Carnal Forge - Aren't You Dead Yet?
Century Media - CD 8298-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
You know where you are with Carnal Forge. After six years this is their fifth album, and like the previous two, The More You Suffer and Please... Die! (which I also reviewed for this site), Aren't You Dead Yet offers up a technically flawless platter of Swedish thrash metal brutality - although this time round, Carnal Forge are rather more open about their flirtations with melodic death metal guitarwork and hardcore ferocity.
That's not to say things have changed drastically - like their German counterparts Dew Scented, there's not so much progression between Carnal Forge albums as there is a process of meticulous fine tuning. The vocals here are more varied, showcasing Jonas' impressive range of death-grunts, rasped shouts and high-pitched screams. The Kuusisto brothers wrench some jaw-dropping harmonised solos and speedy melodies out of their guitars with the same regularity with which they unleash head-snapping, brutal thrash riffage. Stefan Westerberg's high-speed drumming is as tight as a gnat's chuff, and Lars Linden's four string lays down some evil grooves. So it's business as usual for the Forge, then.
Track highlights - 'Burn Them Alive' features some of that hardcore furiousness wrapped around perhaps the most savage track on the album, while 'Inhuman''s slower-paced grind and bludgeoning riffs showcase a more considered side to Carnal Forge's songwriting skills. 'Final Hour In Hell' shows off some nice chops and changes in the time signature department, too. Overall, this is yet another triumph for Carnal Forge - a marginal improvement on a formula that was already consistently producing some top-notch thrash. It'd be interesting to see what would happen if they really experimented for their next album, though, because methinks the magic could begin to wear off pretty soon...
8.5/10
Carnal Forge Official Website
Century Media Records
Century Media - CD 8298-2 - 2004
By Philip Whitehouse
You know where you are with Carnal Forge. After six years this is their fifth album, and like the previous two, The More You Suffer and Please... Die! (which I also reviewed for this site), Aren't You Dead Yet offers up a technically flawless platter of Swedish thrash metal brutality - although this time round, Carnal Forge are rather more open about their flirtations with melodic death metal guitarwork and hardcore ferocity.
That's not to say things have changed drastically - like their German counterparts Dew Scented, there's not so much progression between Carnal Forge albums as there is a process of meticulous fine tuning. The vocals here are more varied, showcasing Jonas' impressive range of death-grunts, rasped shouts and high-pitched screams. The Kuusisto brothers wrench some jaw-dropping harmonised solos and speedy melodies out of their guitars with the same regularity with which they unleash head-snapping, brutal thrash riffage. Stefan Westerberg's high-speed drumming is as tight as a gnat's chuff, and Lars Linden's four string lays down some evil grooves. So it's business as usual for the Forge, then.
Track highlights - 'Burn Them Alive' features some of that hardcore furiousness wrapped around perhaps the most savage track on the album, while 'Inhuman''s slower-paced grind and bludgeoning riffs showcase a more considered side to Carnal Forge's songwriting skills. 'Final Hour In Hell' shows off some nice chops and changes in the time signature department, too. Overall, this is yet another triumph for Carnal Forge - a marginal improvement on a formula that was already consistently producing some top-notch thrash. It'd be interesting to see what would happen if they really experimented for their next album, though, because methinks the magic could begin to wear off pretty soon...
8.5/10
Carnal Forge Official Website
Century Media Records
