Review by Tammy Lomax for MPM
CARNIFEX BABY! One of the most intense deathcore bands on the scene, they’ve just released a lyric video made by Dylan Gould for their new single, ‘Seven Souls’.
This is a new chapter for the band since the departure of long time lead guitarist Jordan Lockrey in 2020.
Carnifex originate from Fallbrook, California in 2005 and are Scott Lewis on vocals, Shawn Cameron on drums, Cory Arford on guitars and Fred Calderon on bass.
They greeted us first with their cover of ‘Dead Bodies Everywhere’ by Korn over a month ago and to be fair it is a very decent effort. It’s heavier and packed to the brim with so much rawness, all the meat and sprinkles of beautifully executed chaos. I do prefer Scott Lewis’s deadly vocals too.
Fans like myself are still left in limbo because there is still no album announcement, teasing is pleasing after all and they have given us a little offering in ‘Seven Souls’. The single was recorded earlier this year at Back Lounge Studios in San Diego, produced, mixed and mastered by the band & Mick Kenney (ANAAL NATHRAKH, BLEEDING THROUGH) along with Shawn Cameron who engineered the single.
It’s a great video but the musicianship behind it makes it huge and much better. Scott Lewis is an absolute monster with his deathly low gutturals, he smashes through the track with brutal range and your gut feels everything, I love vocals like these.
This is so far up my street, it’s plainly banging. The slaughtering drums have only one mission: destroy and do it at 1000bpm. Houston, we have a problem, this is downright carnage! They rattle your skull from the inside, leaving your brain like scrambled egg.
Just over a minute into the track and I completely lost it, the predictable drop doing it for me with a full clobber straight up in my face. As the track draws to a close, the blackened melodic elements come alive and the guitars are more conspicuous, I am absolutely BEAMING.
Carnifex states: “Seven Souls is a continuation in the reintroduction of the band to the world, the first steps on a journey into the interior.
I agree, it definitely follows a similar footpath to their previous release, ‘World War X’ as there isn’t much difference sound wise, the melodic elements louder and more touched on.
Canifex have a selection of festival and club shows lined up next month and Devil Driver guitarist Neil Tiemann will once again fill in. Let’s hope the tease regarding the album doesn’t last a lifetime.
Download/Stream “Seven Souls” here: https://bfan.link/seven-souls
CARNIFEX is:
SCOTT IAN LEWIS | Vocals
SHAWN CAMERON | Drums
CORY ARFORD | Guitar
FRED CALDERON | Bass
Order your copy of the latest Carnifex full length album, World War X here: www.nuclearblast.com/carnifex-wwx
