Oracles is a beast. A classical masterpiece, if classical music had evolved into Death Metal. Starting out with the sounds of an orchestra warming out, it is soon interrupted by the extremely tight intro to what is easily the best track of the album; 'In Honour of Reason'. Oracles hits you full force, and only lets go for a few brief moments of instrumental interludes, allowing to catch your breath.
For the most part, Oracles is extremely fast, and brutal to an insane degree. The drumming is absolutely phenomenal, rivaling Inferno of Behemoth fame. Singling out the drumming however, is a disservice to the fantastic guitar-work and the excellent vocals. While the vocal at first may seem typical of the Death Metal genre, there are areas where layering is applied extremely well, but overall the vocal work is so good because of a dynamic delivery, such as on Post-Enlightenment Executor and Sophistic Demise.
Fleshgod Apocalypse is made up of members from Hour of Penance, which are more than capable, but their efforts with Fleshgod Apocalypse are far better. Oracles wears its influences on its sleeves; There's a classical theme throughout, suggesting this might be the new face of the genre and the classical interludes fit the brutality well, with the exception of one, at the end of 'As Tyrants Fall', which seems too whimsical.
If you're looking for brutal, fast, melodic and technical Death Metal, look no further; Fleshgod Apocalypse delivers in spades on every front. My only gripe is that it is very short, especially considering that quite some times is allotted to classical parts. The quality is astonishing and I could only wish for more. In fact, I don't think I've listened to an album quite as much as I have this one. A contender for album of the year, if you ask me.
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