Promo 2008

Not much blood was shed initially when the guys started their career in the distant 1992 under the name Internal Bleeding, one of the first genuine death metal cohorts on Italian soil. The actual toiling and suffering began a bit later, mind you, in 1994 to be precise, when they transferred to Carnal Rapture. It’s interesting to note that under the first moniker they failed to produce anything substantial; reportedly the voluminous output accumulated during this time saw the light of day on the first Carnal Rapture demo…

which only contained two compositions. Yeah, painstaking hard work with myriad sleepless nights behind always pays off… however, it there ever was a case in the annals of metal, and music in general, when quality most fully compensates for a lack of quantity, it’s on this 2-tracker, a most shining display of technical death metal wizardry which was simply put a precedent on the scene at the time, predating the awe-inspiring pyrotechnics of Necrophagist, Cryptopsy and Martyr by a few years. A pioneering work in every respect, it left the chosen few who were able to come across it at the time eating their hearts out as to why so short the final product.

It turned out that the band didn’t remain indifferent to the fans’ laments, and had voted to really brace themselves and put their hearts and souls behind their next instalment. Their determination was mythical with a lot of thought put into the creative process the guys polishing every motif and nuance to the utmost, toiling over their offspring tirelessly, forgetting rest and sleep, constantly tweaking things around until everything seemed perfect. Finally, after a decade spent in the studio the band emerged victorious with the production of… another two tracks closing on just above 10-min.

That last paragraph was just a conjecture, of course, as reportedly the guys were in a split-up state for a large portion of the 10-year hiatus between the two promos. However, this new offering was every bit as compelling as the first one, our friends simply showing to the now ample tech-death field that those who bent it first could still bend it best; no exaggerations here, just track down this no-brainer and forget about any other music for the next few days, and probably weeks.

And not only but it turned out that these precocious minstrels had voted to stay afloat for longer hence the promo reviewed here appearing almost immediately after that second campaign, some four years later that is. And this is where the real problem begins: now that the band have decided to become a more regular presence on the scene the delivery shifts. Where does it go, though? Well, it goes towards more abstract, strictly modern realms with more minimalistic rhythms where also thrash and post-thrash reside the final result not far from Coroner’s “Grin”, the more expressive this time bassisms also bringing a fusions/jazz-esque flair from works like Atheist’s “Elements” and Alarum’s “Fluid Motion”. On top of that the guys have exerted themselves to the max with whole five cuts composed, nearly reaching the half hour-mark.

No, there are no problems here, they are non-existent; it’s just that the listener has to adjust to this newly acquired physiognomy as the technical exuberance from the previous endeavours is almost completely gone replaced by a choppy staccato rhythm-section which seldom stands still, circling around creepy melodic excursions on the “Grin”-ned fluctuator “Precious Time”, taking a break on the less eventful more conventionally-executed “Caught off Guard”. The dynamics go one level up on the unnerving “Hate You and Adore You” the riffs jumping up and down to a slightly hallucinogenic effect, receiving a more melodious company on “Poison My Soul”, a more abstract shredder with a captivating main motif. Mentioning abstractism, there’s plenty of it on “Arms Tied Back”, a bouncy chuggy dirge which develops as one lengthy gloomy procession without any particular highlights if we exclude the short carving lead-driven etudes, a stylish touch albeit very sparsely present, making one wish the lead guitarist to have been given more space here.

The vocals are firmly in the subdued, semi-declamatory Ron Royce (Coroner) camp, the deathy tirades of old having also been obliterated the band embarking on an entirely new journey, sounding confident if a bit stiff as now the tools they have available are more limited. Still, they do a fairly good job with them, not feeling nostalgic towards their death metal past, marching onward with these mechanic, robotic strides which haven’t been granted a sequel 11 years later… the guys are still around, but I guess they may have switched to a “status: still thinking” mode once again. If that’s the case, then we should fill ourselves with anticipation for another product of painstaking Sisyphus-esque labour not far from now. I don’t know about you, but I would personally be happy with another two tracks… no rush.