In Todes Banden

This is the second project of my fellow West Chester alumni/lead guitarist Mark Warnok, known affectionately in both Florida and Pennsylvania as Mark Warlokk; prognosticator of demonology, the undead, and all things death metal. Although I was quite partial to the work he did on the Wykked Wytch debut, this album is definitely not worthy of the shelf, which sadly it has become after 5 years of being in circulation.

The death metal genre has been in a recession since the mid-90s, which saw the experimentation in the melodic realm over in the Scandinavian region and the further brutalization of the genre by most in the States and elsewhere in order to try to keep the genre fresh. Sadly, most of the better thrash and technical elements that made the late 80s and early 90s style so unique were abandoned, even and especially by the surviving bands from those eras.

Carnivean is in many ways a throwback to that older style, so much so that one wonders if 2002 was a clerical error and that the original release date should have been 1992. Although many made comparisons to Cannibal Corpse when this initially came out, in truth the style present on here is closer to the older Death and Morbid Angel approach. Indeed, the principle flaw in this album is that it is even produced like it was recorded 15 or 20 years ago, with the drums sounding extremely thin and the vocals often overpowering the rest of the instruments. It does well to avoid the ridiculousness of most of the brutal acts and focuses on a balanced lyrical presentation; including dark imagery, anger and unrest to complement the profane gore that is essential to the genre.

Unlike with Wykked Wytch, Warlokk’s approach to soloing has been scaled back to a humbler style, while his tone has become darker and muddier. He had told me about the threshold between a dark sound and a sludgy mess and how the half-step drop-D tuning was the limit before crossing over, and that approach to down tuning has served him well on here. The guitar presentation, as well as the overall musical presentation varies mostly by tempo, as the progressive/neo-classical elements of Mark’s former project are not to be found on here.

Of all the albums I’ve listened to, this one is likely the hardest one to pick a favorite from because they all pretty much listen the same. The best way to approach this album is as one big book of horrors with 9 chapters, each one being essential for the sum to be understood. Tempos pick up to the point of faster Slayer thrash, and then slow down to a doom-driven post-Sabbath groove, not all that dissimilar to down-tuned songs like Overkill’s “Skullcrusher”.

This is a solid little album if you are a fan of the early death metal style pioneered by all the bands mentioned above. At the time Mark was extremely proud of it, mostly because he and the others in this outfit were about to go on tour to support it right after Mark’s graduation from West Chester. Since that time I have not spoken to him, and the last I heard he was giving music lessons down in Georgia. Although the status of this band is still listed as unknown, my gut tells me that they’ve disbanded and that Mark may have retired from the music scene. Although it’s a bit sad that this was such a short-lived stint, having 2 full length releases that are still out there is more than what most people manage to pull off in the RIAA dominated music world, my hat’s off to you Mark.