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KARNIVORE
In The Halls Of The Wicked

Lake Of Fire Productions (2014)
Rating: 8/10

In The Halls Of The Wicked is the sophomore outing from Swedish death-thrashers Karnivore. It comes two years after their 2012 debut outing, The Triumphant Khaoz, and features vocalist Martin Holmqvist who is responsible for an impressive vocal delivery that shifts between deathly barks, black metal rasps and thrashy growls.

Here’s hoping that with their second album, Karnivore are able to maintain a solid line-up because since their inception in 2002 (they originally formed as Karneywar before changing the spelling in 2010) the band have certainly had their ups and downs.

However, the upheaval (including the death of guitarist Patrik Mårtensson in 2009) doesn’t hinder this fiery opus which boasts eight rip-roaring tracks, with each delivering a weighty blow to the mid-section and should knock anyone for six, especially those with a passion for hard hitting and incisive metal.

The opener, ‘Under Ground’, is a blistering affair which comes thick and fast, throwing punches and spouting flame upon the waves of aggressive guitar supplied by Jens Englund, whose style is a mix of the abrasive and the belligerent. el Camíno’s Mattias Johansson is responsible for the ear-shattering percussion which races at quite a pace. Holmqvist has a deafening throaty snarl which brings extra flames of chaos to proceedings, and with ‘Feast Upon The Living’ it’s a case of all hands to the pumps as the trio strip flesh with the sonic galloping, combining bludgeoning thrash metal with deathlier sneers but all the while fixing the listener with a cold, melodic stare. Slayer take note!

Elsewhere, Karnivore offer up the fury of ‘Psycho’ which chugs into motion and reduces the speakers to a bubbling liquid peppered with chunks of flesh. This is true, deathly thrash metal hinting at Sodom with its visceral intent; the drums batter and clatter like there’s no tomorrow, and with the riffs causing the blood to foam there’s really nowhere to run after this.

Although hailing from Sweden, these guys have chosen not to bore us with that typical Swedish sound. Instead, this has more in common with the aforementioned Sodom and Destruction – two thrash giants from Germany who are still making waves with a sound not too dissimilar from Karnivore’s own putrid pile of rust.

The title track is a simmering beast lumping traditional metal chords within its chugging frame, but as the metallic wings of this demon unfold, Karnivore revert to type, doing what they do best and frothing at the mouth with their barrage of Teutonic-styled thrash.

The opus remains heavyweight throughout despite the injections of melody within the guitar, but as ‘Mr Gein’ gives a nod to Slayer’s classic ‘Dead Skin Mask’ (influenced by the crimes of serial killer Ed Gein), Johansson’s terrific drum sound reminds me of what I miss from Slayer when Lombardo isn’t present. ‘Mr Gein’ is an epic slice of the sinister and acts as a fitting climax to this brutal slab of disgruntled thrash metal; the sort of rage, angst and pugnaciousness missing from so many contemporary acts.

Neil Arnold

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