We’ve been big fans of SoulCarrion here at The Midlands Rocks ever since we reviewed their self-titled EP SoulCarrion which dropped last year. Striking while the iron is hot, this Polish two-piece return with their sophomore album, Enthrone Death, an eight-track album that dispenses some of the fine death metal and serves it up with a take-no-prisoners attitude for which the band are fast becoming known.
Perhaps the most attractive thing about SoulCarrion is their refusal to be painted in a corner. There’s a rather refreshing resistance to genericism that sets them apart from their peers and that becomes immediately obvious from opening track ‘Cage Of Nothingness’. It finds them arriving with a weighty, doomy riff (the kind Black Sabbath did so well), and it makes for an ominous introduction. It gets the listener into a certain kind of groove and means that when the rest of the instruments kick in, they kick in hard. This manipulation of sonics will echo throughout Enthrone Death, as calmer sections nestle next to the stormy, meaning the whole thing ululates like some strange, organic entity.
SoulCarrion operate as a duo and there’s something so very compact about this set up that radiates a lot of power. Everything’s focused into a finely honed laser beam and the sound created is a tight ball aggression, and one that threatens to explode at any moment. Of course, the band have some help from guest musicians, namely drummer Darek Młody and vocalist/lyricist Mateusz Sibila, yet it is the core nucleus of Michal (guitars, bass) and Greg (Guitar solos) who bring the project to life through their twisted (but very nice) ideas.
Enthroned Death is a very atmospheric album, and no more so than on the penultimate track ‘Deathoskullum’. As you’d expect from a death metal album, things here tend to veer towards the darker side of life, and when you factor in a decidedly Satanic lyrical bent you have a very dark experience indeed. Such is the evocative nature of the songs comprising this album that it feels a little dangerous to play, as if by doing so you could summon the very Devil himself. It’s a record that flows like an old school album, and while its perfectly feasible to dip in and out, it’s best to listen from start to finish to experience its impactful nature, and they don’t come more forceful than parting shot ‘Words Of Putridity’, a song of such power it could floor even the most hardened metalhead.
Aided by an even-handed production, Enthrone Death could in no way be construed as “easy listening”, it is, thanks to the production, “easy” on the ears and this makes for an album that holds your interest throughout thirty furious minutes. Each SoulCarrion release has shown an evolutionary spirit, and Enthrone Death is no exception; who knows where they’ll take their sound next, but you feel the sky’s the limit.
- Enthrone Death is released via Godz Ov War Productions and is available now (from here).
Track Listing:
- Cage Of Nothingness
- Night Ceremony
- Enthrone Death
- Infernal Agony
- Oblivion
- Revenge Is Mine
- Deathoskullum
- Words Of Putridity
