Killing Process

France...mmm....the country of love and snail eaters. Come to think of it, names like "Agressor", "Anorexia Nervosa", "Fairyland", "Kabbal", "Massacra" do ring a bell and I like the sound of it. I guess I'll have to remember another band name, because "Carcariass" are so good, you can't even believe it.

Technical death metal has always been on the verge of skilled musicianship and dull instumental wankery. If we changed Iron Maiden's lyrics abit, we could say that (in tech-death) there's a thin line between great and shit. Fortunately, "Carcariass" skip the shitty part and stick to the great one. Judging by the band title, one could assume them being a "Carcass" influenced/tribute band and that could be true, since "Carcass's" influence on death metal is immense.

The very first thing that gets your attention while listening to "Killing Time" is the minimalistic vocals/growls, hell, some tracks don't have those at all. Although this could be a problem, a major drawback for a common death metal die-hard fan, remember, ladies and gentlemen, that what we are dealing here with is not your average (tech)death metal album. Personally I find the minority of vocals to be the major advantage of this album, because it's the music that's the most important thing here, not gory/blasphemous lyrics. And boy is the musical part good... For those who know what technical metal is all about let me just add a reasonable amount of melodics and a couple of drops of progressiveness to the mix. If you think that the album defies the "trueness" of (tech)death and consequently sucks, then you should go and commit suicide. "Killing Time" is not "In Flames" with somewhat complex musical patterns, nor is it "Dream Theatee" with growls. It is... "Killing Time", where all instruments perfectly blend into one hell of a musical experience (just listen to those drums and solos).

Have you ever had this feeling when listening to a band/album, that, according to your prejudice, was supposed to suck, or be average at best and realising that it actually kicks ass so hard, you can't sit down for at least a week? No? Well, listen to "Killing Time" - a greatlty underrated technical death metal masterpiece from France and you'll be in for a surprise.

For some reason my mind forgot to remember how I first heard about this awesome French tech-death band's third album. Then I remembered what drew me to it. The opening of first track Watery Grave, I must say, must have impressed me when I first heard this album as much as it impresses me to this day. Not only does it really sound as if you are being submerged in a vat of acid, but shows the prowess of the band as a whole. I must have played the beginning over and over just to be sure that I was not dreaming of something that awesome. Raphael Couturier's bass playing is excellent throughout the whole album but there is more to this fantastically performed album than this seventeen second introduction.

Aside from bass duties, Mr. Couturier also doubles as the vocalist also. However, this time his abilities, though not horrible, present one of the few setbacks about this album. Only two thirds of the album's songs include vocals and the albums best track, in my opinion, Lost In Agony, is unscarred by what seems to be forced death metal vocals. Musicianship is where these three metaller's shine. The vocals at times seem out of place, had they had more edge and anger to them its possible that they would go over extremelly well however for the moment, detract from the music. With thier sound, as melodic as it is, clean or semi-clean vocals may have worked better than a full death metal attempt.

The guitars on this album are incrediblly played. Pascal Lanquentin nails every note with a vengeance. His leads are incredible especially in songs like Lost In Agony, Burn In Peace, and Mortal Climb. Rhythmically he is also impeccable, landing riffs like a veteran pilot landing a plane on a fiery runway. Though his playing is pristine, a more powerfull guitar sound would have numerous benefits. Unless your playing this album in the ninety decibel range, you may notice a lack of power. If they overdubbed the guitars in the recording, I cant fathom how weak the guitar sound was in the beginning.

Drumming is provided by Betrand Simonim. Quick, accurate and varied, the drumming is also precise like the rest of the musicianship however, like the guitars does suffer slightly from a lack of brutality.

The songwriting on this album is, I can honestly say, far superior to many bands at a higher level of stardom and noteriety. Hooks adorn this album like bodies in a morgue, and in a way that doesnt give the stench of trying to sound more mainstream-oriented. The fifth song, a short instrumental, possibly serving as a break, is unnecessary. The rest of the songs are well composed. Though Carcariass seem to favor the mid tempo, there isnt a lack of faster material to sink your teeth into.Watery Grave, Killing Process, and Burn In Peace are standout tracks though the final track, Lost In Agony reveals the genius these guys are capable of. Mortal Climb, Winds Of Death and Under Concrete are strong songs also however at times seem out of place. All in all however, from start to finish, this is a fantastic album that sadly, im sure, has gone overlook by many prog-death, tech-death fans.

Carcariass hails from France. This trio has its’ roots in the early nineties and after two earlier CD’s “Hell On Earth” (1997) and “Sideral Torment” (1998) the band is back with their third one, “Killing Process”, which, if I recall correctly, was recorded a year ago. Carcariass plays Death Metal the melodic way with quite a few Heavy Metal influences.
“Killing Process” is crammed with double leads (of which I really ask myself if the band can play this live, having only one guitarist and all) and clearly the bias is on the compositions. Something we encounter more often with this kind of band.

Which is not a shame at all, but despite all the melody, double leads and the tight playing I really miss one essential part without which the music can’t be called ‘varying’ and that is the tempo factor. All in all the tempos on “Killing Process” are a bit under endowed in the speed department. Not that a band has to play fast bits once in a while, but in the current situation this CD lacks just that little bit of excitement which is mainly influenced by the addition of some speed. And as a result I couldn’t focus my attention entirely during the total playing time of “Killing Process”.

But on the other hand the overall mix really does a lot of good and as a result, a mainly riff-oriented track like “Burn In Peace” has a lot of potention. Clearly the climax of this CD, it's a shame there aren’t more of this kind of tracks…
All in all, Carcariass does have the quality to make there mark well among the fans of this particular genre, but I myself need some more conviction.