2019 will be remembered as a monumental year for Deathcore. There is a surge of younger bands releasing stellar records, and older more experienced bands are continuing to breathe new life into the genre. Following the banger The Valley by Whitechapel and the slightly uninspired Thy Art is Murder record, can Carnifex right the ship and prove once and for all that with World War X, these deathcore lords are deserving of their seat at the table?
Carnifex has been pumping out record after record of their own brand of deathcore, with extended range djenty breakdowns and blackened riffs, incorporating an increasing symphonic motif starting on their album Hell Chose Me. The first single, No Light Shall Save Us is punchy and menacing, featuring the Carnifex signature mix of chugs, and minor-scaled chords to invoke black metal leanings. This track also features the immediately recognizable goth-chanted and screamed vocals from Alissa White-Gluz (of Arch Enemy, ex-The Agonist fame).
The tracks on World War X are all well-written pieces of deathcore, yet when the album is consumed as a whole, it is difficult to find any breakout riffs or sections, and most of the sections bleed into each other. One of the few notable sections were the straight-out-of-After The Burial worship on album closer By Shadows Thine Held. The guitar work by Cory Arford and Jordan Lockrey are precise and brutal in equal measure. The riffs are solid but reminiscent on most of the ground covered on previous records, most recently on Slow Death. The songs trudge on between sludgy breakdowns and blast-beat ridden sections, but the arrangements quickly become recognizable and begin to lose their sheen. Vocalist Scott Lewis does what we all expect him to do on any Carnifex record, with his cavernous lows and maniacal shrieks. But again, no new ground is covered on World War X.
Unfortunately, Carnifex refuse to push past what the comfort zone they have carved for themselves, and their niche of blackened deathcore is now becoming a crowded space. Newer bands like Lorna Shore take a much more technical approach and their ferocity makes Carnifex sound tired and jaded. I fear for the longevity of Carnifex, especially after a lackluster record from Thy Art is Murder in 2019 as well. Both bands rose to fame around the same time and are dangerously close to being lost to bored mediocrity unless they decide to shake things up. As a strong personal complaint, I found the decision to not include their one-off track Bury Me in Blasphemy (released on an EP with cover-tracks) to be quite disappointing, as the track is easily among the strongest tracks Carnifex has released in recent memory. It would have been a perfect fit for the mood set on World War X.
In more cheerful news, the mix on World War X is easily among the best I have heard on any deathcore record. Carnifex has faltered with their mixes, most notably on Until I Feel Nothing, but the mix found on these tracks is nothing short of phenomenal. The extended range chugs are beefy, the leads and overdubs cut right through and are discernable, the bass is crisp, and every piece of the drumkit has its own space. If nothing else, this album is sonically a treat.
World War X is a competent record by Carnifex and they should be proud of it. If you like djenty-blackened deathcore, you will be perfectly serviced. However, with upcoming bands licking at their heels and playing in the same niche, Carnifex will have to innovate further to push their brand. They must adapt, lest they are left in the dust of forlorn nostalgia.