Since forming in 1992, Cephalic Carnage have been at the forefront of extreme metal. Never ones to follow trends or stay confined to genres, Cephalic Carnage push boundaries and forge a sound that is distinctly their own.
On Misled by Certainty the band has delivered a particularly tasty slab of metal goodness, blending the best of death, doom, black metal, and grindcore, melted down and tempered to a stronger-than-steel core with their signature all over it. On the opener, “The Incorrigible Flame,” the band showcases some of their technical mastery with the shredding riffs of guitarists Steve Goldberg and Brian Hopp, supported by John Merryman and Nick Schendzielos on drums and bass, respectively. There is some excellent riffage in this song, calling to mind some of the best of ‘80s videogame soundtracks, as played on guitar. Vocalist Lenzig Leal lends a bit of metalcore sounding vocals to this song, which fit, but don’t reveal his full range.
The follow-up, “Warbots AM,” is where the band fully hits their stride, with a grind-y, black metal feast of thrashing that highlights Leal’s vocal range and the technical abilities of the other members of the band, and ends with an HP Lovecraft inspired chant to the elder god Cthulhu.
Other highlights on the album are the techy, “Abraxas of Filth,” the 37-second blast of brutality “Pure Horses,” and the sludgy “Cordyceps Humanism.” “Dimensional Modulation Transmography” is a mouthful of a song title, but is also another ripping track worth noting.
“Ohrwurm” and “Repangaea” are a pair of songs leaning more on Cephalic Carnage’s experimental side, both featuring saxophone prominently in the song, and creating an interesting change of pace, though one that may not appeal to all listeners. That said, The 12-minute “Repangaea” is the song that I feel demonstrates the full scope of Cephalic Carnage’s sound, including their experimental side, and is my favorite song on the album. I don’t think you can fully appreciate Cephalic Carnage without being able to listen to this track.
Misled by Certainty is another example of Cephalic Carnage at their best, and stands with Xenosapien as one of their best albums to date.
(Relapse Records, PO Box 2060, Upper Darby, PA 19082)