Wretched Fate – Carnal Heresy
Release Date: 24th February 2023
Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal
FFO: Bloodbath, Aeon, Cannibal Corpse.
Review By: Mark Young
Wretched Fate unleash their second full length album, Carnal Heresy, with a simple mission statement to inject new energy and raise Death Metal beyond the formulaic offerings currently being released. Hailing from Sweden and with a new addition to the band, let’s see if they have achieved their targets.
Straight off the bat, it is apparent that they are not going to take any prisoners here. Welding an almost At the Gates tone and structure that is just built on constant movement but with Vile era and beyond vocal delivery that just screams Corpsegrinder which is spot on and adds a lot to the mix.
There are subtle moments of melody that move in between the heavy guitar attack just to add tension where required, which is thankfully not overused. The problem is that they have acknowledged that Death Metal is in danger of constantly recycling ideas and motifs especially in the extreme genre and when you consider that for many The Bleeding is the pinnacle of form, how do you go past that? Here they just let their music talk for them, and they have taken what they need from their influences, whilst doing enough to avoid the trap of being too familiar to what has gone before. They employ all the classic approaches – frantic trem picking, blast beats and extreme double bass but not all the way through in every song so that it becomes a chore to sit through.
There is enough going on here to make them worthy of your time, and there are signs that they will mature into their own animal. Each of the songs sets out to batter you into submission and there are some great hooks which recall At the Gates which is no bad thing at all. There is also a hint of Vader in there, which again is not a bad thing at all.
As I’ve said earlier, there is a sense that their sound will develop, so they ultimately achieve their goal and step beyond the shadows of their peers. The album is well produced, and the songs are built with, so you will go back to it again and again. What they do well is to imbue their songs with a sense of perpetual motion. They do not stand still, and in the live setting there is no chance you will either.
1. Mind Desecrator
2. Momentary Suicide
3. Utterance From The Inhuman Tongue
4. Cry From Beyond
5. Umbilical Suffocation
6. Harlots For Suffering
7. Upon The Weak
8. Morbid Testament
9. Spineless Horror
(3.5 / 5)
