MISLED BY CERTAINTY

"Misled by Certainty" is the 6th full-length studio album by US extreme metal act Cephalic Carnage. The album was released through Relapse Records in August 2010. There´s been one lineup change since the release of "Xenosapien (2007)" as longtime member and guitarist Zac Joe has been replaced by Brian Hopp. Promotional videos were released for "The Incorrigible Flame" and "Ohrwurm".

Cephalic Carnage used to be known for playing a very eclectic grindcore/death metal style with elements from both deathcore, sludge, avant garde, and metalcore. Things changed slightly on "Xenosapien (2007" though. That album was a more streamlined release although all of the above styles were represented to some degree. That development continues on "Misled by Certainty" which is an even more accessible album than "Xenosapien (2007" was.

The music on the album is technical death metal with "core" leanings. The technical riffing and drumming is at times very impressive and I´m reminded of an act like Atheist on the most technical sections. The vocals are predominantly high pitched aggressive "core" type vocals, but there are deeper growling vocals and some aggressive vocal variants present in the music too. Cephalic Carnage haven´t completely forgotten their experimental grindcore past, so there are the occasional spastic grindcore part featured on the album too. Mostly the tracks are in the technical death metal style though. The band have found room for a sludge metal track on the album too in the 12:11 minutes long "Repangaea". This is something they´ve experimented with before with success and "Repangaea" proves to be a very impressive track too. Great building atmosphere, strong varied vocals, and intriguing details. It´s definitely one of the highlights on "Misled by Certainty".

The production is powerful, clean, and generally suits the music very well. "Repangaea" would probably have worked even better than it does with a more filthy production, but the rest of the tracks prosper from the sound.

Cephalic Carnage have really grown into a force to be reckoned with in the last 10 years and "Misled by Certainty" is another really strong album by the band. If you can appreciate the "core" elements in their technical death metal sound (which is often a bit of a task for old school extreme metal listeners), it´ll probably be apparent to most people that Cephalic Carnage is a unique and highly talented act with a distinct sound. "Misled by Certainty" is probably their least "experimental" release yet, but it has other qualities that makes it a very worthwhile listen. Great powerful sound production, extremely high level of musicianship, and an adventurous approach to writing music are just some of the elements that makes this album a great listen. A 4 star (80%) rating is fully deserved.