Written by Carcassbomb
- Carcinoid
- Metastatic Declination
- Blackened Death
- Melbourne, Australia
- Label: Memento Mori
- October 6th, 2019
- 7.8/10
Bandcamp / Facebook / Metallum
Carcinoid are a fun band to me, there’s something inherently goofy about it without it actually being a joke – in fact they are a serious and talented band, they’re just so intense that it makes me titter nervously. The bass is so groovy that I have to move to it. This is raw af sludgeoned black death metal that will do things you haven’t really heard before, like absurdly clean bass tones and unexpected lofi melody. It will be a sure hit for those like myself who enjoy super abrasive death doom, which is also a lot of the metal cassette community.
There’s a big mix of alternative metal, hardcore and sludge styles at hand on Metastatic Declination. It has a lot in common with metallic hardcore in its use of feedback. It’s a typically high octane album with a good pace and energy, if it does slow down it’s simply to engage in what I can only describe as “audio stomping”. There’s a lot of condensed and powerful bits of music to be sifted out of the cloudy mixing.
This would be a great live performance because you’d never stand there questioning what to do or wondering if you’ve been moving one way for too long, Carcinoid will make your body decisive and spasmic. Am I the only one who gets way too in their head in the most pit if the band is boring but serviceable? Hopefully I will see them come up to Brisbane at some point, we seldom get a good mosh going, I think we’re too anti-social.
There is a couple of times where the guitar dared to soar in spite of the lofi mixing and it was pretty epic. I enjoy the ideas they’ve presented within the dank soundscape. They’ve pushed the sludge as far as they could in every direction, like an ever growing dark green and brown Katamari Damacy rolling on the outskirts of every alternative genre and picking up a little bit from each one. It’s basically the metal version of the muck monster from Ferngully. I feel like I both love and hate this album, I suppose that’s kind of the point in a way, it’s both repugnant and engrossing.
Carcinoid: Bandcamp / Facebook / Metallum
The cassette from Headsplit Records is on point, I got the transparent red and I’m glad. It looks fucking sweet. I also have their 2018 demo tape from Caligari Records with the white shell, another variant I love. The similarity between the two tapes gives them a nice thematic vibe, I look forward to collecting any future tapes they put out.
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