CARCARIASS

Well, this band was really never a grindcore combo. Death metal was more their style until this album. And their basis is still death metal. But a lot of elements of melody and some industrial metal has also been introduced. Some would also say; deathcore. But the main impression is that this is a surprisingly melodic album which is really bordering to the prog metal genre. Some songs are also well into the prog metal genre. Some of the songs also reminds me about what Pestilence did on their excellent Testimony Of The Ancient album.

Unfortunate, the art of great songwriting has not been introduced into this album. But the songs here are still very good and I have found myself really enjoying this album.

Bravo and viva la France !

3.5 stars

That is........ Carcariass still does the death metal growl vocals. But the music on this album is pretty melodic. They are also pretty much like Pantera too with a lot of deathcore chugging guitars and guitar solos. The guitar solos reminds me alot about Death. Hence, Carcariass has moved into a landscape previously occupied by Pantera, Death and surely dozens of new deathcore bands.

The quality is decent throughout and Carcariass. A song like Threshold To Madness is a good one. The rest is pretty much filled to the brim with cliches and pretty conformist melody lines. If you want a surprise and some fresh takes on music, you are not getting it from this album. I have heard it all before and I am pretty bored by what I get here. The musicianship is good enough, but the songs lacks both originality and sparkle. Hence my verdict.

2 stars

I get tonnes of Cannibal Corpse associations when Distributed Thinking slams through the speakers and devours the airwaves. And that is exactly where Carcariass sets out their stall for a large part of this album. But they also leans pretty strongly towards some more melodic stuff too. Cannibal Corpse's excellent Gallery Of Suicide album springs to mind. But Carcariass is even more melodic than that. Not that they stepping on Genesis or Camel's toes in the melody stakes, but I get the feeling that this album is Cannibal Light.

You also get the normal death growls, both the distorted guitars and the thrash guitars, a medium speed, blast beats and the thundering bass. Death metal in other words.

The quality is OK, without really making my excited. It is run of the mill death metal which neither offend me or brightens my day. Pretty good it is, but also pretty dull. Dull metal.

2.25 stars

A pretty straight talking death metal album it is too. The vocals is the typical growls. The music is pretty standard death metal anno 1995 which leans pretty heavy on Suffocation. It is more melodic though than their countrymen in Loudblast and not anywhere near grindcore. The rhythms, speed and growls are in the Suffocation mode. The guitar solos and some of the guitar riffs is actually leaning towards Death and in particular; Iron Maiden. Death metal light, in other words. Less calories, more taste.

Unfortunate, the taste bit leaves a lot to be desired. None of the songs here raises it's head above decent. There is nothing here I have not heard by other melodic death metal bands and the novelty is wearing a bit thin now. But it is still a pretty OK album which metal heads may like more than a prog head and weaned of metal head like myself. For me, this is just decent and nothing more. This is only a collection item, I am afraid.

2 stars