Album Review: Carnage Funeral // Bonecarver

Crawling from the depths of the underground is Bonecarver, a death metal band who are on Unique Leader records. So they are back with their new album Carnage Funeral . Let me tell you now, from the look of the artwork, it seems pretty fucking metal. I mean, some of the song titles are pretty bruising, so we will see what this album has to offer. Quite frankly, I’m looking forward to a filth sandwich buttered by brutality.

That is exactly what you get when you listen to this album. A gloriously dark concoction of blastbeats, pig squeals, and filthy galloping riffs. This record is actually an awful lot of fun from the moment the orchestral intro kicks in. There’s a lot of brutality in the opening track that sets the bar pretty high. Luckily, Bonecarver achieves this feat with every track that comes up.

Some of the riffs on here are absolutely bone crushing, including that of ‘The Reckoning’, which is easily one of the best on the album. The guitars swirl like a cacophonous whirlpool, and the drums are equally fast and frenetic. What’s more, the vocals on this album are filthy, they are reminiscent of Lorna Shore’s Will Ramos. It results in a dark song that captures this winter mood. 

There are other moments of genius at work here as well, such as the black metal fury of “Pillars of Tragedy” that carve you open from the inside like some butcher’s knife. It’s gory, scary, and the riffs are horrifying. I reckon the moshpits will be pure bloodshed, especially when that scream enters around 3:00 because crikey, fists will be flying. This must go down as one of the gnarliest breakdowns of the year. 

The vocals on this record are absolutely astounding and some of the hardest in the scene. They add to the hellish backdrop of the music.  “Morgue Desecrator” has some orchestral vibes which are outstanding and gives of an epic yet unsettling feel. What’s more, “The Red Wake” is also fast paced and features all sorts of vocal techniques and a choir, which absolutely draws you in. 

“Horror Disorder” is a punishing song as well, with some outstanding vocals, I feel like I am in the Underworld listening to this; props to the drumming because it flows in tome with the disgustingly heavy chugs. The final track is “Bereavement” which brings out the choral atmospherics while everything else carves your face open in a fit of fast paced brutality, making the listeners’ jaw crumble to the floor. 

This album is a great find and has some of the heaviest riffs you are likely to hear. I think that this album will shake up the deathcore scene because these riffs are gnarly, but the atmospherics set them apart. 

Words by Ermis Madikopoulos