"Weakest is the Flesh" is CHURCH OF DISGUST's third full-length album. They play traditional death metal dealing with Lovecraftian and occult subject matter. They have a Swedish meets Florida death metal sound. On this album, the lead guitar solos and breakdowns are major highlights.

The first track, "Arrogant Death," reminds me of the NECROPHAGIA EP, "Black Blood Vomitorium," in how the vocals are delivered. My biggest gripe is that the vocals are much louder than the instruments, one of a handful of production issues. While this song features a great breakdown and lead guitar solo, I found it overlong, clocking in at about five minutes.

"That Which Dwells in Gloom" doesn't have the vocal issues that "Arrogant Death" has and is quite enjoyable. They get into a nice groove, playing to their strengths. Those strengths are breakdowns and shredding lead guitar solos. Then, suddenly, they switch gears for the final minute and start playing a completely different melody. I found this quite off-putting.

The sixth song, "At the Pillar of Souls," has an old-school Florida death metal sound. The drums play a large role here. This is one of my favorite tracks.  Although the vocals are unintelligible, the drums keep my head bobbing to the beat.

"Humiliated Remains" is another fun song. Dwane Allen's drum work stands out once more. This track is lively, switching between fast and mid-tempos. The breakdowns are catchy, and there is an otherworldly lead solo near the song's endpoint. Unfortunately, though, the vocals are quite forgettable.

Track eight, "Boiling Seas of Yuggoth," is decidedly Lovecraftian. This time the vocals are infectious. The style fits directly between the Swedish and Florida death metal aesthetics. There are some great breakdowns on display as well.

The title track, "Weakest is the Flesh," starts off with a minute-and-a-half sample from the film "Color Out of Space." This sample drags on for way too long and is barely audible. Also, the structure of the song isn't exactly coherent. After the lengthy sample, the music comes on slowly and eventually changes to a much faster tempo. This goes on until the four-minute mark, where they start playing an instrumental interlude that sounds completely detached from the song. That strange interlude lasts for a minute before they return to the song proper like nothing ever happened. This song is also way too long at seven and a half minutes.

Overall, this is an okay album. It suffers from a few production issues. The two instrumentals are way too low in the mix. On the other hand, the breakdowns are lots of fun. There are some infectious lead guitar solos, and I had fun listening to "Weakest is the Flesh." I just can't rate it as highly as some of this year's heavy hitters.