ALBUM REVIEW: Ossadas – Carma
CARMA may not be the most prolific band out there, with only two albums to their name since their formation in 2012, but their style, blending ponderous funeral doom with black metal, is unlike the vast majority of their contemporaries in the Portuguese underground. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2015, showed a lot of promise, its raw sound and spartan, hypnotic songs possessing a stark, claustrophobic quality that, although there was certainly some work required to refine it, proved to be an impressive start for the band. Now, close to eight years since the release of their last album, the band return with Ossadas, an album that has trimmed away much of the fat that was present in their debut, with a tighter production and imaginative song-writing marking this out as their best effort so far.
The album begins with Leirão 1, a short dungeon synth-esque instrumental piece that does a great job of easing the listener into the record and setting the tone for what’s to come. Jazigo, the first full track on the record, proves to be an ominous, bombastic slab of blackened doom, built around huge chords, minimalistic melodies, thunderous percussion and throaty gutturals. Along with the deep, chanted passages and ambient interludes that are peppered throughout, it makes for a powerful yet sombre sound that’s almost hypnotic in its dirge-like pace. Memória, with its huge, droning intro, thick, sludgy bass and jarring guitar work, is another slow and measured affair that shifts the focus towards a bass-driven sound, with acerbic vocals and slick, melodic flourishes from the guitar making for a muscular, rumbling sound that is only accentuated by booming drums. Leirão 4, another spartan, keyboard-orientated break from the rest of the record, again takes all the classic elements of dungeon synth and distils them into a brief but impressive segue from the rest of the record, much in the same way that the album’s opener did.
Paz is a monolithic slab of funeral doom with a cavernous drum sound, gargantuan chords and haunting leads all contributing to a domineering, potent atmosphere. Despite remaining at a sluggish crawl for much of its runtime, it’s a surprisingly spirited and dramatic song, due largely to the excellent lead hooks, ethereal keyboards and dark, whispery vocals, which add to its brooding, melancholic aura. Destino keeps the same ponderous tempo, bringing back the sonorous chanting choirs to lend it a grandiose air. The meatier death-doom at this song’s core, with low growls and focused guitars, sounds great and injects a fiercer edge into proceedings without sacrificing the cinematic overtones that elevate this song above what’s preceded it. Leirão 7, the final part of the dungeon synth triptych, is much like the first two; minimalist almost to the point of being dark ambient, but powerful and emotive.
Monumento utilises cleaner tones and eerie hooks for a bleaker feel, adopting the excellent leads and visceral vocals more effectively than on earlier efforts. It’s a song of light and dark shades, with the polished moments being counterpointed perfectly by murky death-doom, ebbing and flowing between the two and creating an immersive, impactful sound that makes it one of the album’s best offerings. Saudade is lengthy and dramatic, borrowing the same formula that the previous track was built around, with clean and distorted passages vying for attention and making for an eclectic sound while the soaring leads add a catchy exclamation point. The various elements are blended together well, and there’s a varied and vigorous approach to the music that helps to keep things interesting, incorporating black, doom and death metal together to close this album on arguably one of its most epic songs.
This is very much one of those albums that gathers momentum and confidence as it progresses, and some of the very early tracks on this record are starkly minimalist in their approach, but the further in the record gets, the sharper and more animated the music gradually becomes. The addition of short dungeon synth interludes works extremely well here, providing some much needed respite from what is a very long and ponderous record. In a side by side comparison with their debut album, Ossadas marks a huge step up, not just in terms of musicality and song-writing, but also in terms of production, with the rawness of their first album contrasting sharply with the crisp and polished mix on this one. The near eight-year wait has been well worth it, and if CARMA are a little more adventurous with their sound, as was the case on songs that appeared later on this record, their third album could prove to be something even more impressive.
Rating: 8/10
Ossadas is out now via Monumental Rex.
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