Carnifex – Necromanteum
Release Date: 6th October 2023
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Order/Stream
Genre: Deathcore, Blackened Deathcore.
FFO: Worm Shepherd, Mental Cruelty, Lorna Shore.
Review By: Trina Julian Edwards
Friday, October 6th, Deathcore pioneers, Carnifex release their ninth full-length studio album, Necromanteum, via Nuclear Blast Records. To say I’m excited about this would be an understatement. Graveside Confessions was one of my favorite albums of 2021, and although it was not everyone’s cup of tea, I love how raw and unforgiving it is. They’re one of the most consistent and reliable bands in the genre, with their constant touring and regular releases. Carnifex has yet to disappoint me, and I don’t anticipate that happening any time soon.
Necromanteum features vocalist Scott Ian Lewis, drummer Shawn Cameron, guitarist Cory Arford, bassist Fred Calderon, and a new addition — guitarist Neil Teimann. Film score composer, Spencer Creaghan also worked his magic on the orchestrations, giving Necromanteum a spooky, unearthly atmosphere.
Torn in Two is one impressive opener. Right off the bat, these dramatic symphonic elements set the chilling mood and draw you into this horror show. They’re adding just the right amount of punch to accentuate the blast beats and chugging guitars. These riffs are rife with sinister chord changes and terrifying backing strings that sound like the screams of a thousand dying witches. Scott Ian Lewis sounds ridiculously deep and growly, like something that just crawled up from the pits of hell. He’s in rare form here. The haunting choral parts are the perfect addition to the suspenseful accompaniment. The harmonizing on the guitar parts gives the instrumental measures a nice, thick sound, and the solo is the cherry on top. If the blast beats and the chugs weren’t enough, there is a hefty breakdown to remind you that, despite their evolution, they haven’t strayed too far from their deathcore roots. This is peak Carnifex and it just might be my favorite track.
That’s a hard act to follow, but Death’s Forgotten Children manages to do it with style. It’s a bit of a departure from the otherworldly subject matter, although themes of life and death are still prevalent, with lyrics focusing on Lewis’s near-death drowning as a young child. Tom Barber of Chelsea Grin provided guest vocals and also co-wrote the lyrics, inspired by his own near-death experience. Lewis and Barber are two of the best in the business, and they’re nothing short of formidable together. When they sing, “The face of death…” I get goosebumps all over. Lewis is absolutely killing these low gutturals here, and Barber’s nightmarish shrieks have to be heard to be believed. This is a riffy beast, with lively dynamics overlaid with a blackened sheen. The symphonic elements are beautifully integrated, giving the composition just the right amount of tension. The dramatic drop in tempo around 2:10 is alarming, but it allows the piece to build in intensity. The ghostly chorus in the background is like the soundtrack to every scary movie I never wanted to see, and just when you thought it couldn’t get any heavier, the tempo gets even slower and the rhythm weightier for that nasty breakdown.
According to vocalist Scott Ian Lewis, the band wanted to focus on less personal topics to explore the intersection of the supernatural and the intellectual. The title track Necromanteum tackles these subjects, questioning whether death is final or whether it is possible to reach between worlds. The orchestral intro sets the stage with the proper dark and moody atmosphere. The addition of the choir ups the ante, then when Lewis and the metal elements come in, it’s jarring and dissonant. You’ll find the symphonic elements haven’t softened the band a bit, they’ve only added a layer of refinement to the overall sound. The leads are melodic when they need to be, but they’re still plenty brutal, and the dynamic solo amplifies the energy. That breakdown is substantial, but the animated vocal line keeps it from getting bogged down. Revisiting that ethereal chorale in the outro is nothing short of genius, leaving you with an ending that is both haunting and beautiful. With a title track like this, you can easily see why Carnifex have remained so successful after almost two decades.
Crowned in Everblack is filled to the brim with disparate elements, but somehow, they make it work. It begins with a blackened verse that first takes off with manic energy, but drops in tempo just as suddenly. There are numerous rhythm changes that keep you guessing, and the staccato strings in the background give the track an air of suspense. The clean guitar tone mid-track ushers in another movement of the composition, leading to some superior old-school shredding, an instrumental piano section, and an ethereal outro steeped in ghostly ambiance.
The Pathless Forest is quick and lively in places but, boy, is it chunky. I swear I could feel the bass in my chest. The dynamics are right on the money here, sometimes soaring through these measures with all of the elements in sync, but other times dropping tempo in the guitar and vocal lines while the drums are hammering away underneath. Lewis sounds particularly gnarly here, and the guitar solo delivers more of that old-school death metal energy.
The next track is another favorite for me. How the Knife Gets Twisted is one of the shorter tracks on the album at just under four minutes, but they make the most of it. It’s as riffy as can be, with truckloads of melody and plenty of that beautiful, black metal tremolo. We still get all the blast beats we can shake a stick at, and there’s enough chugging to satisfy deathcore aficionados. The symphonic and choral elements are huge, vivid, and theatrical, and the harmony in the solo is simply gorgeous. These beautiful, ethereal moments stand in stark contrast to the pummelling assault of the guitars and drums, as well as the dark lyrical theme. I love how Lewis enunciates “This is how the knife gets twisted…” like a psychopath closing in for the kill.
Architect of Misanthropy is a riff-heavy behemoth mowing down everything in its path. The sounds are incredibly layered here and there are a multitude of rhythmic changes driving it forward. As we’ve seen in the previous tracks, the symphonic and choral elements in the background are an excellent foil to the malignant, oppressive energy the guitars and drums embody. That solo came out of nowhere, channeling some 1970s guitar god energy, and the harmonizing guitars just cemented that impression. Cameron sounds like an absolute machine here, insanely speedy and with not a beat out of place.
There’s an odd sort of Custer’s Last Stand aesthetic to the pseudo-gothic instrumental opening in Infinite Night Terror. It quickly descends into the madness of furious rhythms and the ungodly howls of the vocal line. The up-tempo sections fly at breakneck speed while a hellish chorus laments in the background. The soaring guitar solo brings separation from an environment that is steeped in darkness. As the track progresses, there’s a palpable feel of winding down, of spirit expended, and the weight of the walls collapsing in on themselves.
Bleed More has a lot of the classic deathcore elements at the forefront, with drums like a jackhammer and chugging riffs churning away on the bottom. However, the symphonic aspects lend color to the track and convey a sense of vastness. The guitar leads and horns add punctuation, stabbing the melodic lines with fiendish glee. It’s surprisingly hooky and the songwriting is especially good here, with a lot of movement within a well-structured framework.
After an ominous instrumental intro, Heaven and Hell All at Once opens with a chugging rhythm overlaid with Teimann’s moving leads. I absolutely love this track, partially because it has some of the best melodic lines of the album, and that tremolo picking is superlative. Lewis has somehow infused his vocals with pure evil because he sounds like at least three different demons, and if you didn’t know better, you’d think his throat was being ripped out. The sweeping strings on this piece are not only epic, but they add a touch of lightness to the prevailing harsh dissonance. It really drives home the idea of experiencing heaven and hell simultaneously.
Overall, I feel like Necromanteum is like the coalescence of Slow Death-era Carnifex and Graveside Confessions-era Carnifex, with even more minor-key blackness and more orchestral wizardry. They’ve balanced the brutal and the symphonic on the sword’s edge, and I love it. It’s also got a more melodic bent, possibly due to the influence of newcomer and former DevilDriver guitarist Neil Teimann.
This is perhaps a more polished effort as well, but they haven’t lost their edge. Not even a little bit. As much as I adore Carnifex, I find them difficult to listen to for long periods of time because they are just so much of everything. Carnifex is one of the definitive bands in the genre, but they haven’t been content to rest on their renown. They continue to experiment with their sound, and the outcome has justified their efforts.
(4.5 / 5)
