I actually feel  a little happy for Carnifex. Despite playing the much maligned deathcore and spending time on Victory Records, I met the guys back in 2012 and they were some of the  nicest  metal dudes I’ve met and were obviously frustrated with their label at the time. Well, they told me they had a new album almost finished back then, and here it is, and a new lead guitarist and a shiny new label to boot.

Believe it or not these guys are 5 albums into their career, that’s one more album than Whitechapel and All Shall Perish folks. And with 2010s Hell Chose Me and 2012s Until I Feel Nothing, Carnifex added a more black and death metal sound to their breakdowny deathcore and for me the results were largely successful. At least more impressive than comparable Century Media act Winds of Plague, and their 2012 effort, Resistance,  who came across as far more douchey and essentially now sound like Hatebreed with keyboards.

On Die Without Hope, the sound from Until I Feel Nothing is basically continued and honed. They sound a little like The Black Dahlia Murder‘s new blacker visage  mixed with Whitechapel’s heft and its all glossed with decent, epic  Cradle of Filth/Dimmu Borgir– ish keyboards. The keyboards have been upped a little each of the last two albums, and here, while not say full on Fleshgod Apocalypse integration, but it’s close, being far more than a few sprinkles to start and close songs (though there are plenty of those).

Unfortunately deathcore  haters will still gripe, as Carnifex still utilize plenty of deathcore tropes in the all too familiar breakdowns and the vocals, as each song certainly brings tha  satisfying, neck wrecking ruckus (i.e “Salvation is Dead”, “Last Words”) but they are nothing I have not heard a 1000 times now. It’s when they bear down and break into far blacker/death metal pastures where they capture my attention.  It’s fluid and atmospheric rather than cheesy or forced, and when combined with the hefty breakdowns such as the title track, “Dark Days”, “Condemned to Decay”, “Dragged into the Grave”, and melodic closer “Where the Light Dies”. Throw is some nice solos from new lead guitarist Jordan Lockery (who comes from a black metal pedigree) , it all comes together very nicely.

Naysayers will still  bitch about this being deathcore, but the last couple of years have been pretty down for the bigger deathcore bands (All Shall Perish drama, Oceano’s snoozefest), but here are Carnifex still plugging along and its about time they were mentioned with those bigger bands.

[Visit the band's website]

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