Ohio’s Redefining Darkness Records is turning into a solid little US-based death metal label with some really good releases and bands under their belt. They have also unleashed some impressive Swedish death styled metal gems such as Angerot, Tombstoner, In Shadows and Dust, Wretched Fate, Pyre Wombripper and Sentient Horror. Well, add Tampa Bay’s Carnal Ruin to that list.

Tampa Bay isn’t really known for this style of death metal, being the birth home to the legendary US death metal scene (Deicide, Morbid Angel etc), but the lads in Carnal Ruin certainly spent their youth listening to Stockholm bands likes Entombed, Grave and Dismember as well as more modern acts in the style like Entrails and Demonical.

These 4, super beefy HM 2 sounding tracks are all excellent slabs of peer worship. The production and guitar tone (from Hunter Young, who is in his own promising band Graveview) is spot on, especially when things slow down to a bit more controlled, teeth-rattling groove in all the tracks but notably in midway through opener “Elder Spell” or partway into “Scholomance”. But they have those traditional Swedish more melodic slicing gallops as well as heard on “Ode to the Conquered (As the Damned Lie Rotting)” and rambunctious closer ” Iniquitous, Devout”.

The US has some really good bands in this style with the likes of Sentient Horror and Angerot being some of the top tier acts, but based on this all too short EP, Carnal Ruin looks to be the next addition to that top tier, and I’m really looking forward to a full-length album soon.

[Visit the band's website]

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