If Brutal Death Metal lacks anything as a genre, it’s diversity. Let’s face it, the genre has barely advanced since Suffocation first infected those crypts, and even the (arguably) biggest name that bee dee em has going for it, Nile, had to pretend that they were Ancient Egyptians in order to stand out. So you really have to be something special to stand out here, especially with the Grind-related bands clamouring at the gates, and Italian newcomers Fleshgod Apocalypse have made a good attempt to stand out from the crowd here on debut full-length Oracles with little Classical interludes woven here and there. No, they’re not a Neoclassical Brutal Death Metal band (although Classical music is clearly an influence) they’re a Brutal Death Metal band with sampled (I assume) Classical bits, and whilst there’s something surprisingly pleasant about finishing headbanging only to hear a nice clip from some concerto or other, they’re not used often enough to make a hugely massive difference.

What saves Oracles from a ‘s’alright, 65/100’ is that the band are actually quite skilled at what they do, vocalist/guitarist Francesco Pauli also being in Hour Of Penance. This album is pretty much stuffed full of great, meaty riffs and technical solos, and the fact that the songwriting’s pretty good too makes this little short of a damn excellent debut. Fine, they’re signed to Candlelight so they’d have to be pretty good, but there are moments on Oracles that are really, really good. Let’s face it, we listen to Brutal Death Metal for those moments when you have no choice but to stop what you’re doing , throw the horns at the sky and headbang like a lunatic – something a lot of bands have an incredibly hard time understanding – and guess what? Fleshgod Apocalypse understand this! They understand that whilst brutality is good, a little variation is even better! They get that there’s nothing cooler thrown into the middle of a song than a badass Corpsegrinder-esque scream! Monklike chanting, as on Infection Of The White Throne, goes wonderfully after exhortations for ‘everyone to kill’!

From opening track In Honour Of Reason, which goes through more changes than most Brutal Death albums, to the best usage of the classical bits (the end of the epic As Tyrants Fall, the sample gleefully going on longer than you expect then suddenly stopping as the next track blasts in) through to nearly Neoclassical sections of tracks like Sophistic Demise, Oracles simply reeks of quality. Whilst it isn’t the best Death Metal album ever or even worthy of being mentioned on such lists, it is a very enjoyable listen that sophisticated brutalists will get much from, and certainly reason to hope that album number two from the Italians will be something that knocks everyone out. For the time being, Oracles hints at a great future for Fleshgod Apocalypse.