ALBUM REVIEW: Carnage Funeral – Bonecarver
Music follows trends. The latest in the deathcore/death metal scene is the expansion into the symphonic territory as made incredibly popular recently by the mighty LORNA SHORE among others. Some may alter their sound organically this way and others will no doubt feed off the rising energy of those taking over the scene. The second album by BONECARVER sees the Madrid mob building upon their brutal sound with these symphonic elements. But thankfully these don’t feel tacked on and while this year they may be overshadowed by certain bigger bands in the scene, Carnage Funeral should stand with the best of them.
The title track builds with ominous menace until it gives way to the band’s ferocious brand of death metal. The more theatrical moments will be noticeable for fans of the previous album, Evil, but they are not distracting in any way and add so much grandeur to the gore. This is still unequivocally BONECARVER, but on steroids.
Ancient Atrocity carries on in the same vein but this time wastes no time in unveiling its brutality. The rabid snarl of vocalist Fernando De Villar ricochets between different harsh styles with bludgeoning force. He sounds much more confident in his abilities on Carnage Funeral. There is a true sense of evil in his voice.
The ‘crap your pants’ start to Thorned will make sure you still have a pulse as it blasts into its aggressive riffs and unrelenting drumming without a word of warning. It’s definitely one of the more in-your-face tracks on the album and only lets up towards the end during the horror-tinged moments of slight respite with its synths dancing creepily behind the slowing riff breakdown.
As noticed across the album there is a tendency to sound like an offspring of the mighty THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, with Pillars Of Tragedy being almost a love letter to the late Trevor Strnad. The higher squealed vocals are reminiscent of those of the much-beloved vocalist, with De Villar‘s own spin on them, that is until the ribcage-shattering final breakdown, where it goes full BONECARVER.
Surprisingly, the most fun track on the album is Morgue Desecrator. With a name as jolly as that, we should have obviously known it would be a bop. The bounce in the riff is infectious and rips through the track at a relentless pace. This is a great showcase of drummer Ruben Contreras’ skills as he proves he’s not all blast beats and no bite. He rockets from grooving melodies to lightning-fast cymbal work with great ease and always seems to find the right moment to fit the aforementioned blasts in without it becoming overindulgent.
BONECARVER have taken the blueprints from Evil and expanded on them and daresay even perfected them on Carnage Funeral. There was a worry about overusing the symphonic elements as many other bands have recently but they have managed to achieve the perfect level of being earth-shatteringly heavy and epic in scale. The Red Wake is a perfect example of this, with it being one of the best uses of the symphonic elements. It just feels right and used to its full effect. While there’s nothing necessarily new on show here, BONECARVER have proved they can stand among the big names of this genre.
The guitars throughout are downright menacing and manage to achieve that perfect deathly tone that sounds truly harrowing like they are playing in the foyer of the Seventh Circle of Hell. This album isn’t for the faint of heart and there are some moments of heaviness here that will give you whiplash. By the time you’re halfway through the final track, Bereavement, you will be left feeling completely battered, in the best possible way. It is a majestic piece of filth that crushes with a colossal weight.
Carnage Funeral is a solid slab of brutal death done right. The added elements have allowed their tracks to breathe and expand while their songwriting skills are able to shine. BONECARVER have released this album from the pits of hell and it demands your attention.
Rating: 8/10
Carnage Funeral is set for release on November 11th via Unique Leader Records.
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