirrors established an uncompromising extremity. The 5/5-rated Blossom two years later was startling proof that they could wield warmth and colour just as convincingly, too, dropping indie-rock, synths, joyous choruses and egg-shakers amongst looming tidal swells of black metal and grindcore.

Fleshwork sees a new iteration of the band – vocalist/guitarist Kate Davies and drummer Josh Andrews alongside incoming bassist Luke Booth – shift focus to somewhere between those past releases, and sharpen into a retina-searing, eardrum-bruising ultimate iteration.

Eschewing any eerie introduction, first track Heather bursts from the speakers with a weirdly catchy riff that feels like The Dillinger Escape Plan at their most toe-tappingly accessible, before chucking on sheets of sandpaper feedback and gnashing anguish. Gordion pulls in threads of industrial, indie, mathcore and black metal, tying itself in some glorious knots. Sacrosanct lets Luke loose with a brilliantly bludgeoning bassline, before Innocence draws listeners into a treacly down-paced honey trap, only then to set itself cathartically ablaze.

Melding traditional genres with a corrosive fluidity not meant to be unlocked, every moment feels as fresh as a bath in battery acid. Nomad reworks traditional black metal ingredients into a passage of almost euphoric post-hardcore. The throbbing title-track – reportedly written for a collaboration with HEALTH that never happened – comes on like Godflesh after a chemical clean. Then White Noise injects unexpected post-punk melody.

Senses are already spinning by the time we launch into epic closer Cenote, but as its incredible eight-minutes build post-rock texture, black metal grandiosity and creepy atmospherics into something truly breathtaking, it’s clear that Pupil Slicer are still just getting started. Keep your eyes peeled.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: Converge, Heriot, Oathbreaker

Fleshwork is released on November 7 via Prosthetic.