After scoring a top spot on Summer Slaughter 2019, there's a lot of anticipation for Carnifex's World War X. As one of the leading forces behind deathcore (alongside Despised Icon, Whitechapel and Suicide Silence), only Carnifex have weathered out the storm. They've never gone soft, never changed course and, with the exception of guitarist Jordan Lockrey, remain virtually the same band that released Dead in My Arms more then a decade ago.
But all things must progress, lest they get stuck in a rut. World War X is probably the most experimental record Carnifex have ever put their names to.
Rest assured, "experimental" in this case does not mean softer. Carnifex still drop a nasty breakdown and Scott Lewis's vocal shredding remains top-tier. But there's a distinctly northern European flavour to World War X, found in Dimmu Borgir-esque symphonics on "This Infernal Darkness," "By Shadows Thine Held" and the monster title track.
For longtime listeners, "Visions of the End" is an indispensible cut. But elsewhere, the band break out into virtuosic guitar playing that they've long held back on, especially with the help of guest stars Angel Vivaldi and Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz on "All Roads Lead To Hell" and "No Light Shall Save Us."
Carnifex are showing intriguing signs of what is to come. They are still straight deathcore, but now seem willing to move out of the box that has contained them for so long. If their reception at recent shows is any indicator, we could be seeing a lot more symphonies in deathcore from here on out.
(Nuclear Blast)But all things must progress, lest they get stuck in a rut. World War X is probably the most experimental record Carnifex have ever put their names to.
Rest assured, "experimental" in this case does not mean softer. Carnifex still drop a nasty breakdown and Scott Lewis's vocal shredding remains top-tier. But there's a distinctly northern European flavour to World War X, found in Dimmu Borgir-esque symphonics on "This Infernal Darkness," "By Shadows Thine Held" and the monster title track.
For longtime listeners, "Visions of the End" is an indispensible cut. But elsewhere, the band break out into virtuosic guitar playing that they've long held back on, especially with the help of guest stars Angel Vivaldi and Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz on "All Roads Lead To Hell" and "No Light Shall Save Us."
Carnifex are showing intriguing signs of what is to come. They are still straight deathcore, but now seem willing to move out of the box that has contained them for so long. If their reception at recent shows is any indicator, we could be seeing a lot more symphonies in deathcore from here on out.