Carnage – Free at Last
July 23rd, 2023
Hardcore / Beatdown / Powerviolence
Independently Released
St. John’s, Newfoundland
As far as capital H “Hardcore” goes, I’ve never been the biggest fan of the genre. I’ve been a fan of NYHC bands like Sick of it All and Agnostic Front and such for years, but it’s only within the last couple of years since hardcore has really exploded in the post-pandemic world that I’ve started to get into it. This shit is everywhere these days to the point that it’s almost impossible to avoid, and so I’ve been exposed to tons of bands that have shifted my perspective on the whole genre. When it comes to Newfoundland, the scene of Fogtown Hardcore has, in particular, bursted with an obscene amount of new bands, and at the forefront of the heap is Carnage.
The band released a slew of demos throughout 2022 that were uploaded to YouTube and streaming services, but all of those demos pale in comparison to the awesomeness contained on this first proper EP from the band, Free at Last. Featuring seven tracks of pure, distilled sonic aggression, you’d be hard pressed to find another EP from 2023 that contains as much explosive energy within it than this one.
The vocals from Steve are heinous, throaty and vile. He sounds completely unhinged on this thing, screaming with a really high pitched rasp that reminds me of a lot of the hardcore bands I’ve seen live in Montreal (especially groups like Zooman and Glowing Orb). There’s so much piss and vinegar in these screams and it oozes over the entire recording. I love that it sounds like the audio recording is peaking at multiple moments, especially near the end of “These Chains”.
The riffs from guitarist Kendrick and bassist Mark are heavy, crushing, and distorted to hell, but on top of all that they’re super catchy. When the bass comes in on the intro track alongside the drums you know you’re in for a hell of a kick to the nuts as the rest of this EP chugs along. Some of the riffs here feel akin to something you might hear on an older NYHC recording, while others embrace the sporadic chaos of powerviolence, like on the track “Lifetime of Shit”. I also love the few moments where the guitars get real dissonant with it, like on the song “Stressed” or the lead-in to the bridge section on “Proud”.
Speaking of drums, Elijah is a force to be reckoned with behind the kit. There’s a lot of variety to be found here, from the double-bass-centric beat found on the intro to the “jump-da-fuk-up” grooves found on “Separation Anxiety” and other tracks here. There are also plenty of moments where he launches into brief passages of ultra-fast, one-two punk beats that steamroll the listener with little to no remorse.
Where this album shines aside from the composition though, is in the recording and production department. Recorded and produced by Bazooka frontman and Barely There Media founder Liam Ryan and mixed by the incredibly prolific Jacob Cherwick, these guys worked together to give this EP the best possible production job they could, and they killed it. The sound of the drums on this thing is fucking phenomenal. I love how cavernous the snare and toms sound, how full the bass drum is, and just how crunchy every cymbal hit is. The guitars and bass are loud as hell and pack a serious punch while the vocals, as mentioned before, are peaking, but in a way that actually suits the music instead of detracting from it.
This is a chaotic, noisy cavalcade of extreme hardcore mixed with elements of beatdown and powerviolence that no doubt inspires some serious violence in the live setting. I’ve fawned a lot over this EP throughout this review because it deserves it. It’s genuinely a fantastic piece of hardcore, and that’s coming from someone who isn’t really from this particular side or niche of underground extreme music. Don’t miss out on Free at Last.
Final Verdict: 4.5/5
Awesome
Favourite Tracks:
“Intro”
“Separation Anxiety”
“Stressed”
“Proud”
“These Chains”
~ Akhenaten
HeavyNFLD 