Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers (Lurking Death Metal)

 

Hmm best death metal band from Canada currently? Probably, yeah. I’ve been on a real fix for this specific type, too: the eerie, lurking kind. It doesn’t pummel, it slowly degrades. It comes from all the dark spaces you dread like a sticky mold, touching all over your skin until it rots away. There’s a certain expectation for the delivery of this particular vein of death metal; usually the music is presented in a way that more subtly oppresses. The vocals are at a deep yell instead of a growl, ghoulish chord progressions drive the listener into dwelling in abandoned cemeteries, and, in general, you feel like a cave being. This kinds of details are the particular stamp of authenticity for lurking death metal and Carnage Gathers is the expected package.

   

Carnage Gathers does everything right in this regard. Grave Infestation keeps their sound perceivable through the entirety of this full-length instead of trying to wow with flighty solos or going full vndergrovnd so only the sick can understand what the hell’s going on. Meaning, it’s never an outright crush or a smear of riffs over your ears, it always retains its clarity, yet the grave stench is thick. This is further supported by their great sense of speed and slowness, using both in equally effective ranges and never contradicting one or the other. Good balance is what you’ll find here, for certain, and the tone of it all is just what the catacomb dwellers among us desire. So dig down and dig deep.

 

Grave Infestation Official Facebook

Written by Stanley, Devourer of Souls

Grave Infestation – Carnage Gathers
Dark Descent Records, Invictus Productions
Cover Art: Misanthropic-Art (Chris Kiesling)
4.5 / 5