Angry Metal Guy
Ah, brutal death metal. A singularly punishing corner of the extreme metalverse, brutal death commands your every orifice for consumption and then ruination. Or sometimes the other way around. Brutal death metal isn’t picky. Neither am I. Despite my cuddly, terminally delightful disposition in real life, I love this stuff for its cave-brained approach to extreme music, its penchant for irresistible groove unmatched by other styles, and its promise of outlandish compositional WIOLENCE. These are the things Colombian/Spanish brutal death quintet Carnivore Diprosopus pledge with fourth onslaught Rise of the Insurrection.
Beginning life in 2002, Carnivore Diprosopus wrote about what every early 2000s brutal band wrote about: shocking acts of violence, generalized perversion, and lots of gore. The usual suspects. With their third installment, Condemned by the Alliance, however, Carnivore Diprosopus shifted gears slightly. Still integrating the expected extremities, Condemned by the Alliance and now Rise of the Insurrection feel more conceptual and story-driven, detailing what appears to be tales of fictional great wars involving much invasion, destruction, death, and what I’m sure would be considered outright violations of the Geneva Convention. Using compositional blueprints spearheaded by acts like Brodequin, Devourment, and Pathology, Carnivore Diprosopus’ fourth salvo carries their recounts on the backs of crushing riffs, pummeling rhythms and blasts, and subterranean gurgles—just the way I expect and desire to hear it. Bonus points to the band for an unexpectedly rich, warm, and roomy production that proves once and for all that music like this can easily beat me to a pulp without disrespectful compression or excessive loudness.
Rise of the Insurrection by CARNIVORE DIPROSOPUS
Rise of the Insurrection is a quintessential example of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” The riffs contained in city-leveling monstrosities like “Begin Redemption,” “Dhamaneon,” album highlight “The Onslaught—Cyborg Tank Division,” “Khristov’s Seventh Eagle Legion,” and “Psycho Mincer Assault Corps” sound suspiciously like a million other band’s best—albeit with a bit more focus on infectious groove than single-minded destruction. For me, none of that is a bad thing. A touch of slam in many of Carnivore Diprosopus’ rhythmic patterns and a tasteful reliance on tightly grouped triplets helps reinforce that sense of swagger to great effect as well, making this album extremely dangerous for my neck (“The Battle of Saicasm (Ariel Predator)”). At a shredded thirty-one minutes, Rise of the Insurrection flies by in a flash, making revisits an effortless and thoroughly rewarding affair. With each new spin, I discover little moments throughout that give any given song another point of interest to keep me invested (notably, the fun cymbal clinks that most densely populate the album midsection).
It’s difficult to offer more than nitpicks when critiquing Rise of the Insurrection, but those nitpicks add up quickly. For Carnivore Diprosopus, my biggest nitpick is the complete lack of originality or novelty in their songwriting. This record in particular borrows an array of notes from Unbirth’s Fleshformed Columns of Deceit and Brodequin’s discography at large. That’s great company to keep, but I worry that Carnivore Diprosopus play too close to their influences here, which could deter fans from checking them out as easily as it might initially attract them. An additional side effect of this condition, many of Rise of the Insurrection’s less immediate moments fall victim to the void almost instantly after passing (the second half of “Dhamaneon,” for example), calling the record’s overall memorability into question. In other areas, Carnivore Diprosopus deserve credit for their unusually roomy production. Warm and rich guitar and vocal tones, combined with what feels like acres of space on the soundstage, provide every element plenty of room to play and interact with each other, affording the record an organic sense of dynamics. However, the snare sometimes feels wooden and a little sharp for this style, negatively impacting measures involving intense blast beats the most. Crash and ride cymbals similarly lack body in spots, evoking a somewhat glassy quality that can make rapid-fire strikes and extended washes occasionally unpleasant.
While I found a variety of little opportunities for improvement, Rise of the Insurrection is as rock-solid a record as they come. Endless cavalcades of killer riffs, brutal grooves, and slammy swagger guarantee a great time and ensure that repeat investment garners considerable returns in enjoyment. Carnivore Diprosopus may not be the most innovative name in the game, but brutal death metal doesn’t need innovation to be fun and engaging. Rise of the Insurrection is, if nothing else, proof positive of that fact.
Rating: Good!
DR: 9 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Comatose Music
Website: facebook.com/CarnivoreDiprosopus
Releases Worldwide: August 9th, 2024
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Tue Aug 06 10:40:02 GMT 2024