Album Review: Grave Infestation - Carnage Gathers
Reviewed by Sam Jones
Grave Infestation curiously are one of those bands amongst the myriad today that I’ve known of yet have never given the fullest opportunity of checking out. Now, with Carnage Gathers looming upon the horizon, I finally have that chance to see what these guys are all about. Formed in 2018 out of Vancouver, Canada, Grave Infestation have made a name for themselves in a short span of time, releasing two Demos and a Compilation, followed by their first full length album, Persecution Of The Living, before the close of 2022. Afterwards the band did Splits, with Sněť in 2023 and Noroth in 2024 respectively. Now poised to release album two for February 28th this is also the band’s second album to be distributed through Invictus Productions. Carnage Gathers also sees every member of the last record return so anyone wondering what their first record may sound like should receive a good example herein. This band have making considerable waves lately and thus it was time to hear it for myself.
When one peers at the album cover you get an instant lesson as per the record’s soundscape. It’s the kind of album sound that seduces you in cranking the volume to the max owing to the dank and decrepit atmosphere Grave Infestation give you; their immersive features aren’t achieved by subduing your senses into the earth or through a pummelling instrumental performance. Granted, the songwriting and riffs pull you in and aren’t letting go anytime soon however it’s not so suffocating that you can’t breathe throughout the runtime; the vocals, riffs, basslines, the drums, it’s all been mixed and produced together with a sizeable background behind. It certainly feels like the band are playing with a gargantuan cave system as their backdrop whereby their sound escapes and channels through its varying cavernous networks. Not only will it ensure the audience aren’t being constricted but it injects a sense of stalactites and forgotten waters, something more dreadful and antediluvian than many contemporary works of heavy metal.
Though we’ve covered how the band aren’t looking to grip you so thoroughly you can’t comprehend where you are nor what the songwriting is doing, the record encompasses us just enough to pull us in. Our remaining behind with the album as it dishes out its due is therefore one part the band’s chokehold on us and, the vast majority otherwise, then our own choice to stay behind as the light leaves us in total darkness. Carnage Gathers manages to hold us prisoner seemingly with consent as the guitar work and drums close in around us rapidly and yet we possess little fear or panic towards the encroaching night. The riffs are wonderfully audible and utilise a clarity that enables us to follow along easily. But coupled with the production they’re rendered with a harrowing cry, so much so that soloing isn’t merely freeform playing for the audience to dazzle at but these breakneck, maniacal pieces that demonstrate the full horror their sound veils.
Arguably the most polished and impactful force on record are the drums, for there are few instances throughout the runtime where the drumming isn’t trying to cave in your cranium. I mean that genuinely since the drums often feel to be right atop the rest of the mix, not by drowning out the rest of the instrumentation but as if they’re literally being held aloft on that stage and the only way to view them would be to arc our necks right back to see the kit struck. As with the rest of the mix it never tries to deafen you to the rest of the band but it’s impossible to ignore their input since their performance has been refined to give each element of that drumming kit importance within the songwriting. The simplest drums available to them feel taut and upon striking it’s like their stationary position is constantly challenged, always at risk of moving away owing to the frenzied performance. The bass drums are excellent since they exist in this perfect position within the band wherein we feel their impact and the necessity of their placement yet it’s never fighting for our attention, wherefore the vocals and riffs can swoop in and fill the needed gap to complete Grave Infestation’s sound.
What may interest many is the composed nature this record plays with. Whilst blast beats are included, they’re far from populous. Though the vocals elicit a droning, cacophonous soundscape they’re far from typically cavernous since they’re aren’t pressing down on us at every moment. For a band that knows how to throw a lot at us, they’re surprisingly reserved and leave their most ferocious moments only for select occasions. As a result, Carnage Gathers is a death metal record that’s actually methodically played with a concisely written procedure behind its creation; as for pacing Grace Infestation definitely have a knack for metal that knows when to pick up and slow down for our minds never need to adjust to keep pace with the band’s flurries. The band aren’t holding our hands but they’re certainly running alongside us; it insinuates the band wished to place emphasis on each track the audience will encounter and therefore no stone could be left unturned. It turns what could have easily been an unthinking onslaught into a methodically crafted and devised execution, professional firing squad and all in tow.
In conclusion, Grave Infestation’s second album is this malevolent force that comes in with zero apologies and takes us, though willingly, into its lair. For a work of death metal possessing such an echoic backdrop by which the band’s sound escapes into, Carnage Gathers is a pleasingly easy listen since the band haven’t gone in to destroy us but to ensure the time we spend with them is well spent, for they want us to come back, as does every band. It’s a really well controlled record, even throughout its more belligerent sequences it’s never conveyed that the band are losing themselves in the mayhem. Every slice and turn and strike made upon us feels specifically aligned and even as the solos are employed the band always feel on top of everything. Carnage Gathers is the epitome of constructed violence, their songwriting harnesses a primeval element but there’s never a time where Grave Infestation aren’t in full control of their faculties. It makes for a rewarding and satisfying listen simultaneously and one that will endear you to return time and again.
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