Carnal Tomb – Embalmed In Decay
Reviewed by: Jim Harrison
Review Score: 8.5
Accomplished death metal masters Carnal Tomb who hail from Berlin, Germany are set to release their third full length album next month. This band has successfully channeled on old school death metal sound on the all important third album of a band that doesn’t disappoint. Lyrically inspired by morbid funeral rites, zombie movies and other sources of gore infected topics this album will make waves among death metal fans worldwide.
Talented band members, Cryptic Tormentor (guitar/vocals), Goat Eviscerator (guitar), Vomitcrist (drums), and Impaler (bass) create an aggressive sound that will shake the most seasoned death metal fan to their very soul. The morbidly classic album cover art was created by Skaovalder, and captures the essence of what you are about to experience, one of the coolest I have seen in years.
The album begins with a light ominous intro that has a calming sense about it then it explodes into the second song ‘The Putridarium’ which is a fast, aggressive assault with heavy guitar riffs and dark vocals. The song is inspired by a southern Italian medieval funeral practice where the deceased would be placed on a putridarium and left to rot down to the bones. They then would be brought to their final resting place signifying a state of purgatory that the dead had to go through.
‘Cataclysmic Maze’ is another doom sounding track that is slower with a killer bass riff and drum groove. The album speeds up again with ‘Defiled Flesh’ with fast guitars and again a cool drum groove to it. ‘Draped In Disgust’ has a sludgy guitar sound that creates this cool Morbid Angel vibe. The vocals on this track are so dark with the addition of vocalist Serkan Niron.
My two favourite tracks ‘Cerebral Ingestion’ and ‘Morgue Usurper’ both have killer guitar riffs and are absolute rippers. Both these tracks are reminiscent of the quintessential death metal vibe, both are heavy hitting tracks that would be cool live.
The title track ‘Embalmed In Decay’ is another fast track that has a cool vocal sound chugging through it. I love how the song has a change up about the two minute thirty mark sending the listener on another journey.
The last track ‘Eyes Of The Chasm’”’ is the longest song on the album at almost seven minutes. This starts off with a smoking guitar riff intro and the vocals just take off. This feels like it’s the accumulation of what this album is about with extreme aggressiveness. This song has hints of speed and thrash throughout set to a death metal vibe. This would be another cool track to see live.
Carnal Tomb has cemented themselves as a force to be reckoned with creating a death metal masterpiece for their third album. They keep the listener engaged with thought provoking subject matter, great vocals and talented musicianship, all ingredients that a death metal band need to succeed with today’s audience.
I recommend this album for all metal fans from the death metal connoisseur to someone who is looking to delve into this genre. Bottom line this album has been designed to kick your ass and to be played at eleven .
The Putridarium drops on November 3rd via Testimony Records.