DEEDS OF FLESH hailing from Los Osos, California are Technical Brutal Death Metal pioneers and around for 28 years. With "Nucleus", they released their 9^th full-length album. "Nucleus" was released via California label Unique Leader Records which is run by some of the band members. It has a length of a bit more than 40 minutes.

Sadly, it is the first album without the iconic vocalist and founding member Eric Lindmark who passed away in 2018 before he could write the lyrics for "Nucleus". Instead of Lindmark, former bassist and vocalist Jacoby Kingston, who shared the vocal duties alongside Lindmark, filled in and with him a large number of guest vocalists. Eventually, "Nucleus" became a tribute album for Lindmark. Among the guest vocalists, there are a few Death Metal icons like George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher (CANNIBAL CORPSE), John Gallagher (DYING FETUS), Luc Lemay (GORGUTS), or Frank Mullen (SUFFOCATION).

Despite all this, "Nucleus" is a typical DEEDS OF FLESH album balancing the fine line between brutality and technicality. DEEDS OF FLESH seem to progress with every album and a lot of emphasis was put on the technical level of the sound. "Alyen Scourge" and "Ascension Vortex" give the direction of the album: complex and distorted song structures, changing tempo between highly paced and mid-tempo parts, aggressive guitar riffs, highly comprehensive lead guitar sequences where both, harmonic leads and twisted chaotic sequences have their place, insane and blisteringly fast drumming with intense blast-beat as well as double-bass sequences, and brutal growls mostly at the low end of the guttural range.

"Catacombs Of The Monolith" is one of the songs where the emphasis was put more towards brutality with aggressive guitar riffing, hammering drums, and Luc Lemay's vocal contribution coming straight from hell. Notably there are less highly technical and complex lead guitar parts, the song is more direct and a punch into the face. The title song "Nucleus" comes also with a lot of brutality in the riffing but it maintains a high level of technicality with the lead guitar sequences and the lead guitar solo. The rhythm section sounds slightly catchier to me compared to the other songs on the album. There are a lot of breaks with short mid-tempo sequences. "Nucleus" has been released as video and the YouTube link is given below.

"Terror" is the final act on "Nucleus" ("Onward" is only an outro) and it shows everything DEEDS OF FLESH have to offer. It is a fine balance between brutal guitar riffs and the technical lead guitar sequences, and both fits together perfectly. What stands out here is the relentless and high quality drumming of Darren Cesca. All that is combined with the brutal low gutturals. "Terror" is one of my personal favorites on the album.

DEEDS OF FLESH deliver an excellent Technical Brutal Death Metal album. Despite all the sad circumstances, the band progresses with every album. "Nucleus" stands for high quality and maturity. The album includes a number of high calibre guest appearances and they are all well integrated into the sound of DEEDS OF FLESH. The production is clean and every instrument is well separated. For fans of Technical Brutal Death Metal, "Nucleus" is a must have album and fans of other Metal genres also should give it a listen.