Dead Flesh Talk Latest Single, Playing Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2025 And More

British Deathcore quintet Dead Flesh are set to appear at the 2025 edition of Bloodstock Open Air on Thursday August 7th 2025. They spoke to us about their latest single ‘DNR’ and more: 

 

Who is in Dead Flesh, how did you meet and what do they play?

We are Richard Stevenson on vocals, Chris Everett on guitar, Troy Wicks on guitar, Adam McGuinness on Bass and Nelly on drums. We all met through the North Herts metal scene playing in various bands, and a few years ago came together to form Dead Flesh.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Nelly – Status Quo, my dad owned the VHS for Status Quo’s 20th Anniversary, and I watched that religiously as I grew up. The sounds of Roll Over Lay Down and Backwater being a fundamental part of my youth.

 

You have your single ‘D.N.R’ out now. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

 

The overall theme of the first EP was largely centered around depression. A lot of the songs deal with that subject and reflect my own mental state during some really difficult times. It’s a kind of expression of that mindset — almost a snapshot of an hour in that space.

“DNR” is really a continuation of that. If you read the lyrics, it’s essentially a battle — depression is framed as an adversary in the song. The title, “Do Not Resuscitate,” if I’m honest, partly came from just thinking it sounded cool. I think I was watching some horror movies around that time, which probably influenced it.

There was also some inspiration from Carcass — I’ve always loved how they use medical terminology in their lyrics. Some of their songs read like pages from a medical dictionary, and I think that’s really interesting. Surgical Steel is one of my favorite albums ever. So that kind of influence naturally crept into “DNR,” both in theme and in tone

Was it a difficult song to write?

Musically it came together fairly quickly in the rehearsal room, where a few of us will jam out ideas to demo. Once Rich added his vocals it really added another layer. But it was when we went to record it that the song really evolved and became what it is now. Writing it felt easy but when we get in the studio, Justin really helps push us creatively so songs can see their full potential and become something we can all be proud of.

Do you have a visualiser to accompany the track?

We have a music video out on YouTube, which we put released through Slam Worldwide.

Where did you record the single and who produced it?

Justin Paull Hill (SikTh) has recorded everything we’ve done so far. We recorded the drums at Whitehouse Studios in Reading, and then at his personal studio for the rest of the recording. Justin also helped produce, mix and master the track, and we are blown away with the results he’s been able to help us with.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Nothing in particular but its always a laugh seeing which can drink the most coffee in a day and trying to burst each other’s eardrums with obnoxious levels of feedback and UFO noises

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Chris has the Jim Root signature Orange Dark Terror amp, it’s tiny but sounds huge. We blend that with a 6505 and recorded the whole thing with a Schecter C7. To finish it all off, we throw in an extra layer hidden at the bottom with an ungodly amount of distortion and the whole thing creates a truly disgusting sounding guitar tone

Which of your tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Happiest would have to be our first single, ‘Dead Flesh’. Happy probably isn’t the right word, but it’s our least serious song lyrically and has a fun chant through the chorus.

Angriest would have to be ‘Bodies Upon Bodies’. It’s a protest song aimed at the people in charge of the country, their complacency towards the climate crisis and their attempts to weaponise protests. It’s also a million mph from start to finish

Most reflective would be ‘Swallowing Nails’, a song about depression and the feeling of losing yourself in the process of trying to overcome it.

Do you have any further music releases planned for 2025?

We’re lining up to release our next single, which will be called Chewing Glass. This will be part of our set at Bloodstock, so anyone there will be able to hear what’s coming next.

What two things do you hope to have achieved once you have left the stage?

We want to have hopefully made a few new fans, and want to make sure we do Bloodstock justice and kick off the festival the right way.

Nelly will be looking forward to a post gig dump, to help alleviate any issues from his Crohn’s.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Chris has a green Schecter C7 Silver Mountain that he bought based almost entirely on the way it looks. Adam plays a green Shine bass that has some sentimental value from when he was young. Troy uses a 6505 which he is still learning how to control the volume of. Both Troy and Chris have Digitech Whammys on their board, both completely unnecessary but so much fun

How do you look after your voice?

 

To be honest, I don’t do a whole lot in the way of self-care for my voice beyond the basics. That said, I always make sure to warm up properly before a show or practice. I use Melissa Cross’s The Zen of Screaming warm-up, which she says can be done at any point during the day — it doesn’t matter when, as long as you don’t sleep between warming up and performing.

That can actually be a bit of a challenge for me, since I’m an avid nap enthusiast. But generally, I warm up beforehand, stay hydrated, and try not to push my voice too hard, which can be a challenging during big shows where I’m over excited or nervous.

After a show, I can usually tell if I’ve overdone it — particularly if I got overexcited — because my voice will feel a bit off afterwards. So I try to rein it in a little when that happens. Overall, warming up and being mindful of how hard I’m pushing it are probably the main things I focus on.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

Nelly – Doctor Who, Illegal Alien. This was meant to be the next story in 1990 for Sylvester McCoy, before the show got cancelled, where they were going to bring back one of the 60s Cybermen designs. Being a massive Dr Who nerd, I’d love to have a go at creating the atmosphere required for such an episode.

Chris – Termush by Sven Holm. It’s a Danish Scifi from 1967 about survivors of a Nuclear disaster stranded in a luxury hotel where their fortunes suddenly mean nothing. It’s a short book but absolutely dripping with hopelessness and anxiety, perfect for Dead Flesh

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Stevenage is the base of operations for most of us, It Is A Concrete Jungle

You will be performing at Bloodstock Festival 2025. How did that opportunity arise and how are you feeling about the set?

We won our local Metal To The Masses last year and went on to play the New Blood stage. After a weekend of shoving our names in everyone’s faces, we ended up playing to a full tent and made sure to pour everything we had into that performance. We like to think we managed to impress the organisers enough last year to give us the honour of opening the whole festival. We’re feeling very excited!

Do you have any live dates in the UK/Europe planned for 2025/2026?

We have a couple London shows lined up at the end of August, with Gutrectomy and Kanine at Camden Assembly on 24th and then Underworld with To The Grave, Osiah and Beyond Extinction. We have more that are yet to be announced, so keep an eye on our socials

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Corey Taylor got Richard doing vocals. Deicide are responsible for Nelly’s blast beats, and Every Time I Die were hugely influential in getting Chris writing in his chaotic style

What makes Dead Flesh happy and what makes you unhappy?

Happy- whenever we get to see the crowd interaction, where everyone is filled with passion and adrenaline

Unhappy – Nelly

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Polymath PR

Dead Flesh’s latest single ‘D.N.R’ is out now. The band will be performing at Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2025 on Thursday 7th August 2025. Remaining Tickets are available here: https://www.bloodstock.uk.com/

Official LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/deadflesh?fbclid=IwAR3ELLV_QcORh0_qNbwJWCmVJRdVbnv463P5uJjhlNWIHibfNGbzmSxepfI