Artist: Carnal Savagery
Country: Sweden
Label: Moribund Records
Formats: LP / CD
Year: 2025
Over the past few weeks, I have had a number of discussions about the current state of affairs in the world of Death Metal. I have come to the conclusion that things are actually quite sad, with an overwhelming amount of mediocrity and hardly any standouts. This is especially true for the more Swedish, Death/Doom or generally old school-oriented bands. The only bright spots I see in recent months have come in the form of bands such as Abhorration, Teitanblood, Abominator, and Concrete Winds.
I had to take a deep breath before starting this seventh album by the hard-working Carnal Savagery from Sweden. Although I quite liked most of their previous work, my spirits really sank when I read some quotes from fellow reviewers: “The best Swedish Death Metal album in the last 25 years” and “Simply one of the best death metal pieces ever to come out of the Swedish lands!”. That is, of course, pure and utter delusional madness.
I wouldn’t want to claim to have a monopoly on the truth, but if you write such idiotic things, I think you’d better find another hobby. That may set the bar a little high for myself, but here we go… ‘Crypt Of Decay’, album number seven since their debut album in 2020.
Although I did indeed enjoy the majority of these guys’ output, some of their stuff felt a little like a rush job or otherwise not fully balanced. If you’d listen to ‘Into The Abysmal Void’ (first album of 2024) for instance, it is hard to deny that the guitars and the overall production really sound a bit too digital/compressed for its own good. The band’s ability to write decent songs with enough dynamics saved that album for the most part. While that little flaw was corrected with the subsequent ‘Graveworms, Cadavers, Coffins And Bones’ (second album of 2024). The title might be a little silly, but at least the album had a good punch and a much better mix.
The band has clearly continued that trend. With a more organic and even a tad raw production, ‘Crypt Of Decay’ is a significant step forwards. Even to such an extent that I think it is fair to conclude that this is the band’s best work so far. The balance of all individual elements and instruments is near-perfect. There is nothing that draws too much focus or is too loud and the crunchy overall production gives this nice Swedish touch that we all love so much. As a whole, I would say that ‘Crypt Of Decay’ comes closest to what Nominon was doing on ‘Terra Necrosis’ with vocalist Daniel Garptoft: a good amount of Swedish Death Metal elements, some great leads, lots of tempo changes and raw but powerful vocals. In other words: the true Swedish formula.
Carnal Savagery really makes an impression with this album. Not only is it undoubtedly the best album they have ever made, it also leaves most of the ‘competition’ far behind. But does that justify such ridiculous statements full of strong language and superlatives? I believe you can simply say that something is an excellent album without making a complete ass of yourself. Right?
