Carnifex

Graveside Confessions

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Genre: Blackened Death Metal.
Released: 03/09/2021
Via Nuclear Blast

Album Review: Carnifex – Graveside Confessions

Carnifex has returned with their new album titled ‘Graveside Confessions’ and I think it’s safe to say that fans are extremely excited for the follow-up album to the 2019 release ‘World War X’. The San Diego based band helped to pioneer their genre back in 2006 with their debut EP titled ‘Carnifex’ and they have had one hell of a career since. The band have certainly had their ups and downs but they will be hoping to reach new heights with this latest release. Here are my thoughts of Carnifex’s ‘Graveside Confessions’.

Straight out of the gate, the album opens with Carnifex’s more Blackend Deathcore style as the title track ‘Graveside Confessions’ unleashes hell upon the listener. The track is pure carnage and it does an exceptional job of setting the bar for what’s to come. ‘Pray For Peace’ follows suit while bringing a more brutal esc feeling. Rapid drumming mixed with heavy as hell riffs makes this a headbangers dream (or nightmare). The intensity doesn’t stop there tho as ‘Seven Souls’ brings a more methodical twist to the current format. Blast beats reign supreme during this track while ear piercing gutturals help to remind you just how heavy Carnifex can get. It’s a monstrous start to the new album.

Up next is the track ‘Cursed’ which continues the mayhem that came before it. This song demonstrates the bands newer blackened vibe extremely well with the way the riffs are recorded. A much more raw sounding distortion is used throughout this track that compliments what Carnifex were aiming for. Not to mention just how emphatic some of their phrases end up being. ‘Carry Us Away’ picks up the pace and I can’t help but imagine the state of concert halls around the world when this song is let loose on diehard metalheads. The way this song is written must have been intended for live platy because the pacing of the song is simply perfect for a killer mosh pit.

As the album progresses you are met with the colossus ‘Talk To The Dead’. This track is a disgustingly heavy number that completely won me over. Something about this track just made me want to constantly listen to it which is quite rare when it comes to this style of music. The sheer level of passion and ambition put into this track makes it something quite unique and I have to say this song is my top pick out of the entire album. Quite surprisingly, this is followed by a quite melodic and atmospheric instrumental titled ‘January Nights’. On its own, I believe this is a decent track however it really seems to disrupt the flow of the album and it seems a bit too out of the left field for my liking. It’s an odd addition to the album.

To make it a bit stranger, ‘Cemetery Wander’ is probably the heaviest song on the entire album. Maybe Carnifex wanted to give the listener a little break before unleashing this behemoth of a track upon them. If you a fan of deathcore, this song will certainly be for you. Its heavy nature is quite the thing to behold and the way the song is delivered makes it quite spectacular. ‘Countess Of Perpetual Torment’ brings more of what fans have come to expect from Carnifex, while ‘Dead Bodies Everywhere’ brings out a more methodical style that is used to demonstrate that Carnifex is more than a one-trick pony.

‘Cold Dead Summer’ is a decent entry to the album that thrives on the blackened nature of the record. The use of the more raw sounding guitar tones just adds an extra bit of oomph to the song that would otherwise have come across as quite generic and tame. Following that is ‘Alive For The Last Time’. This is the final new song on the album and it leaves a bit to be desired. It doesn’t quite have the same kick to it that everything else has and I can’t help but feel like this track may have been a last-minute addition to the album.

The final three tracks on the album are ‘Graveside’ versions of ‘Collaborating like killers’, ‘My Heart In Atrophy’, and ‘Slit Wrist Savior’ from the band’s debut album ‘Dead In My Arms’. While these songs do sound better produced this time around, I think the addition of these hinder the album more than they help it. If the band tried to incorporate their newer style into these older songs, I think it would have worked better however I can’t see anything different from the originals compared to these so-called ‘Graveside’ edition tracks.

Overall, I think the new material on the album is certainly worth a listen as it is a clear sign of the band’s improvement over the years. Carnifex has started to master their Blackend deathcore style and I think this album is a great example of just how much they have improved however I can’t help but feel that the addition of the three older tracks hurt my overall listening experience of the album.