BAND: CARNIFEX
ALBUM: DIE WITHOUT HOPE
LABEL: NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS
GENRE: DEATHCORE
RATING: 7/10
Carnifex Dies… With a Little Bit of Hope
When Carnifex announced an end to the group’s hiatus and the news that the deathcore quintet would release Die Without Hope in March of 2014, the follow-up to 2011’s Until I Feel Nothing, anticipation began to build. The group promised something different, and Die Without Hope attempts to make good on that promise. Die Without Hope is no instant classic, but it could prove the stepping-stone for the revitalization of a near-death genre.
Carnifex has never shied away from the sometimes career-crushing label of “deathcore.” In fact, that band has embraced it, breaking through claims of being unoriginal Suicide Silence imitators to become the genre’s defining force. It should come as no great surprise, then, that Die Without Hope is, without a doubt, a deathcore album.
The trademark elements of deathcore are all present. Blast beats, chugging riffs, huge breakdowns, and violent screams can be found in abundance on the group’s fourth LP, but the album doesn’t stop there. The album occasionally brushes into the realm of blacker metal, and the group introduces a few very well written, albeit entirely too brief, guitar solos into the heaviness. These moments help to add memorability to tracks such as “Dark Days” and “Last Words.”
Perhaps the best part of Die Without Hope is its relentless, unashamed aggression. Lyrics like “This is death’s cold embrace/This is everyone you’ve ever loved/Spitting in your fucking face” are littered all over the album. Vocalist Scott Lewis is in top shape, providing brutal gutturals with equally matched high screams. Lewis isn’t the only member of the deathcore machine that sounds refreshed; each instrument contributes an element to Carnifex that fans of the band have not been acquainted with. The dual guitars on Die Without Hope are as melodic at times as they are heavy throughout the album; beyond the brief solos, standout track “Where the Light Dies” intersperses melodic guitars throughout the track’s nearly five-minute length. Carnifex’s rhythm section also returns with a vengeance. Blast beats and ridiculous breakdowns are staples on Die Without Hope, and intricate drumming can be heard throughout the album.
On the surface, Carnifex should have crafted an instant classic with this release. The problems arise, though, in the band’s apparent unwillingness to commit to making a great album. Die Without Hope contains a few of deathcore’s finest moments, teasing the potential to eclipse the genre’s biggest stars, but for every “Last Words,” “Dragged Into the Grave,” or “Die Without Hope,” there is a cookie-cutter attempt at heaviness. Even with only one leg over the originality hurdles, Carnifex has laid what could be the groundwork for a new wave of deathcore- one that is heavy, melodic, and creative.
LISTEN TO: “Last Words,” “Dragged Into the Grave,” “Condemned to Decay,” “Salvation is Dead”
FOR FANS OF: Suicide Silence, old Bring Me the Horizon, All Shall Perish, Whitechapel
