Henrik Nygren’s Melodic death metal project Carchosa, from Malmö, Sweden is back once again with the second release ‘Realms’. The eponymous debut release was a respectable musical offering which had some fantastic compositional work and solid displays of musical prowess but it lacked in the more abstract elements like the ‘infamous spark’ which captured your imagination or the spontaneous factors which help bring the tracks to life. It was a solid melodeath release but it just didn’t quite start that fire which made you more invested in it. Things look set to change however with album #2; Realms. Once again, Henrik has handled near enough all aspects of this release, working on it for three years and pulling in some guest appearances from members of Fallujah, Wintersun and Scar Symmetry amongst others, ‘Realms’ has the potential to really expand on the solid musical foundations laid down three years ago on the debut release, so let us not waste any more time and dive right into this new realm.
“Xenogenetic Forms” is a hard-hitting opening track. A memorable and infectious melodeath lead hook over some really powerful chugging guitar riffs opens things up and from there it explodes to life like a late-90’s/early 2000’s MDM machine. Vocal attacks in the forms of screams and growls bring shades of In Flames of old, the tight melodic lines and rhythmic execution of the bass/drums/guitars locks it all in tight and you can tell there is a real sharpness to the track. It is a great opening track which leads in well to “Hexes Arcana”, the first of several tracks to feature a guest appearance (Scott Carstairs on lead guitar). Fast paced riffs with flowing vocal snarls and flashy leadwork which ranges from simplistic melodic refrains to some slick tapping harmonies and flowing runs makes for a reliable track which has memorable moments across it but at times can come off a little bland and leave you zoning out until you catch the lead lines again.
The first of three 8-minute plus tracks “Dawn of Storms” is up next and Emi Pellegrino provides guest vocals on this one. The clean and passionately delivered vocals of Emi provide a nice contrast to Henrik’s snarls and the sections where both sing together work rather well. Initially slow paced with a building intro, it picks up the pace and has a solid pattern where it shifts from the haunting, slow-paced sections with echoing clean arpeggios to flat out heavy distorted riffing. The lead work is effective, in the slower sections the sustained notes linger and add to the atmosphere, allowing the clean arpeggiated notes to ring out round them and there is even some flair filled licks in there when things get a little heavier. On the whole it is a solid track musically; the vocals are delivered well but it drags on a little too long in places.
“Legion” features Andy Gillion on lead guitars and it’s a simple affair – a straight up, fast paced MDM number with buzzing guitars and snarling vocals delivered with a fierce edge. Fast paced, aggressive and hard hitting, there isn’t much else to say about this track really, the flashy lead adds some excitement into the mix but other than that it’s just hard hitting. Title track “Realms” is a little more varied. With a clean/acoustic section before the buzzsaw and blast onslaught commences, the track is another fast paced and hard-hitting number. Again, it’s a solid musical offering but there isn’t much to say about it really, which is a bit of a let-down for the title track of an album which has so far been rather consistent with its standard of music.
Teemu Mäntisaari of Wintersun features on the second 8+ minute track “World’s Beyond”. This time, it opens up with a ferocious guitar and drum led assault, setting a fast pace from the off but it begins to slow down as the track progresses, allowing for some more atmospheric and melodic sections to break up the fast-paced start and to allow for some lead melodies to add some memorable hooks, giving some reference points in the track. It has moments where you can hear shades of Insomnium and Wintersun in there and the highlight has to be the segment which begins round the 2:50 point – a slow acoustic rhythm is propped up by solid power chords and a slow, lingering lead which rises into a harmony section before it goes into another buzzsaw section which has an epic air about it before it leads into a slick solo which oozes style but fits the track well. Per Nilsson of Scar Symmetry is the final guest and he provides lead guitars on the penultimate track “Spectral”. Hard hitting and almost djent-like with its thundering chug riffs, it slips into musical territory which has some familiarities to The Haunted at times but other than the winding and twisting solo, there isn’t much else to say about this track except it hits like a jack-hammer.
Closing the album is the 9+ minute “The Dark Veil”. In a similar fashion to ‘Dawn Of Storms’ earlier, it starts with a slower paced intro which swells in volume to help create a build-up feel before it comes into a harshly spat vocal dominated verse where the drums really stand out. There’s plenty of blasting drums and prominent vocal and lead spots to dictate the melodic aspects but rhythmically it’s just a solid, unrelenting wall of noise, be it blast beats or harshly distorted sustained chords. The halfway point of the track features the obligatory change up – clean guitars lead into a strong lead harmony section which lingers before it goes into a solid chug section. Near the 7-minute mark we get some flashy lead work to spice things up and it works rather well, giving some colour to the sound but ultimately it shifts back to the unrelenting wall of chug and blast which eventually wraps up with a powerful vocal scream, leading to a more melodic finale.
Overall, “Realms” is an improvement on the foundations laid by the self-titled debut album. Whilst some of the more exciting moments on the release have come from the guest musician appearances, the way Henrik has incorporated them into his musical vision for Carchosa is executed well. If we disregard the guest appearances, it is still an improvement in terms of having a bit of a spark there. The lead melodies and arrangements do catch your attention much more on this release and the clever arrangements do help solidify this. Ultimately, “Realms” is a stronger release, it has more of a bite to it and does have more memorable moments but it still needs more of that MDM magic to make it really shine. It’s definitely a release for the MDM enthusiasts and perhaps the guest appearances may appeal to a slightly wider audience but it still needs that little bit more to make it shine.
(7/10 Fraggle)
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