Deeds of Flesh: Inside The Nucleus

“It’s the completion of the past two albums story wise but the sound is totally on it’s own. It’s like this brand new beast. Especially with me singing ‘coz Erik had his own way – the stuff he was doing was so crazy that I was like “I’m never gonna sing like this it’s like a million words a minute!” And while there’ll never be another Erik Lindmark, the reactions so far have been amazing and I’m super happy. And I know that he is looking down right now – and is too.” The mood is one of bittersweet reflection and eager contemplation as Distorted Sound catches up with DEEDS OF FLESH co-founder and vocalist Jacoby Kingston.

Speaking from his home across the pond in California, Kingston is affable and humble, his stoicism remarkable as he proceeds to ruminate on the tragic circumstances that have led to this moment. Widely regarded as death metal pioneers amongst scene peers and listeners with a filthy penchant for music which marries neck-snapping ferocity and technical finesse, the band’s twenty-five year journey would come to a devastating halt two years ago following the passing of vocalist/guitarist and Unique Leader Records founder Erik Lindmark. Band talisman and underground trailblazer, his untimely death would send shockwaves across the extreme metal community, leaving an inevitable void, but it would also push Jacoby out of then retirement, to not only help remaining members Craig Peters, Ivan Munguia and Darren Cesca bring an ongoing project to fruition, but to honour and celebrate Erik’s legacy at the same time.

Absent from the industry for 13 years at that point, Jacoby’s return would be two-fold, in that being back in a studio environment and exchanging ideas with his bandmates would reignite his creative passions and it’d subsequently reintroduce him to a now ever-changing scene. “I was raising my girls, I had my family and a business. I mean, when I stepped away I really stepped away. I wasn’t even really listening to any new music at the time. So when I started doing the new album l was like ‘oh wow, I’m like an old man, I gotta see what’s happening out there!’” he laughs heartily. “It was a lot of fun, it brought me back to the Trading Pieces days when we first stared out. My vocals just felt stronger then ever, maybe ‘coz I’m old [laughs], after I got through retraining my voice I was just so happy with how the recording came out. It felt like I’d just walked off stage then right back on for an encore!”

With unmistakable nods to the voracious battery of that old-school DEEDS OF FLESH style and the kind of instrumental extravagance that remains bewilderingly complex, ninth studio album Nucleus would end up serving as the lyrical conclusion of what began with 2008’s Of What’s to Come and reached its creative peak via previous release-cum-masterpiece Portals to Canaan. A fact that hadn’t been lost on Lindmark and was likely putting him in something of an artistic quandary as it turned out that he’d been sat on an incomplete record for a year. “I think even he was struggling to come up with the storyline for this one. He was debating on whether he was gonna continue in the same direction or change it up or go back to the old ways in which we used to do things,” Jacoby reveals. “I mean, I left DEEDS OF FLESH before it took that left turn into sci-fi. So the other guys were like [to Erik] you were one of the first ones to do it so just go ahead and finish it out. I think at least half of the songs on there are original to what Erik was gonna call them. And the other we had to change and morph to our story. ‘Coz our story kind of differed – and we trying to figure out where it was going!”

And what a storyline it was that emerged from the proverbial drawing board – or as Kingston lovingly refers to as “one long death metal opera inspired by Cthulhu and HP Lovecraft that legit could be made into a movie.” Shrouded in a futuristic, sci-fi aura, opener Odyssey’s ominous voiceover issues an apocalyptic warning – there’s deadly viruses, aliens, the whole shebang – of suitably cinematic proportions before punishing lead single Alyen Scourge (the more eagle-eared diehards amongst you may even recognise that first high scream as Erik’s) explodes and a seething plethora of cranium-rattling blastbeats, blistering drums and frenzied arpeggios are duly unleashed at light speed. And as Nucleus continues to open up and present its otherworldly offerings, these guys just continue to impress – with a little help from their friends.

Three tracks in, the synapse-altering thrills explode tenfold courtesy of a slew of guest musicians – or what Distorted Sound would classify as death metal royalty. George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher [CANNIBAL CORPSE], Frank Mullen [SUFFOCATION], Luc Lemay [GORGUTS], Matti Way [SUBMERGED, ex-DISGORGE] and John Gallagher [DYING FETUS] to name but a few are all on hand to throw their clinical dexterity, sphincter-loosening gurgles and nerve-jangling riffs into the filthy mix. Can we ask how these monolithic collaborations came to be? “Realistically all of these guys have been our friends throughout the years. Like I said earlier, I’ve been out of touch for 13 years but the ones I was close to I emailed and they weee just straight back with ‘hell yeah I’m in!'” Jacoby recounts enthusiastically. “The track Ethereal Ancestors with Corpsegrinder is just super gnarly – I’m so lucky to be able to say that I shared vocals with him and it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it. And when Erik and I were first starting out, we were always listening to GORGUTS – they were like the proper OGs. So Luc was like my first guy on the list of who to try and get. That guy is just so cool and nice. He took the patterns we gave him and just totally enhanced them to his style. Everyone just did such a killer job and we’re just super humbled and grateful. And I think the fans are gonna dig the crap out of it. It’s totally DEEDS OF FLESH but the spots just make it extra cool.”

As our conversation comes to an end, the vocalist’s attention turns to the album’s looming release date. While realistic about the ensuing public opinion (“obviously we know that we can’t please everyone”), Kingston remains determined to celebrate that this record, one that’s been years in the making, will actually get to be heard by the public. A 41-minute roller-coaster of visceral intensity, in Nucleus, DEEDS OF FLESH have crafted a fitting tribute to their fallen brother and ended a seven-year hiatus by returning to career-defining form.

“I want it to take them back to a time when death metal was a little more raw. I mean the production’s great in that it’s amazing and up to date – but it’s still a DEEDS OF FLESH album. And I want people to see it that way. Not just a bunch of guest vocalists and some other guy who came back along! I keep seeing these chat threads online going “who is this guy?!” Jacoby trails off laughing. “In all honesty though, I just hope people like it. I’ll be the first one to say I wish Erik was here. And that the situation wasn’t what it is. But I’m so glad that Mike and myself got to come in and finish this album. We’re super proud of it. It gives us goosebumps. And I just hope it does the same for everybody else. And that Luc song would have got Erik. He’d be freaking out for sure!”

Nucleus is out now via Unique Leader Records. 

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