Album Review: Carnifex – ‘Slow Death’

Deathcore, a genre with so much potential yet seems to be over saturated with similar, chugging bands and the same drawn out idealism. One after the other, up and coming acts are putting out similar sounding, almost cookie-cutter records that just follow whatever heavy trend is currently “in”. Last year it was downtempo and who could play the slowest breakdown, this year it seems to be “fight riffs” and “slam riffs”, which can be well done here and there. Bigger bands like Thy Art Is Murder, Suicide Silence, etc have never really stayed slave to the trends, but their creativity is dwindling. The recent return of Despised Icon has the deathcore world shaking in its boots, though in my opinion “Beast” was lackluster. But one band is set to release an album that is sure to send deathcore fans reeling; Carnifex. On August 5th, Carnifex will release their sixth studio album entitled “Slow Death”. The following review is the impact “Slow Death” has left on me, and what you can expect from this monster of an album.
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Carnifex has always been known to work elements of black metal into their craft, the most well-known success being their album “Hell Chose Me”. With “Slow Death”, they’ve pushed the limits even further. The singles released so far, “Drown Me In Blood”, “Slow Death”, and “Six Feet Closer To Hell” were great leads to the album, but they barely begin to scratch the surface of the album’s black metal presence.

Opening the album is “Dark Heart Ceremony”, which is personally one of my favorite tracks on the album. Do not be fooled by the operatic intro, this track is a bludgeoning beast. Scott Lewis’s highs dominate the vocal spectrum, laid over some almost slam level blasts supplied by drummer Shawn Cameron. “Slow Death” and “Drown Me In Blood” follow, bringing heavier more deathcore oriented sounds into the album, though DMIB shows great promise with black metal-esque tones and mood. “Pale Ghost” is probably the lesser track on the album, although still a great deathcore track in its own right. The groove is heavy and catchy, and the breakdowns scream “Slam me into a wall”, but it doesn’t shine when compared to the rest of the album. However, the solo is easily one of the standouts.

Enter “Black Candles Burning”. This track wouldn’t be out of place on an old Dimmu Borgir or Behemoth album. Scott’s black metal style highs and depressive, questioning lyricism backed by an eerie, yet fast paced and heavy track really demonstrate how versatile the whole band can be when mixing the genres. “Six Feet Closer To Hell” is a great track, with obvious allusions to the previous release “Die Without Hope” which bring the ideas of both albums such closer together. “Necrotoxic” is another black metal banger. Although the shortest on the album, it does not remotely disappoint. A constant hectic beat and tone echo early Carach Angren, which is fine by me. “Necrotoxic” leads softly into the acoustic/electric interlude of “Life Fades To A Funeral”. Which gives you a nice break and time to collect your scattered skull fragments. The track really gave Corey (Buddha) and Jordan some play room to work very somber and beautiful riffs, that would normally seem out of place, into this heavy juggernaut of an album. “Countess Of The Crescent Moon” follows, my other favorite track. COTCM is the epitome of black metal on “Slow Death”.

Everything flows perfectly together, with not a single second wasted in its run time. Tied in perfectly with heavy breakdowns (which are incredibly well placed), it couldn’t be any less then the definition of Carnifex’s sound. The album comes to a close with “Servants To The Horde” which wouldn’t have sounded out of place on Until I Feel Nothing. The first breakdown, signified by “We are hellborn…”, is easily one of my favorite breaks on the album. Overall the track is awesome, a perfect blend of all the usual Carnifex elements.

As a whole, “Slow Death” is quite possibly my new favorite Carmifex album. The black metal influence is incredibly strong, and are only made stronger by the traditional deathcore elements. Almost every track has an amazing solo, which Die Without Hope lacked. The album is very powerful and boasts Carnifex’s dominance in the deathcore genre. Overall, my favorite tracks are “Dark Heart Ceremony” and “Countess Of The Crescent Moon”, though I can easily run through the entire album multiple times without tiring of it. Album of the year material for sure. Carnifex is currently touring on the Summer Slaughter tour, and you can check out the tracks “Slow Death” and “Drown Me In Blood” below!

Carnifex “Slow Death” – 9.5/10
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‘Drown Me In Blood’

‘Slow Death’