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CARNOSUS
Visions Of Infinihility

Self-released (2023)
Rating: 8.5/10

Dystopian Swedish thrashers Carnosus are back with their second full-length album which boasts a word in its title that I’m not even sure is a real word! Even so, this sophomore outing is an at times stylish mix of the clinical and contemporary while also giving time to a spattering of old school dynamics.

I particularly like the dry, snarling vocals of Jonatan Karasiak and the sniping axe attack of duo Marcus Jokela Nyström and Rickard Persson who provide further dehydration. Considering these guys are from Sweden, the sound they make is so snappy and sneering rather than the usual buzzsaw and all too often generic riffage we’ve been plagued with over the years. With this record these deadly serious metalheads bridge the gap between Sadus and The Black Dahlia Murder; it certainly isn’t a record to chug beers too.

Carnosus delivers unorthodox death metal with plenty of thrashy twists and turns; the vocals themselves vary greatly from fits of spitting to guttural growls, although there is never a weird, tortured pig squeal far away. The same then could also be said for the epileptic axe, bass and drum work which when combined perform a variety of backflips. Safe to say then that Carnosus are contortionists of the highest order when it comes to scathing death metal, but if you heard the band’s 2020 debut, Dogma Of The Deceased, then you knew what sort of treats would be served up.

Some of the solo work on this record is so impressive and in a traditional sense if anything, and yet the riffs are on another level; snaking, squirming and biting to the point that even after 13 listens I was still jumping back and forth to take in the devilry and wizardly on offer.

It’s hard to believe that Carnosus has no label backing because their brand of brutality really does bend the mind and pulverise the bones. Reeling off the nine track titles seems completely pointless because the whole framework is one huge abrasive network of complex tunnels that my brain and body regularly struggles to navigate.

Visions Of Infinihility is the sort of record you have to be in the mood for, but once you surrender to such a seemingly tangled web of ideas your love for it grows stronger by the minute. This is seriously skilful extreme metal guaranteed to cause whiplash.

Neil Arnold

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