CARNAL TOMB
Ascend
(Hexed Cemetery)
18:46min

We’re in the early 90s, a time when the only digital gadget was that watch ’round your wrist and people would have thought of MP3 being a logogram of an preservative in their food. The tide for tape trading was high and the deadliest form of Metal tuned down low and in their heydays. Those being old enough at that time would witness the birth of tragedy, since utter hell spew out the first rituals of hordes with such illustrious names like CONVULSE, PURTENANCE, INCANTATION and AUTOPSY, not to forget the countless buzzsaw maniacs from Sverige. These dudes gave a fuck about any trends or images, they just followed their hearts and instincts, just for the cause of music. It had to be raw, dense, brutal and captivating. The listeners should be blown away by its sheer intensity. Yet there’s been a slight morbid melodic approach been incorporated by some of these acts as well, to refine their musickness. Today, about 20+ years later there’s a German band like CARNAL TOMB that still walks the left hand path and which transports the ancient spirit of the past into the present. On "Ascend" you get that crunchy, filthy and rough production, chugging guitar rhythms with that ultimate Boss HM-2 sound, stomping drums and that well-balanced change of pace, from slow’n’filthy to fast’n’furious. Vocals in the vein of Dave Rotten (AVULSED) meets Rami Jämsä (CONVULSE) and that gory artwork with old school band logo perfectly fits into the whole concept. CARNAL TOMB may not sound like the best skilled band ever, the songwriting seems a bit bumpy here and there, but that’s not the point of interest for the moment and adds some peculiar charm. Listen to ‘Vast Crypts’ or ‘Burial Rites’ and you will get fucking great old fashioned Death Metal, played with heart and passion! There’s nothing more left for me than to recommend this first burial to each and everyone into Finnish / Swedish Death Metal from the golden age spiced with some darkness and doom from the US. Since I know that the sickos from Berlin already had their live debut with a fleshly drummer, I really hope that those programmed drums will be history by the release of their first full-length. For detailed inquiries get in touch at: https://carnaltomb.bandcamp.com, hexedcemetery@gmail.com, www.facebook.com/carnal-tomb-218111255026955

Carsten Lomme

Carsten Lomme

Related reviews / interviews:
CARNAL TOMB - Embalmed In Decay (Giulio Minto)
CARNAL TOMB - Rotten Remains (Thomas Meyer)
CARNAL TOMB - Rotten Remains (Carsten Lomme)

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