ALBUM REVIEW: Visions Of Infinihility – Carnosus

We are little over a month into 2023 and the world is still proving to be a horrible place. However, despite the bleak outlook of everything, death metal fans can take solace in the fact that their beloved genre is in its healthiest place in years. With a seemingly endless supply of up and coming acts it takes something pretty remarkable to grab people’s attention for more than a brief moment. CARNOSUS are one of those remarkable bands. The Swedish technical death metal crew caught people’s attention with their 2020 debut full-length Dogma Of The Deceased and are now back with their sophomore effort Visions Of Infinihility as they look to keep up their forward momentum.

From the very outset of Ossein Larcenist the band pick up where they left off last time out. This is a savage offering of intricate riffs and machine gun drumming. The vocals from Jonatan Karasiak cover a vast range as he shifts between demonic gutturals to shrieking high pitched screams with a scary amount of ease. The carefully crafted guitars of Rickard Persson and Marcus Jokela Nyström intertwine with each other to provide both the skull crushing heaviness and melodic sensibilities on which the CARNOSUS sound is formed.

The ferocious blast beats on Calamity Crawl ensure that there is no chance for the listener to pause for a breath, coupled with the schizophrenic vocal delivery of Karasiak. This song is as hectic and downright frightening as it is impressive and intriguing. The pace doesn’t die off for Castle Of Grief either as the boys lay down some of their finest riffs to date, creating a spiralling vortex of high intensity riffs and impossibly complex guitar solos that will undoubtedly rank amongst the top that you are likely to hear this year.

In Debt To Oblivion sees the band taking a different approach, with the emphasis being more on complex rhythmic shifts and natural harmonics akin to bands such as GOJIRA and ORBIT CULTURE. The tremolo guitars perfectly match the drums to give a real percussive, almost mechanical sound to the track with devastating effect. Procession Of Depression, however, sees the band shift styles again with a more down-tempo approach. This is not to say that it is a slow song by any stretch of the imagination, but the slower chugs and more open notes create a more grandiose and melodic sound when compared to its predecessors.

The closing track Among Worms It Was Whispered sees the band going for broke and leaving nothing in the tank as they head towards the finish line. This is the band at their most primal and aggressive, and frankly, their best. There isn’t a shred of predictability throughout the entirety of Visions Of Infinihility, and this song is a perfect testament to that fact. The explosive concoction of frantic riffs and whiplash-inducing drums ensure that there are very little remnants to be found of the listener’s ear drums and that the skull has all but been severed from the very top of the spine due to the involuntary headbanging that the song induces.

Visions Of Infinihility is the sound of a band firing on all cylinders and hitting their stride at the perfect time. Pay close attention to CARNOSUS, because whether you want to give it or not, this band will demand it.

Rating: 9/10

Visions Of Infinihility is set for release on February 10th via self-release.

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