FLYING “Graceful Murder” 2012

Flying are a band from Ukraine that plays a very melodic form of death metal and this is a review of their 2012 album "Graceful Murder" which was released by Metal Scrap Records.
Drums range from slow, mid paced to fast drumming with some blast beats being used at times while the bass playing has a very dark tone with riffs that follow the riffing that is coming out of the guitar and at times they have a very powerful sound to them.
Rhythm guitars range from slow, mid paced to fast melodic sounding death metal riffs that have some thrash influences while the lead guitars are very melodic sounding guitar solos and leads that have a traditional metal feeling to them, as for the classical guitars when they are utilized they use finger picking to add a different element to the music.
Vocals are a mixture of deep death metal growls and high pitched melodic death metal screams with a brief use of clean singing and spoken word parts, while the lyrics cover dark and emotional themes, as for the production it has a very strong and powerful sound to it.
In my opinion Flying are a very great sounding melodic death metal band and if you are a fan of this style, you should check out this band. RECOMMENDED TRACKS INCLUDE "Break The Spell" "The Answer” and "Reborn". RECOMMENDED BUY.

OccultBlackMetal (Variety Of Death Zine)

I’m not gonna comment on the band name. That is what it is. Flying are death metal of the kind that has nothing to do with metalcore or melodeath. This is death metal (with maybe a slight thrash feel to it) the way it was done in the 90s with lots of riffing and vocals from hell. It chugs along like a chainsaw on a mission sawing everything that comes in its way to bits. Every now and then you get a guitar solo (oh how I miss those) that adds to it all. This is death metal that isn’t Swedish or Floridian but still death metal the way it used to sound like before all the other sub-genres appeared. You can call it whatever school you like but the fact remains that this is death metal that I can listen to over and over and not tiring. It kinda reminds me of a Six Feet Under gone harder and that isn’t anything bad in my book.

Anders Ekdahl (Battle Helm)

Grupa Ukraińców z zespołu FLYING była już niejednokrotnie recenzowana. W opisach tych twórczość grupy była dumnie nazwana „death metalem”. Nie wiem, czy do końca mogę się z tym zgodzić, ponieważ niezwykle nowomodna i młodzieżowo-core`owa stylistyka dźwięków kapeli nie kojarzy mi się z tuzami w/w gatunku. Po części na płycie „Graceful Murder” panowie serwują nam przekaz nawiązujący do melodyjnego deathu w szwedzkim stylu, a poza tym z klasycznym death metalem ich muzyka nie ma wiele wspólnego. Ogromna ilość urozmaiceń i wszelkiego rodzaju międzygatunkowych przetasowań nie pozwala mi na ścisłą klasyfikację. Utwory, choć same w sobie niesamowicie pogięte, złożone i interesujące, tworzą jakąś być może (przepraszam za wyrażenie) epicką całość. Różnorodność to główna cecha kompozycji, która przykuła moją uwagę. Dla miłośników takich eksperymentów to z pewnością atut FLYING. Jeśli szukacie death metalowego mięcha, to z daleka proszę, jeśli fascynują Was wszelkie poszukiwania zaginionej arki i innych przygód - polecam. Ja tam, jeśli szukam melodii w death metalu, to wolę np. rodzimy NEOLITH... A inne porównania muzyczne? Poza szwedzką sceną w szeroko rozumianym spektrum tamtejszej sceny death/black, nawet jakieś dziwne odskocznie w kierunku tuzów z MOONSPELL i bardziej melodyjnego łupania. Może jestem zboczony, ale takie mam skojarzenia i chuj. Niewątpliwie miło jest jeszcze zagłębić się w „Graceful Murder” ze względu na nienaganną technikę wykonania, czy inaczej warsztat uczestników sesji nagraniowej, zwłaszcza nie wypada nie wspomnieć o pięknej grze gitary w klasycznych i porządnych solowych partiach, których jest tu od groma. Poza tym nie na miejscu byłoby nie docenić wysiłku, jaki został włożony w wykonanie oprawy albumu. Gość, który to opracował, przyłożył się bardzo. Jest przepięknie graficznie i tematycznie, widać, że całość została mocno przemyślana i porządnie dopracowana, warto zwrócić na to baczną uwagę. Gdybym miał samą grafikę oceniać, to dostałaby ze dwie „gwiazdki” więcej niż muzyka...

4,5/6
John Kramer (Atmospheric Magazine)

The name of the band is pretty original, the lyrical approach is original and even the artwork may fit the genre death metal, but in details not what you see too often. So it must be so that the music is too. Exciting? Skip to the next paragraph if you can’t wait to have that answered. First I will tell you that this album was recorded over 2008 and 2009 already and that the band is from Ukraine, the country hosting the Euro 2012 in a few days after publishing of this article. This is their fourth full-length already, of which the first saw the light of day in 1999 already, after being founded in 1998. Previous releases were veiled in very positive criticism, but that was never before at one of my Lords of Metal colleagues. So the honour of a first impression is mine. It could be inappropriate muscular language, but it seems as if they saw two ex members die already, unless I’m wrong.
I promised to tell something about originality, didn’t I? I am more than willing to admit there are some quelities in this band, but originality isn’t a very prominent one. They do have somewhat of an identity of their own in their music, but that’s completely shifted aside by the blunt, low death grunt. I find the vocals not particularly interesting, nor on the clean segments. The music follows the low-pitched death metal from the last ten years of the last century, with an occasional streetwise influence and very melodically orientated passages. But only when the vocals move to the background. You start to appreciate it more when you put more time into it, based upon the first impression my heart wasn’t stolen, it takes time to land. And it remains to be seen who goes through that effort. Had I been just a consumer, I wouldn’t have, probably. So a first impression is still crucial.. But still it is fine entertainment to listen to, apart from the pretty lame vocals. But in general it is not good enough to cue in with the great reviews they received in the past.

71/100
Ramon (Lords Of Metal)

Initially released by Moon Records in 2010, "Graceful Murder" takes a step up with this re-release on Metal Scrap Records, an opening to the Western market as well. The band is around since 1998 and released 3 albums prior to this one but still they are little known abroad. maybe this 4th official opus will change that. "Graceful Murder" is composed of 8 tracks totaling 43 minutes of '90's type Melodic Death Metal, the one filled with intricate guitar solos and catchy leads rather than based on brutality and aggression. Some very good musicians creating a very entertaining piece of Metal that will please not only Death Metal followers, Flying deserves your attention if you like your Death Metal with lots of emotions and mood swings but also enjoy a fair share of technical abilities display. Ah, and I don't want to forget the perfect production and CD booklet artwork, professional work 100%.

9/10
Adrian (Pest Webzine)

It’s been far too long since we have had some foreign Melodic Death Metal on WLM so today I’m giving you a look at Flying and their new album “Graceful Murder.” They formed in 1998 and since they hail from the Ukraine I figure that’s enough of a foreign influence for everyone.
They are far from unknown with their 2002 worldwide hit “A Proud Bird.” I wasn’t reviewing back then, but I have to say the reviews I read from my peers gave this album all the accolades and praise it could handle. Then after that event they went on tour with Cradle of Filth and released “The Heir of the Future” which will go down as one of those albums you must own.
We now fast forward to 2010 and the album were looking at today “Graceful Murder.” It was released in 2010 in the Ukraine only, but as word got around about the quality and renewal of this legendary band the world came knocking; now “Graceful Murder” is out for everyone so let’s take a look at a couple of tracks before you go on line and pick it up:
“Progenitors” is a thrash based song which is also a good start for me. The vocals are more of a morbid bark than growl and blends very well with guitar work that can only be described as ambitious and technical. The drums are constant in the song and with so many different patterns taking place the one thing that keeps the song on the tracks. Organized chaos at its best.
The title track “Graceful Murder” is very quick moving with one of the best bass lines I have heard all year. The jamming feel at the beginning is my favorite part of the song and the big lead in does the unthinkable and completely changes when the vocals come in. It’s almost like two separate songs, fortunately both are excellent.
“Reborn” can be described as a death metal ballad. The guitar solo is incredible and shocking alongside the clean vocals. The song breaks harder later on with the clean vocals and barks dueling each other. A great touch that is pulled off very well considering the mess it can sometimes be.
For me personally “Flying” is a great addition to my metal catalogue and if you want to hear some experience death metal that knows the proper use of melody then Flying is also something you are going to want in your collection.

Metal on, Martel

(www.welovemetal.com)

Flying is a band from Ukraine, formed in 1998 and released 4 full-length albums. I think this album released via Moon Records in 2010 but I'm listening a new copy released by Total Metal Records/More Hate Productions. I don't know the difference between two releases, tracklists are the same.
The band is performing melodic death metal with some new generation influences like clean vocals. It's not like Swedish melodic death metal. It smells some thrash and modern death metal. This man's vocals are unique, I've never heard this kind of voice tone in melodic death metal. I like but acclaim changes person by person. Additionally I like brutal vocals too.
I can recommend this band and album to melodic death metal fans, give an ear to them.

7/10
Goremented (Extreminal Webzine)

Flying’s fourth full length Graceful Murder first came out back in 2010 but was available only in the band’s home country of Ukraine. Nearly two years later Total Metal Records and More Hate Productions have joined forces to give the album widespread distribution. If you’re in the United States like I am, you may not have heard of this group before but they’ve been creating melodic death metal for over a decade. This experience shows on Graceful Murder as the instrumentalists fly through eight tracks that maintain a fine line between the melodic and harsh elements of the genre.
The instrumentals start off with some of the most aggressive riffs on the album, as opening track “Progenitors” roars out of the gate with heavy hitting grooves that have a slight thrash edge. From there Flying falls into a nice mixture of heavier moments and melodic leads that are sure to please fans of melodic death metal. The leads and solos in particular are able to consistently impress throughout the album, as the guitarists always seem to be focused on utilizing melody that will hook listeners and have them coming back to these tracks. In addition to this, while a lot of melodic death metal has become overly focused on repetitive verse/chorus structures Flying actually gives their guitarists a chance to play plenty of solos which helps to break up the songs nicely. Graceful Murder has been given a fairly polished production and mixing job and the sound quality is on par with some of the bigger names in the genre.
Despite the band’s melodic inclinations, the vocals on this album tend to be closer to traditional death metal as lead singer Victor Ozolin has a powerful growl. His performance is quite impressive as the growls are extremely deep and this is the type of pitch that I tend to really enjoy listening to. There are a few songs where Flying chooses to include clean vocals, and when this occurs the band lets the singing steal the spotlight. While this certainly makes sense considering that this genre has a tendency to lean towards a clean/harsh vocal split, the singing felt a little lacking in energy and didn’t really grab me. As a result, the moments when this transition occurs don’t stand out quite as much as the rest of the release.
I’m not crazy about the clean singing on Graceful Murder as it just doesn’t have the same level of energy that the rest of the material does, but thankfully Flying chooses to focus on the harsher pitches for the majority of the songs. Aside from that issue this group has managed to write some melodic death metal that has some memorable riffs and fans of the style will want to give it a listen. Metal Archives seems to indicate the members may have gone their separate ways (and I can’t seem to find confirmation on this anywhere else), but hopefully that’s not the case as there’s still room for Flying to grow and continue delivering hook driven metal.

Chris Dahlberg (CosmosGaming)

Die Auseinandersetzung mit „Graceful Murder” folgt nun mit zweij?hriger Versp?tung, da das bereits 2010 erschienene Album erst dieser Tage via Total Metal Records das Licht der gesamten Welt erblickt. Wermutstropfen beim H?rgenuss von „Graceful Murder“ ist lediglich die dumpfe, bisweilen polternde und viel zu basslastige Produktion, so dass eine umfangreichere Justierung an der heimischen Anlage im H?hen- und Bassbereich unumg?nglich ist, um zu einem halbwegs vertr?glichen Konsum ansetzen zu k?nnen. Rein musikalisch ist daf?r das, was die Ukrainer hier anbieten, absolut h?renswert. Das Grundprinzip von FLYING ist Death Metal, doch auf dieses Feld m?chten sich die drei keinesfalls festlegen lassen. In einer atmosph?risch unheimlichen Dichte zelebrieren FLYING ihre Inputs aus dem progressiven Sektor, packen jede Menge Melodien rein, jazzen sich durch etliche Zwischenspiele, grooven immer wieder wie Sau, ein wenig Psychedelic und auch das Thema (Stoner) Rock wird geschickt ins Geschehen integriert. So vorhersehbar, wie der Opener ‚Progenitors‘ vielleicht zun?chst Glauben machen m?chte, geht es dann aber auch ausschlie?lich bei eben jener Nummer zu, ansonsten ?berraschen s?mtliche sieben anderen Kompositionen durch st?ndige, unvorhersehbare Wendungen und Breaks. Das macht jeden erneuten Durchlauf zur Entdeckungsreise, immer wieder kristallisieren sich neue Parts heraus – und die gro?e Kunst, dabei dennoch Songs mit hohem Wiedererkennungswert erschaffen zu haben, beherrschen die Osteurop?er wirklich grandios. Ganz vorn dabei sind die drei zentralen St?cke des Albums, ‚The Moment Of Creation‘, ‚The Answer‘ und ‚Ordinary Scene‘, die man als stellvertretende Anspieltipps verstehen darf. Wer daran Gefallen findet, f?r den wird „Graceful Murder“ eine starke Erfahrung!

11 Punkte
Harald Deschler (LEGACY #79)

Ukraiński Flying prawdopodobnie już nie istnieje lub tylko czasowo zawiesił działalność, a płyta którą dostałem do recenzji jest re-edycją ich czwartego (ostatniego) krążka wydanego pierwotnie w 2010 roku. Nie znam ich poprzednich dokonań więc nie porównam. Na „Graceful Murder” chłopaki tną melodyjny Death Metal kojarzący mi się chwilami z In Flames. Może nie jest to skojarzenie na zasadzie podobieństw, ale chodzi o proporcje melodii i brutalności. Muza utrzymana jest w skocznym, galopującym rytmie. Czasami zdarzy się chłopakom zagrać bardziej, jak to się mówi nowocześnie z niewielką ilością łamania rytmu i technicznych zagrywek. Nie jest to jednak jakąś torturą. Jest do DM w szybszych i średnich tempach z wycieczkami w bardziej spokojne rejony. Wokal to mocny growl, deklamacje i czyste zaśpiewy we wspomnianych spokojniejszych fragmentach. Brzmienie masywne, selektywne i ciężkie. Jak dla mnie za bardzo melodyjny materiał, ale w żadnym wypadku słaby.

Apocalyptic Rites 'zine #6

W zasadzie to ciężko się tą płytą zachwycać, jak i biadolić nad jej wątpliwymi atutami. Poproastu jest jaka jest. Ale to zdaje się za mało- jeszcze mi ktoś zarzuci brak refleksyjności. No dobrze. FLYING inspiruje się pośrednio muzyką IN FLAMES, oraz podobnych zespołów, jednak w kwestii wokalnej mamy świetne growle- o tak, wokale nadają tej muzyce ciężaru i zdecydowanie mrocznej atmosfery. I choć nadal uważam, że nie ma w tym nic specjalnego to nie mogę odmówić zespołowi świetnego wykonania, dobrego opanowania instrumentów i konsekwencji z jaką tworzą swoją muzykę od lat już kilkunastu. To wszystko składa się ewidentnie na plus „Graceful Murder”. Niewątpliwie „momentów” pozazdrościłby niejeden „wielki” zespół- że wymienię prawdziwą gitarową suitę w połowie „Break The Spell”. Tutaj FLYING istotnie zaimponował! Więcej takich patentów, a będę machał banią na samą nazwę zespołu! Z drugiej jednak strony owe gitary nie brzmią dostatecznie ciężko. Może i trochę „Szwedzkiej” chropowatości jest, ale brak „efektu walca drogowego” jest sporym minusem. W takim graniu to mus. Cóż, nie taka zła ta płyta, ale do ideału jeszcze trochę brakuje.

7/10
R'Lyeh #11