We’ve talked about it before, but let’s bring it up again – this dude is on the incessantly selective side when it comes to brutal death metal. Or as one friend will say sometimes, “Why are you so damn picky?” I prefer cerebrally fastidious, but you know, the whole pronunciation of “tomato” thing. Burpy gurgling vocals aren’t a favorite approach, and in a lot of instances, the music itself is a lot of chugging and…that’s about it. However, there are plenty of brutal death acts that exist outside of those norms and tickle the old fancy. Cenotaph comes to mind as a band who has towed the line of the aforementioned tropes, but not going too far and typically producing interesting songs, and bands such as Dead and Dripping and Orphalis add a dose of flavor to their mixtures to sound fresh.
Carnophage, who is our subject of the day, is another who does things differently. They split the technical and brutal sides down the middle, all while composing incredibly heavy songs filled with intrigue to hold one’s attention. There’s a shred of common ground with countrymates in Cenotaph, but they also have bits of Cytotoxin on the technical side, along with their own brand of flair. Their first two records established them as an underground favorite for those in the know. With moving from Unique Leader to Transcending Obscurity for their third full-length, there’s plenty of curiosity for what they’re going to provide with Matter of a Darker Nature. Their previous Monument was a beastly, precise affair that overflowed with big riffs and dizzying songwriting. Matter of a Darker Nature gives us more of what makes Carnophage tick, with a shot of added aptitude.
Roaring out of the gate is “In My Bones” to chug along via meaty rhythm guitars that carry significant stomp, while the techy bits add plenty of needed contrast. Most of all, the band continues to flex their songwriting muscle; slick twists and fluidity elevate their music beyond the individual elements. Vocalist Oral Akyol growls, screams, and wretches along in a variety of tonalities – expressed especially well in “Until the Darkness Kills the Light” and “Underneath the Horrendous One.” On the more technical and slightly melodic side are songs like the title track, maintaining their trademark heaviness amongst creatively smooth leads. Guitarists Mert Kaya and Serhat Kaya (no idea if they’re related or not) are a formidable tandem, achieving the ever elusive balance that bands of this ilk often miss, or even completely forgo.
We can’t leave out the rhythm section – drummer Onur Özçelik and bassist Bengi Öztürk – who explode with thunderous ferocity to give Carnophage a mightily steadfast low end. “Eventually They Will Die” stands out as one of the duo’s most forceful efforts, thoroughly making their mark throughout. Closing salvo “From Possibility to Actuality” may be their crunchiest offering on Matter of a Darker Nature, rumbling like a steamroller with moments of sheer brutality, mixed with catchy instrumental sections and blazing lead work. Again, the band’s compositional acumen stands tall, changing pace at the right times, always enticing the listener to follow along to hear what they have in store next.
This is the kind of brutal death metal these ears crave. Crafty, wisely written, and executed with extreme fidelity. Don’t worry, it’s also insurmountably heavy – it is brutal death metal, after all. Carnophage ticks all the boxes for a skillful, pulverizing record in Matter of a Darker Nature, but more importantly achieving that with a singular style of their own. Notably, all of their albums have come with an eight year gap between each. We can only hope we have more before 2032.