This is the debut album by Russian solo artist Dimitry ‘Necrodaemon’ Krasnopeev, with Andrey ‘Zubr’ Raevskiy providing the vocals to make Cadaver Carnivore, playing rather atmospheric death metal. and I say atmospheric rather than melodic because the melody feels more part of the ambience than the driving force behind the songs.

The intro “Immersion” has the sounds of descending into a dungeon filled with whimpering moans and the rattle of shackles before dropping us into “Dai Dark” with its heavy guitars, fast drums, and angry growls, but always accompanied by a melody line that hovers just below the cacophony so as not to intrude.

“Evil of All Humanity” has blisteringly quick drumming and matching guitars, while the vocals take on a more sedate approach to allow them to extend the growls, but the higher pitched shrieks follow a path all their own. Feeling a bit more thrashy in its upfront pace, “Descend to the Ancient One” steps things up once the vocals come in, using blasts and chugging guitar to emphasise the roars. “Dark God” on the other hand is no holds barred death metal leaving finesse at the wayside as it batters relentlessly so that the lead break comes as a minor respite. Far doomier is “Eternal Damnation” with its slow churning guitars, but hyper-fast kick drum rumbling below everything to add more weight to the drawn-out growls. The rather ethereal “Void” is a beautifully delivered soundscape that takes us into “Citadel of the Immortal”, where the vocals sound heavier and deeper with a couple of bass runs being clearly audible under the buzz of the guitars.

Slowing things down once more, “Demon’s Blood” has an eerie orchestral undercurrent that is unsettling without ever needing to be discordant to achieve the feat. Owing to the extreme pace change, “Divine Heresy” feels all the faster as the pounding drums and tremolo guitars race through the song. Straightforward chunky death riffing and the clean vocal line on the chorus on “Deadly Plague” emphasised by the staccato rhythm give the growls an added air of menace. Exquisitely melodic, “In Abyss We Fall” has a slow roar over an excellent clean vocal harmony as the melodic guitars slip into acoustic picking before building up once more, only to flow into the final track “Farewell to the Flesh” with its pipe organs adding a funereal feel to end the album.

While not necessarily breaking new ground, the album works really well as a whole by combining both melody and aggression in equal measure.

(8/10 Marco Gaminara)

https://cadavercarnivore.bandcamp.com/album/devouring-eclipse-of-darkest-realm