Slow Death

I remember hearing Carnifex for the first time; a friend of mine showed me the title track of what was then their latest album “Die Without Hope”. I was immediately entranced with the incredible lines and melodicism of the song. This very concept of soaring phrases and melody is what had me immediately in love with their latest album to date; Slow Death. The immense instrumentation of each track adds a gorgeous symphonic feeling to the album that truly darkens the atmosphere. After further listening, I realized how much influence the classic ideas of black metal had on this record. Blackened deathcore, something never before truly heard in the metal world. All in all, it is a perfect concoction of what once were separate ideas in metal music.

I listened to the track “Drown Me in Blood” once it was released as a teaser for the album. The first thing I noticed was the shape, line, and sense of direction that is generally found in classical and symphonic music, this influence makes “Slow Death” a very unique album in deathcore. This shaping and musical melody also in turn makes these tracks extremely catchy, I find myself playing them over in my head often after I listen to it. The symphonic influence also adds a sense of atmosphere to the record that I haven’t heard in deathcore since The Acacia Strain’s “Observer”. An extremely dark listen, due to these influences, this album is perfect on any playlist.

In listening to this album, I can hear how much this band has pulled it together over the years. They sound not as though they are five people playing instruments, but like one unit pouring soul into every note. The interactions between every set of instruments in the group sound exactly tailored to the feel and musical ideas of the album. I find this album to be extremely innovative in this way for very few deathcore bands truly seem to feel like a unit while they play. Carnifex’s first works were very good, but they sounded a little sloppy and a lot like other metal albums that were out at the time, like Suicide Silence’s “The Cleansing”. Over time, they have ameliorated their craft and really differentiated themselves from other bands and have made a serious name for themselves while cultivating a new kind of metal that has never been heard before.

In the metal community, it is generally understood that many black metal fans would define deathcore as “not true cult”, “not even metal”, or some other hardcore bullshit like that. I see this album like a giant fuck you to those people, this album shows black metal fans that ignore deathcore based on its label that the genre has the potential to capture many of the elements of black metal we’ve come to know and love.

The only complaint I have (and it’s not huge), is the occasional bad lyric. Sometimes a line just feels out of place and a little awkward. For example: in the title track “Slow Death”, the lyric “I know you want to die but just hang on” sounds whiny, typical, annoying, and just out of place with the general depressive tone of the song and album. Some of them just weren’t terribly original, “we are the dead generation” (also found in the title track) has been said a million times over. “Rest in pain” sounds one hell of a lot like “rest in piss” (Human Disaster”, The Acacia Strain) However it doesn’t really hurt the album much and I would think most people could get past it.

I would definitely recommend this album to any deathcore, or black metal enthusiasts such as myself. Especially fans of bands such as The Acacia Strain, (early) Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, Black Tongue, (mid to later) Marduk, or Watain. Carnifex’s Slow Death is the ultimate concoction of black metal and deathcore drenched in atmosphere and instrumentation. I would rate Slow death with a 94%.