Carnosus – Wormtales Review

[Cover art by Timon Kokott]

It’s fair to be a bit nervous about quality whenever a band releases full-length albums in back-to-back years. That quick-turn approach can leave you wondering if inspiration was truly firing on all cylinders, if we’re getting fed a collection of tracks that hit the cutting room floor for the last album or if maybe the band is overly confident on what they have ready to deliver. Already this year, Rezn dropped a second album that included songs recorded at the same time as last year’s Solace. While Burden didn’t quite live up the strength of its predecessor, it was still a very worthy album to put out, as I previously detailed. Wormtales feels like it is facing a similar fate. The album isn’t quite as potent as last year’s Visions of Infinihility, but it’s a damn good bit of fun all the same.

Carnosus’ strengths are on full display throughout Wormtales’ 40 minutes. The band’s slippery riffs, ear for melody, stylistic mix of guitar leads and wily vocals all make for an engaging listen throughout. “Birthless” opens the album with a thundering mid-pace build that transitions into a visceral scream and a blazing lead. It very much has a The Black Dahlia Murder vibe. Lead guitarist Rickard Persson cleverly brings back elements of that opening lead into a later part of the song as more of a way to add some color to the track rather than hold the spotlight. He’s also good at sharing that spotlight with bassist Marcus Strindlund, including when Strindlund noodles off a killer bass lead of his own in “Worm Charmer” that then opens the door for Person to take over with another fiery solo. He does a great job of varying how he approaches leads throughout the album as well. On “Neglectikon,” the lead is very melodic as the notes smoothly fly all over the fret board while the one on closer “Solace in Soil” is a lengthy beast that soars and flies throughout its time. The guitar riffs throughout the album aren’t quite as varied in their approaches as the leads but their writhing, chugging nature sneaks in melodic hooks and hard hitting rhythms all the same. The worming, winding nature of “Neglectikon” is just as vital as the pulsing swagger of “Harbinger of Woundism.”

The most likely make-or-break factor in your enjoyment of this record is going to be vocalist Jonatan Karasiak, who is deeply charismatic while spewing all sorts of different styles. “Cosmoclaustrum” exemplifies this best. It opens with a stuttering rhythms that has a glimmer of brutal death metal ignorance to it that is only further exacerbated by Karasiak’s deep gurgles that don’t really appear quite like this on any other track. Throughout the song, he does goblin chittering, gnarly shrieks, powerful gutterals and so much more to make for one of the most dynamic performances of the year. As the album progresses and you figure you’ve heard everything he can do, he decides to open “Solace in Soil” with deranged psuedo-cleans that almost sound like monk-style throat singing over some spacey open guitar notes. He is truly a master of his craft, but his various styles may be grating to some, particularly with the higher-pitched vocals.

The day this Swedish quintet masters an infectious chorus or really unlocks the power of the vocal hooks Karasiak is capable of, Carnosus could truly make something special. As it is, this is some high-quality melodic death metal with one of the most varied and fun vocal performances you’re likely to hear in 2024. Quite frankly, that’s more than enough for this writer.