Carnal Forge
Gun to Mouth Salvation

So, eleven years has passed since last time Swedish thrashers Carnal Forge released an album and the question on everyone’s mind is whether this new and awaited album has been worth the wait or worth the gun to mouth solution. That is the question the quintet has been asked, or I have asked through the music that I have been listening to. I know this band from before from the albums Please… Die! and The More You Suffer that were released back in 2001 and 2003 and I would say that not much has really happened in terms of the band’s music since then.

They are offering aggressive thrash metal, death thrash you might even call it. They show plenty of power and aggression, good energy and pretty good production – they have a powerful sound and that is probably what I see differ slightly from the past, the more powerful sound. The vocals are not among the best I have heard in the genre, the best singers of the death thrash has a good groove to their singing that I think the singer of Carnal Forge is lacking. I also have to say that the album is too long, 35-40 minutes is the limit for this kind of music, 46 minutes like this album has to offer is a bit much and the album feels like it never ends.

Overall it is an okay album, the songs are not bad and the groove is okay – it is listenable I think even though I just want it to end during the last few songs. Another little weakness is the lack of a distinct hit song, something that pulls you in and makes you want to return to the album over again. The lack of originality can also be a problem for those that are more loosely interested and enjoy many different genres as there are better death thrash choices than Carnal Forge.

The fans who have waited will find that the album was worth waiting for as it will be to their liking with the same aggressive style that paved the way for the band in the past. So if you are one of those death thrash or Carnal Forge fans you will not go wrong with this album, it will be much to your liking. But if your interest in the genre is a bit more peripheral you will think that there are way better choices out there as this album offers nothing really new and others have done this kind of music much better. So, from the general point to view it isn’t the most exciting album ever, but thankfully it is not so bad that you want to take to the gun to mouth solution.

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