Epitome of Survival: Fleshcrawl on Loss, Legacy and the Future of Death Metal

Epitome of Survival: Fleshcrawl on Loss, Legacy and the Future of Death Metal

Three and a half decades into their relentless march through the global death‑metal underground, Fleshcrawl remain as committed, hungry, and unmistakably brutal as ever. With their new album Epitome of Carnage unleashed through Reigning Phoenix Music, founding drummer Bastian Herzog and vocalist Borisz Sarafutgyinov sat down with Highwire Daze to reflect on the band’s legacy, the battles fought behind the scenes, and the renewed fire pushing them into the next era. What followed was a candid, funny, and surprisingly emotional conversation about survival, rebirth, and the unkillable spirit of old‑school death metal.

Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in the band. We’ll start with Borisz.
Borisz: Hi, my name is Borisz. I’ve been the vocalist of Fleshcrawl for the past five years now — ever since July 2021.

Bastian: My name is Basti. I’m the drummer of the band and also a founding member — since ’87 or ’91.

Borisz: Which is forever ago.

Let’s talk about the amazing new album, Epitome of Carnage. Is there any overall story or concept behind the title?
Borisz: We were brainstorming ideas after we already had the song titles and a good idea of which tracks would make the record. We wanted something that tied everything together — the themes, the lyrics, the atmosphere. Epitome of Carnage just stuck with everyone. It sounded cool and felt right.

How much did the passing of Sven Gross influence the making of this new album?
Bastian: When Sven died, we had to decide whether to continue or not. At first, I really had to think about what options we had. But we didn’t feel like we were at the end of the road yet. And even before he passed, I had talked with him about this. He told me we had to go on — he encouraged us to continue.

That was a big part of why I decided we wouldn’t stop. We started looking for a new singer and worked on getting everything back on track. It took a couple of years. In the beginning, Borisz was only supposed to be a live fill‑in vocalist.

Borisz: Yeah, I was supposed to be a session vocalist — and look at me now. I’ve been stuck here for six years.

Borisz, how did you become involved with the band?
Borisz: It’s actually a funny and short story. When Sven was sick and undergoing treatments, the band was looking for a session singer. I had recorded a cover of “Beneath a Dying Sun,” doing vocals and guitar. I jokingly commented on their Facebook post: “Is Budapest too far away for a session singer?”

Next thing I know, I get a message from Basti telling me to come to Germany to audition. After a couple of rehearsals, it was honestly the easiest musical job I’ve ever had.

Bastian: Everything felt really good during rehearsals. The decision was made pretty quickly that he would be the new guy.

Borisz, you’ve played the Whisky a Go Go. What was that experience like?
Borisz: That was a fun one. I had a few friends living in LA at the time. We’d been talking for years about bringing one of my bands out to California. The Whisky came up as a second show because we didn’t want to fly in from Eastern Europe just to play one gig. I emailed the promoter, and they said, “Yeah, sure — we’re having a metal festival that night. You can headline.”

This was back when I was playing in a southern‑groove metal band called Dusty Chopper. We were doing what you could call Pantera‑core.

You have a tour coming up with Avulsed. What are you looking forward to the most?
Borisz: I just want to be back on the road for a decent amount of time. Fleshcrawl hasn’t toured properly in years — mostly weekenders and scattered shows. It’ll be great to be on a bus again for a longer stretch.

Bastian Drinking beer.

Borisz: Just go with what he said.

Bastian: The last real tour was a long time ago. We need to start somewhere again and get back on track with this new record. November is the starting point.

When was the last time Fleshcrawl played in the States?
Borisz: The band has played multiple times. Maryland Deathfest, and we did 70,000 Tons of Metal two years ago.

Bastian: Maryland Deathfest was in 2019. We also played New York and Rhode Island.

Borisz: Saint Vitus Bar in New York.

Bastian: Which doesn’t exist anymore.

Any chance of coming back to the States for this album?
Borisz: We had a meeting with our label CEO yesterday. We do have plans for next year, but nothing set in stone yet. Stay tuned to our socials.

When you look back on Structures of Death, which will be celebrating its 20-anniversary next year, what do you think of it now?
Bastian: After Made of Flesh, there were creative problems between the guitarists. I was stuck in the middle trying to keep things working. We had to deliver one more record for Metal Blade. Somehow the guys found a way to work together again, and we wrote Structures of Death. It wasn’t easy — songwriting, rehearsals, everything. It’s a good record with some strong songs, but not our best.

Bloodsoul is celebrating its 30-Anniversary this year.  What do you think of that album now in retrospect?
Bastian: That was insane. We were basically living in Abyss Studio with Peter Tägtgren — drinking beer every night. Then at nine or ten in the morning, we’d start recording again. Everything just worked. I still like Bloodsoul a lot. It’s different from our other records — especially the production.

Borisz: Yeah, that record definitely sounds like it was made by Peter.

What was it like working with Boss and Black Mark Production?
Bastian: It didn’t turn out to be a good relationship. I spent years fighting to get the rights back to our albums. Boss died in 2017, and after that the label basically stopped functioning. His children fought over the inheritance, and everything was blocked.

There were so many bootlegs. People pretending to own our rights. One guy even registered an email and PayPal under the Black Mark name. Total fraud. Black Mark never did anything about it. They only take care of Bathory.

Did you ever meet Quorthon?
Bastian: No.

This is your 35th anniversary as a band. What does that feel like?
Borisz: It’s weird that the band is the same age as I am.

Bastian: When we started, we never thought we’d still be around today. But here we are — old, but still going.

Borisz: It just kept working somehow.

Bastian: And we still want to do things — play music, play live, discover new opportunities. I’m not in the mood to stop.

What do you hope the rest of the year brings?
Borisz: Right now we’re focused on the release of the record on June 12 and waiting for feedback. 2026 is already planned — an 11‑day tour in November, Spain in December, a few festivals in the summer. For 2027, we’ll see what countries we can manage.

Bastian: Hopefully North America.

Any message for your U.S. fans?
Borisz: Don’t give up hope. We will make it over there and have a bunch of fun.

Bastian: Exactly. Keep supporting old‑school death metal.

In Conclusion

As Fleshcrawl prepare to unleash Epitome of Carnage and step into a new touring cycle, one thing is clear: this band isn’t slowing down. Whether it’s reclaiming their catalog, rebuilding after tragedy, or planning long‑awaited returns to the U.S., Bastian and Borisz speak with the energy of musicians who still have something to prove. Thirty‑five years in, Fleshcrawl remain a testament to perseverance — and to the enduring power of death metal done the right way.

(Interview by Ken Morton)

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