Death metal is one of my favorite things on Earth. One of the coolest and most invigorating innovations in heavy music, death metal’s focus on rhythm, groove, heft, and serrated distortions in every instrument calls to something primal and primordial. Belgian five-banger Carnation understand that primal call perhaps too well, taking a classic formula that should’ve diminished significantly in returns by now and vitalizing it with piss, blood, and vinegar. Over the course of three consistently high-quality records they’ve defied every phenomenon of nature that kills with time. Fourth onslaught Symphony in Flesh poses yet another threat. What fresh hell awaits?
WIOLENCE, that’s what! While Cursed Mortality took on a more dour character despite its tightened and streamlined songwriting, Symphony in Flesh is just mean. With no regard for human life and a complete lack of sympathy for the weak of body and will, Carnation reprises the punky and thrashy energies that imbued early works like Chapel of Abhorrence, while retaining the melodious flourish and smooth finish of Cursed Mortality. This in turn creates an interesting balance across 43 minutes of feral theatrics and viscous blood spatter. A wide array of songwriting tacks steadily shift Carnation’s sound as Symphony in Flesh’s runtime progresses. This strategy gives the whole a sense of dynamic movement and epic scale while dealing mortal blows left, right, top, and bottom—an apt representation of the album’s title. There’s no escape, and a gruesome death is guaranteed, but you’ll be transfixed on your way to your maker.
Few things in life are better than a well-placed “BLEGH,” and what better place to “BLEGH” than right at the beginning? Thus, Symphony in Flesh unleashes with the stellar opener “Blackmouth,” instantly opening a yawning pit to hell in a barrage of caustic riffs and feverish double-bass grooves. This is everything that death metal should be in a nutshell, but Carnation make sure their recipe has extra sauce. Follow-up “Flesh-Eating Frenzy” might be the most fun I’ve had with the genre all year, boasting a nasty beat that whips my spine around like a proper flail. Big grooves that I now wholly associate with Carnation’s trademark riffing style characterize stomping offenses “Kingdom of Dreams” and “Boundless Pathways,” but thankfully don’t ape Carnation’s former iterations. Instead, they carve trenches for themselves deep in the whitewater current of blood and sinew that Symphony in Flesh disrespectfully gorged out of the flesh of the earth itself. Such irrigation then provides ample sustenance to support blackened tremolos and squawking melodies that personify “Twisted Visions” and the remarkably well-paced 11-minute closing epic “Legacy of the Forefathers.” This final expulsion itself is a testament to Carnation’s continuous improvement as songwriters. It shouldn’t work at all, and yet its encapsulation of everything that Symphony in Flesh exhibits into one visceral container guarantees a righteous pathway to this symphony’s glorious end.
Carnation’s collective performance on Symphony in Flesh is fucking vicious. It’s rare that HM-2 death metal in the modern era tastes freshly killed as it did in the early days, but this does. Grotesque and writhing with guts, Symphony in Flesh is a monstrous record where guitars blaze everything to cinders and psychotic roars rattle every bone to dust. Drums pound muscle into slurry, and even the massively distorted and clunky bass tone makes quick work of tenderizing organ meat. There’s little to ask of Carnation here. Nonetheless, nitpicks arise. There’s an argument to be made against the merit of an albeit brief quietude in the back end of “Legacy of the Forefathers.” That couple of minutes and change could be cut out with no immediate danger to the whole. “Labyrinth of Silence,” while immensely groovy, also takes a little too long to kick into high gear. Even after trimming that section down, it’s still the “weakest” offering on the menu. Compared to its neighbors, it’s just a bit too lackluster to find its footing and fumbles the ball slightly. Thankfully, “Towards Death” scoops the ball right back up and shoves me back into the fray without any concern for my safety.
Safety is overrated when the only thing that matters in life is death metal. Carnation understand this mantra, and embody it with Symphony in Flesh. Without changing the classic formula, Carnation embarrass an entire army of revivalists by being one of the only bands in the buzzsaw persuasion to feel alive and imminently dangerous. I fear for my life every time I spin this beastly thing, and I rarely feel such joy in conflation with that immutable survival instinct. Yet, I’m chomping at the bit for another taste!
Rating: Great
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Self-released | Redefining Darkness Records (NA Physical)
Websites: Bandcamp | Homepage
Releases Worldwide: October 16th, 2026
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