{"id":205877,"date":"2025-11-29T03:39:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T03:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/205877\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T03:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T03:39:18","slug":"carnal-savagery-crypt-of-decay-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/205877\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnal Savagery – Crypt of Decay Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Advanced scientific studies indicate that the style of metal known as \u201cSwedeath\u201d will not die and may, in fact, be incapable of being killed. The foundation created by Entombed<\/strong> and Dismember<\/strong> in the early 90s cemented the \u201cStockholm Sound\u201d so deeply in musical bedrock that forecasters predict it could function like an everflowing stream for untold aeons. Enter Sweden\u2019s Carnal Savagery<\/strong>. This gruesome duo have gone in big on the Swedeath formula, releasing 6 albums of it since 2020, all of which pay loving homage to the genre\u2019s forefathers. Crypt of Decay is their 7th album in 5 years, so clearly, they just can\u2019t stop spewing this fetid gunk into the world at a reckless pace. What does the new material sound like? Well, DisEntombed<\/strong>, of course. It\u2019s got exactly zero new ideas, even less innovation, and you\u2019ll be subjected to endlessly recycled odds and sods all powered by the force of the HM-2 pedal. Guitars will buzz, vocals will retch, and you\u2019ll ingest mass quantities d-beated death. Sound good?<\/p>\n

As with many Carnal Savagery<\/strong> releases, they come out strong with a ripping, tearing monstrosity on \u201cEntangled in Barbed Wire.\u201d Rather than the usual thievery from the first few Dismember<\/strong> records, this sounds a whole lot like something off Slaughter of the Soul due to the riff patterns and the hyperkinetic energy (maybe even too much like something off Slaughter of the Soul). Flagrant influence humping aside, it\u2019s a rousing blast of death metal with teeth and badass energy, so it works. As \u201cAmputation\u201d rolls in, it\u2019s back to the Stockholm salt mines for the expected poaching off albums like Indecent and Obscene and Massive Killing Capacity. What sells it for me besides the furious energy is how it sounds like the vocalist keeps bellowing \u201cGRAMPUTATION!,\u201d leaving me to wonder why he hates old dudes so much. \u201cTorn from the Grave\u201d is another burner with vicious, blasting fury, and it\u2019s interesting enough to get by despite some oh so familiar riffs.<\/p>\n

\"\"From here, however, the ground becomes more unsteady. Some tracks just kinda lie there and refuse to play ball. \u201cScalped and Flayed\u201d goes too far down a death-doom rat hole and feels lifeless and dull, while \u201cGruesome Death\u201d feels generic and stock standard. At times, there\u2019s an injection of the classic Wolverine Blues swagger and rock-based swing as on \u201cCurse of the Catacomb\u201d and the title track, but it doesn\u2019t completely work. Overall, you get roughly half an album\u2019s worth of C+ and B-level Swedeath with some clunkers and also-rans popping up to drag the momentum downward. Unfortunately, this is an issue Carnal Savagery<\/strong> struggles with regularly. They write some bangers to hook you in, then the wheels come off the War Wagon before they reach the finish line. Thankfully, most of the songs run only 2-3 minutes, so nothing gums up the works too severely (except \u201cGruesome Death\u201d), and the 34-plus-minute runtime is short enough to stave off most variants of Swedeath fatigue.<\/p>\n

Swedeath needs riotous, raucous and deadly riffs to fully capture the brainpan, and Mikael Lindgren can and does deliver some of these, usually with a strong Dismember<\/strong> flavor. But he also lapses into less stellar leads and ideas a bit too often, causing some cuts to feel generic and half-baked. His flowery solo style is a nice relief from the neanderthal buzz and brutality, showing another side of the duo\u2019s identity, and that should be explored a bit more often to keep things interesting. Mattias Lilja\u2019s death vocals are solid and full of greasy charm, sitting somewhere between the late, great L.G. Petrov and Dismember<\/strong>\u2019s Matti K\u00e4rki. He doesn\u2019t offer much in the way of versatility, but you don\u2019t come here for that anyway. As per usual, it\u2019s the songwriting that lets them down, with some tracks being killer and others ending up closer to filler.<\/p>\n

Carnal Savagery<\/strong> usually serve up 3-4 songs that put a meat fork in your adrenal gland and activate your altered beast. The rest range from okay and underwhelming. Crypt of Decay is right in that modality. The good is fun, the rest is tolerable but non-essential. That sounds like a playlist poacher to me! Desecrate the Crypt and take what you like and leave the rest to rot in peace.<\/p>\n

\ufeff<\/p>\n

Rating:<\/strong> 2.5\/5.0
DR:<\/strong> 8 | Format Reviewed:<\/strong> 256 kbps mp3
Label:<\/strong> Moribund Records<\/a>
Websites:<\/strong> facebook.com\/carnalsavagery<\/a> | instagram.com\/carnalsavagery<\/a>
Releases Worldwide:<\/strong> November 28th, 2025<\/p>\n

\n\tGive in to Your Anger:\n<\/p>\n