top of page
Writer's pictureErik

Carnal Tomb - Embalmed in decay (Testimony Records)


CARNAL TOMB from Germany's chaotic and vibrant capital city Berlin have

reached that point in their career, which is traditionally associated with 'making

or breaking it': the famous third album. Entitled "Embalmed in Decay", this

beautifully putrid and rotten manifest of morbidity perfectly channels the spirit

of old school death metal.

The Germans have honed their songwriting to razor-edged sharpness with

slightly shorter tracks compared to their previous releases, fast forward blast

beats, and they have also kept some of their characteristic doom-driven passages. It all adds up to a contemporary version of classic death metal with enormous firepower that will cement their status

as one of the hottest young acts of this most brutal genre. Guest performances on "Embalmed in Decay" by Serkan Niron from Turkey's death metal sickos ENGULFED on the track

'Draped in Disgust' and some additional intros from former MORBID PANZER as well as PUTRESCINE, and SPEEDWHORE guitarist Leonhard Link put the deliciously toxic icing on CARNAL TOMB's gut and gore cake. The album title 'Embalmed in Decay' as well as the track 'The Putridarum' are inspired by a chilling funeral practice particularly 'popular' in Southern Italy from late mediaeval until early modern times: The corpses of the deceased were placed into a socalled 'putredarium' where they were left to rot until nothing remained except the bones, which were brought to an ossuary as their final resting place. This procedure was symbolising a state of purgatory that the dead had to go through. Other gruesome sources of inspiration for CARNAL TOMB were shaped in the original mould of death metal lyrics that include the works of H.P. Lovecraft as well as gore and zombie movies such as Amando de Ossorio's 1972 genre classi"Tombs of the Blind Dead", which directly influenced the song 'The Putridarium'. Obviously, these themes have also inspired the morbid cover artwork of "Embalmed in Decay" by artist Skaðvaldur.


14 views0 comments

Comments


bottom of page