France really does seem to be a hotbed of creative, imaginative and intense extreme metal these days; there are so many interesting bands to choose from, it is hard to know where to start. One good place though would be Parisian death metal crew Carnal Lust, `The Hate Complete’ being their third full length release. How I’ve never come across this class act before I will never know (maybe I had my head stuck somewhere nasty for too long…), this album reeks of quality and professionalism rarely seen in underground bands.
Firstly, a warning to brutalists everywhere; if you are looking for the next `most extreme thing ever, will cave your face in at fifty paces’ album, look elsewhere. This is not an ultra-brutal exercise in precision-blasting extreme death-grind, but something a lot more interesting to my ears. Dark, crushing, intense, epic; these are just a few of the words I can (and will) use to describe `The Hate Complete’. Rather than a blast-fest, Carnal Lust approach death metal with a steady but relentless malevolence, the songs tend to be long, but very intense and dark, with a massive streak of melancholy running through each of them.
There is an unusually Scandinavian feel about Carnal Lust’s music, which is where a large part of the dark, brooding, mournful feel comes from. This is not to say that they merely copy the old Swedish death metal style, but there is a definite strong influence here. I am sometimes reminded of mid-period At The Gates; that agonised, obscure feeling created by the twisted and unusual, yet beautifully melodic single note harmonies. This is not to say that Carnal Lust don’t know how to use brute force when necessary, there is a vast array of incredibly heavy, pounding riffs throughout `The Hate Complete’, which the band use to great effect.
It is the sheer musicality of this great band that really impresses me, mixing great melodic harmonies, monstrous riffs, haunting lead lines, intricate acoustic breaks, epic song structures, and an intense, varied vocal style really does make for a death metal thrill ride to all except the most desensitized. Vocalist L. Chuck D. Uses a wide variety of growls, screams, yelling and singing to create a multi-faceted assault on the senses, which really works in my opinion, and adds an extra level of intensity to the proceedings.
All this, combined with a beautifully packaged album, and some deranged, yet interestingly-written lyrics make for a truly great album in my opinion. The album may be a little too mid-paced for some, but the sheer intensity of Carnal Lust’s vision cannot be denied.
(8/10 Jon Butlin)
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