Album Review: Carnation - Cursed Mortality
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Carnation are amongst the most exciting and promising bands in a while. Formed in 2013 and hailing from Antwerp, Belgium, the band have become one of the nation’s most prominent extreme metal acts. While the band released their first EP, Cemetery Of The Insane, in 2015 as well as a live album and Split in Japan, it was their first full length work, 2018’s Chapel Of Abhorrence, that really turned heads round quickly. From there on the band have receiving festival calls left, right and centre which no doubt contributed to the quick follow up that is their second full length album: Where Death Lies. Now, three years on, Carnation prepare to release their next record, Cursed Mortality, after a slew of Singles and their recent EP, Cycle Of Suffering. So, lined up for a November 3rd release window and via Season Of Mist, let’s see what Carnation have brought to the table today.
Carnation’s songwriting has often consisted of a ripping tone attached to their riffs, and Cursed Mortality doesn’t stray too far from that idea either. The guitar work is thick, technical, with numerous instances of Freeform playing that shows off nice licks yet there seems to be a particularly blackened element flowing through their performance this time round. It feels like Carnation might be experimenting with other elements with this record, something that seems to be an ongoing theme with Cursed Mortality that we’ll discuss soon. However, for the most part, the guitar work is the usual Carnation affair as riffs harness the muddied and ripping aesthetic reminiscent to bands such as Dismember and their other Swedish ilk. Curiously, I found their riffs would also assume a more melodic form, for there were instances where the band’s soundscape would relax greatly and enable the audience to really hone in on a more cerebral style of riffing. Carnation may have established themselves as one kind of band but they’re definitely starting to experiment in more ways than one.
Carnation’s vocals have often been amongst the band’s most recognisable and strongest assets, immediately recognisable amongst fans of extreme metal as one that hails from Scandinavian origins. The delivery is on point, and often changes to best fit the particular kind of songwriting Carnation require at any moment. It’s why their vocal performance has been received as so dynamic, for you have the usual gruff bellowing and yet, it can then morph into something more visceral as it screeches and and cries out. However, I was taken aback by the band’s choice of cleaner vocals implemented, though once or twice herein, that I felt really hindered the band’s impact. Now, I’m not against clean vocals utilised in death metal yet, their prrformance, within the tracks they’re found in, do not suit the atmosphere Carnation had otherwise established in the album leading up to their unveiling. Most evidently found in “Replicant”, these vocals feel like a downgrade since the band have implemented little else to hint they may be applying them at any point. However, I can also envision many people taking to these vocals, the band’s altering style, who otherwise weren’t that into Carnation beforehand. I think this will be a deeply divisive element within the fanbase.
If there’s anything else to demonstrate the band’s evolution through this record, it’s the fact that their songwriting appears to be taking on a more progressive stance too. Gone are the typical death metal formulas that have otherwise made up the majority of Carnation’s songwriting, and instead the band are implementing various, new things here and there not to spruce out the timespan of tracks but, if anything, to assault their songs from different vantage points. It doesn’t feel like they’re attacking you from head on anymore; there now feels to be a more spherical and universal approach, wherein the record has placed us in the centre and they may now attack us on all sides albeit not from an immersive, encompassing angle either. While this change in approach may unfold throughout tracks, they usually begin in the traditional death metal form, easing us in to their songwriting before then undertaking the more progressive techniques. It’s not wholly progressive which does help the band not feel completely transformed from their last record, yet it’s undeniable the change occurring within Carnation right now.
I believe Cursed Mortality will become an interesting point of discussion for fans as total aggression no longer seems to be the sole focus of the band anymore. The drums can throw great flurries of bass and cymbal crashing and the band may otherwise showcase everything that has previously made them a renowned name in recent years, but perhaps something more mature is occurring within the band’s space that is seeing them wander further away, willingly, from simply trying to kill their audience. I can’t yet work out whether I’m enjoying the change in the band or not, for I feel like this is a record that definitely warrants multiple listens before coming to a final verdict as is the case here. The songwriting is no longer geared towards slicing and ripping us up, rather as songwriting develops its assuming a sense of carrying us from start to finish, crafting a more accessible listening experience.
In conclusion, I think Cursed Mortality is going to ruffle some feathers in the band’s established, and frenzied, fanbase. While the various changes and experimentation as mentioned prior are happening before us, the overall emphasis still feels thoroughly Carnation; it’s still the same Belgian band offering up death metal we know we recognise. But there are one or two differences being thrown in and I think the band are looking to see what works, and what does not, yet we may not be too surprised for Carnation have already shown they don’t seek to recreate the same album twice. With that said, I think people eyeing a straight up death metal attack may come away wishing it was more since the band are seemingly beginning to meander, to stronger degrees, in more than one direction. With all this said, I still think Cursed Mortality is a good album. It may utilise a small number of things I don’t think work to the band’s benefit yet they’re so minimal they don’t detract from the otherwise recognisable Carnation songwriting. It’s not going to be my favourite, or preferred, record by the band yet that doesn’t make it an unwarranted listen.
