REVIEW: PeelingFlesh – PF Radio 2 [2025]
Artist: PeelingFlesh
Album: PF Radio 2
Awwwwww yeah.
There’s something about those first smooth syllables spoken over a sultry, subtle-but-bass-heavy beat that just makes the PF Radio series of releases feel different. Between the DJ Hazy-Haze introduction, stellar and tasteful use of hip-hop samples ranging from DJ Screw and ESG to Ghostface Playa and outright bone-busting heaviness, PeelingFlesh’s second entry in the PF Radio series feels like something one might have found at around 2 AM on DatPiff back in the day. Just over a year out from their debut full length offering, The G Code, Oklahoma’s finest and one-and-only purveyors of Slamming Gangster Groove are back with a collection of songs that defy convention into the standard EP-vs-LP organization and, instead, feels truly akin to brutal slamming death metal’s first true mixtape. Built on a festering firmament of relentless brutality underscored by gyrating, grisly grooves and an outstanding vocal performance, PeelingFlesh continue to channel the fun, over-the-top nature of slam into something fun, energetic and contemporary.
In a recent interview, PeelingFlesh frontman Damonteal Harris jokes “it isn’t slam if you aren’t having fun.” While this is a paraphrase, and might not have been totally serious, there’s just as much truth to that as there is jest. As a genre built entirely on pushing the envelope until there’s nothing left to push, slam thrives on the absurd—and PeelingFlesh are certainly absurd. Hot off the heels of DJ Hazy-Haze’s “Introlude,” the listener is thrust face-first into an immolating woodchipper. Just about every song is host to drumming that is fast and precise enough to flawlessly rend skin from flesh—but “Channel Zero” stands as a personal favorite. Here, machine-gun blast beats toggle back and forth against ferociously catchy grooves and robust, steamrolling slams. While the band are not technical juggernauts—at least not where fretwork is concerned—every riff, groove and chug is gargantuan, roaring atop mach-speed percussion and bass that could jelly internal organs. “Holdin’” is another stand-out track, and not only for the leviathan vocal features it boasts. Giving a facelift to DJ Screw and ESG’s “Sailin da South” as an air-horn-accompanied segue into a raunchy slam, “Holdin’” comes away as PF Radio 2’s most overall memorable track—but that doesn’t mean the rest of the mixtape lacks. Just as the first half of the record comes out with hammers swinging, the back-half (or at least last couple songs) that follows “Middlelude” brings just as much foot-to-ass. “D.V.P.B.” juxtaposes fast-paced chugs and fleet footwork alongside a mezmerizingly catchy Ghostface Playa sample a la The G Code, while “Midnight” wreaks havoc on the listener as a straight-up, no-holds-barred 2-minute long slab of slamming goodness. Somewhere between bouncy and heavy, PeelingFlesh dominate on PF Radio 2, providing an instrumental onslaught that refuses to bend the knee.
Really, there isn’t much preamble needed for PeelingFlesh’s vocal element. Harris’ expertise at all sounds gurgly and unintelligible is well-established by now, and it should also serve as no secret that the band’s collective taste in recruiting guest vocalists is second-to-none. Appearances from Jason Frazier (Corpse Pile), CC (Algor Mortis) and Kiriakos Destounis (Embryectomy) all help round out what is already an immense performance from Harris—keeping well within the spirit of the first PF Radio release. Once again, attention falls on “Holdin’,” which boasts not only two of the three stellar guest performances, but also Harris’ own voice layered over the ESG sample—something a little different from PeelingFlesh’s usual use of hip-hop within their own songs. In the interest of keeping it short and honest, Harris’ guttural bellows, ear-splitting squeals and…well, everything in between continue to be exemplary, leaving nothing in the way of want for fans of anything slam, death metal or deathcore—with diversity from Frazier, CC and Destounis to assuage the pickiest among brutal death metal enthusiasts.
Slam’s close relationship with hip-hop, while superficially counterintuitive, is somewhat well known—so it isn’t that surprising that PeelingFlesh’s sound continues to work so damn well. Hinging on campy samples and over-the-top flashes of brutality just enough to provide the fun-factor without making it a complete gimmick, PeelingFlesh are a rare, shining example of contemporary slam done excellently—even if they’re in sharp sonic contrast from many of the other bands earning similar praise within the same space. At the end of the day, it’s nigh impossible to listen to PF Radio 2 without a smile on your face and a nod in your head, as just about every element is geared to induce movement on the spectrum from tasteful head banging to full on melee combat. PF Radio 2 captures the band’s fun-loving spirit and penchant for pulverizing aggression in a relaxed and energetic fashion, serving as a stellar complement to The G Code while we wait with baited breath for the band’s next full-length effort.
9/10
For Fans Of: Boltcutter, Devourment, Corpse Pile, Drowned Under Concrete, PSYCHO-FRAME
By: Connor Welsh
