Did I hear right? I have been listening half a dozen times to "Faith In Flesh", the debut by KARNE from France, and the vocals are done by a female vocalist? OK, there are plenty of female fronted Metal bands, that is nothing new. The times when a woman only was accepted as keyboarder are fortunately over. But it surprised me, I would have never thought the vocal artist "Eingeweide" (German for entrails / intestines) is a female. And she is doing a really good job, those kind of guttural screams I guess we all like. A little bit varied from time to time, but no clear singing and no high-pitched screaming, like some high-speed Black Metal bands prefer. The production is adequate and the music itself? Well, despite the danger of being tarred and feathered, it is some kind easy-listening Black Metal. Sounds strange? OK, let me explain. If you never ever listened to Black Metal before, you might feel overwhelmed by the sheer emotional power this music creates. But if you are used to listen to Black Metal you will not find anything on "Faith In Flesh" which has not been done by countless other bands before. The oscillating and vibrating riffs, the aggressive and at the same time mysterious and gloomy melodies combined with impelling up-tempo drumming. So by no means the term "easy-listening" is supposed to be negative within this context. The willing listener is going to be immediately taken by this fine piece of Black Metal. No superfluous aspects like endless keyboard passages, medieval instruments like flutes, bag-pipes or progressive songwriting are interfering the indulgence. Sounds like a Babylonian God performing an autopsy followed by a sunless sepulture in the highlands of Mordor. Do you get it? If not – MARDUK, DISSECTION, DARK FUNERAL, GORGOROTH. www.facebook.com/karnebm, www.quality-steel.de