Carnage

Are you a twenty or thirty-something who went through your teens listening to Black Sabbath and Slayer? Did you stay up every Friday night playing Dungeons & Dragons in a dingy basement with mounds of caffeinated beverages and empty packages of M&M’s surrounding you? Did you read one too many Conan novels or Elfquest comic books? And do you, despite the fact that you’ve matured and got yourself a real job, still partake in these activities from time to time? Then Lair of the Minotaur is the band for me… I mean… you!

Lair of the Minotaur’s debut, 'Carnage', is both retro in it’s approach and very modern at the same time. The band is clearly in awe of artists such as Sabbath, Slayer, Celtic Frost, Cathedral, et al. Yet 'Carnage' doesn’t simply ape the band’s influences to death like so many newer bands these days tend to do, they add in their own touches, like bits of feedback here and there, and some synth hidden deep within the album. There’s also a slight tongue in cheek spirit to the mythological lyrics, as Steven Rathbone gleefully namechecks his own band on the opening track in a bloodthirsty growl, “Lair of the Minotaur - you’ll bear his cross!” (understandable if you’re familiar with the comedic leanings of 7000 Dying Rats, the band LotM arose from).

“The Wolf” is one of the highlights, featuring some truly frenetic drumming that perfectly accompanies the locomotive lead guitar. “Warlord” is another man of the match contender -- the swirling riffage is so fast and dense, you might have to lie down for a little while before your head explodes. However, the champion of this record may well be “Demon Serpent”, a punishing and pulverising track that, after making your ears bleed, soothes you back to consciousness with a haunting synthesiser coda.

The production on 'Carnage' is also noteworthy. The album is intentionally made to sound muddy and dirty, the way most sludge/doom metal, in theory, should sound. Do not fear, this is no ‘St. Anger’ production job, the album is very crisp and raw. Rather than sounding like a CD though, 'Carnage' sounds like a cassette tape that’s been sitting inside the glove compartment of an abandoned car for fifteen years.

If you don’t count the aforementioned production as a fault, then the only evident flaws on 'Carnage' are the rather short length (it barely beats the thirty-five minute mark), and a lack of variety in the songs. Sure, you don’t pop in an album like this expecting some sort of hair metal ballad to show up halfway through, but the sound does wear a bit thin after a few repeated listens. However, as 'Carnage' is a debut album, it’s easier to forgive these nit-picks. Fans of hard-hitting doom would do well to check this album out. It may rekindle some fond memories of your 3rd level half-orc assassin.