ALBUM REVIEW: Indisputably Carnivorous – The Day Of The Beast

Frenetic, furious riffing? Check. Vicious, pummelling drums? Tales of horror and nightmares made flesh? Check and check. If that sounds appealing, then do THE DAY OF THE BEAST have a treat for you in the form of their fourth album Indisputably Carnivorous. Horror inducing stories set to blackened death metal are the dish of the day (of the beast) here and lucky for you, the portions are generous. 

The sound of changing TV channels doesn’t prepare for the sheer onslaught of vicious riffing and ‘bleghs’ that open Corruptor/Infestor.as it tears and howls its way into the world. Along with Disturbing Roars At Twilight, this one-two combination is an adrenaline-fuelled thrill ride through the darkness, the latter spinning a yarn o the things that go bump in the night – and making sure you keep the lanterns lit lest you be their next victim. 

While these two tracks show promise and are certainly enjoyable, it’s the title track where the album properly takes flight. A barrage of frenetic riffs, giant hooks and serious attitude, its double bass assault and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER-esque guitar work sweeps all along for the neck-snapping ride while plastering massive grins on faces. It’s an easy highlight to the album and Enter The Witch House continues this proud tradition as a galloping death metal joy ride it’s impossible not to enjoy. 

This is where the band excel; a blend of blackened, thrashing death metal that’s part SKELETONWITCH, part THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and all aggression. There’s more hooks in here than in an abattoir but rather than sounding overwhelming or busy, instead there’s still some restraint. Ideas are either taken to their logical conclusion or – like with Enter The Witch House – the band throw in a guitar solo to break them up so it sounds reinvigorated when the hook comes back. 

Unfortunately for this style, the band don’t really vary things enough across the album to justify its 46 minute run time; there’ good ideas certainly, but songs are often overstuffed. The title track itself is near five and a half minutes and doesn’t use the time as wisely as it could. Similarly, Venomous Procession is almost all speed; while there is a slower, more menacing passage, the faster passages blur together in a haze of speed and unchanging drum and guitar patterns. 

Not only that but some songs don’t quite differentiate themselves from each other enough. While Enter The Witch House and the title track feel separate from each other, the same can’t be said of Corruptor/Infestor, Disturbing Roars At Twilight or On Top Many Layers of Horror to some extent. It’s a shame because the band clearly can write a great riff and a vicious hooks, as they show on Black Forms Materialize amongst its tremolo moments. 

For the most part though, Indisputably Carnivorous is solid, with plenty of neck-snapping, pit-inciting moments alongside more menacing moments that slow the pace down, relative to the frenetic speed the band set most of the time. Despite losing steam in its second half and feeling fairly front-loaded and getting a bit samey, it’s a solid album that fans of blackened death metal will certainly get a kick out of. 

Rating: 6/10

Indisputably Carnivorous is set for release on June 18th via Prosthetic Records. 

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