Review: Carnal Ruin ‘The Damned Lie Rotting’ EP

The Damned Lie Rotting – the being has barely breached the surface of the world and struck a thin glimmer of light that shines upon its bleak, twisted and sickening anatomy. A clawed fist reaches out and drag’s you down into its pitch black and ice cold world, satisfying its carnal needs while ruining your dreams. It’s an apt title for this four track EP of pure and unadulterated death metal putridity that I have the pleasure of bringing to your attention.

Carnal Ruin ‘The Damned Lie Rotting’ EP

It comes courtesy of Tampa, Florida’s Carnal Ruin and it’s their second release of the year after their compilation record Gnosis of Immortal Domain. This EP is being released courtesy of the ever awesome Redefining Darkness Records and will be unleashed on the 23rd of this month, only digitally and on a sweet limited edition tape.

Carnal Ruin channel their Florida death metal forefathers Morbid Angel, Obituary and Massacre, while combining that sound with other legendary acts like Bolt Thrower, Entombed and Unleashed to make an intense and immersive sound, almost claustrophobic, but most of all monumentally heavy. It’s a great sound. With the sheer plethora of death metal out there right now it’s nice to hear a band mixing up the sounds that are so dear to them and adding a touch of their own flare. This sounds like Carnal Ruin and that’s a real compliment.

Sometimes EP’s can be so short that they leave you wanting more. The Damned Lie Rotting is actually quite chunky as far as EP’s go. It just feels the perfect length for these four tracks, which all last over the three minute mark and have absolutely no filler. It’s a really well written EP.

Tony Capodilupo kills it on here with his vocal display. They absolutely bellow and reverberate around the record almost like they’re echoing in a deep and filthy old pit, you can hear every lyric. The twist up in sound with the occasional high pitched vocal also really adds to the atmosphere.

four track EP of pure and unadulterated death metal putridity…

The guitar tone has that buzzsaw edge, but somehow feels even more raw than usual, and the riffs are erratic and full of attitude. The way they include small break downs into the tracks really work and absolutely decimate everything in a five mile vicinity.

To tie it all up Zach Albritton absolutely nails the drums. Not only are they produced excellently but they’re perfectly performed with a great mix of pounding d-beat madness, blasts and rolls that constantly keep me intrigued, hats off my man!

The EP not only sounds killer but is perfectly accompanied by the killer artwork from Jimmy Palmer. Impaled corpses on top of corpses next to a hill of corpses…name me an album with more corpses on the cover than this one!

Of all the EP’s that have crossed my path this year, this has been one of the ones I’ve enjoyed the most, in case you needed any more reason to go and check this out. Seriously go…now, you will not regret it…and remember that creature might just break light again and maybe you’ll be the one to fall fowl to its Carnal Ruin.

Label: Redefining Darkness Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Scribed by: Matt Alexander