Carpet

Ceremonial Oath is a surprisingly unheard of band in the melodic death metal community, despite having Jesper from In Flames as their guitarist. With Carpet, they manage to deliver a solid 90's melodeath experience that combines elements from the Gothenburg "big 3" (At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, and In Flames respectively). While it may not be the most interesting or original album of the genre, it certainly delivers on the key components and elements that have become a standard in the scene.

When comparing this record to something like a mid 90's Dark Tranquility release, it seems very simplistic and immature in parallel. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though. The album has rawer production that works well and fuels the aggression in each track. It manages to maintain great melodies while utilizing speed and Gothenburg signature style riffing to keep pushing forward through songs.

There are actually some pretty epic moments for such a simplistic record, "The Day I Buried" being a prime example of some great soloing and energy. The signature Gothenburg riffing coupled with Ander's aggressive shrieks near the end of this track make for a nice shot of melodeath energy. Generally, the riffs on this album range from blackened tremolo picking to (what would later be) melodic metalcore style riffs, which are extremely surprising to see on an album this early on. The second track "Dreamsong" opens up with what is essentially just an As I Lay Dying riff, but it works in a way that metalcore bands cannot replicate. It sounds so fresh and maintains so much aggression and energy that a lot of melodic metalcore fails to capture with this style of riffing. It becomes repetitive hearing it for the 20th time on an All That Remains record, but on Carpet it works quite nicely and sounds original.

While the guitar harmonies are often sloppy, this actually works well and creates a rawer sound. The drumming accompanies the guitars sufficiently, without being too technical or flashy. This in turn, fuels the aggression of the album and makes it heavier than it would have otherwise been. It's almost like an unintentional bonus throughout the album. It's clear that this record is very disorganized and immature, but that seems to work in it's favor and add to the thrash metal elements it subtly carries; especially on the title track with the accompanying skank beats and thrashy riffs.

The vocal duties are split between well known front men, Anders Fridén (In Flames) and Tomas Lindberg (At The Gates); Anders being on tracks 1,2,3, 7, and Tomas being on tracks 4-6. They both do an exceptionally well job and I really dig Anders' performance in particular. It seems that he has more aggression in his growls than he did on any In Flames record. Tomas does great as well, and his voice is comparable to what he did with the first three At The Gates records, which is definitely a huge plus to this album.

Disregarding the sometimes sloppy leads and obvious immaturity of this record, it is a fairly enjoyable old school melodic death metal record, and definitely great for what it is. The melodies are amazing and the vocals work well with each track. The production and overall sloppiness throughout the record adds some much needed aggression and speed. The final track is a cover of the Iron Maiden classic "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and the band knocks it out of the park with their version. The vocal performance is exceptional on Ander's part and the sloppiness of the guitars gives it more character. If only the album cover wasn't so hideous, perhaps this album might have garnered more attention from the rest of the melodic death metal scene but alas, this is an essential album for any fan of the genre.

Highlights: The Day I Buried, One Of Us/Nightshade.

Ceremonial Oath is a fairly storied band, at least as far as influencing nearly every melodic death metal act that followed and serving as an interesting starting point for numerous members who went on to much more popular ensembles. Don't make the mistake of including this album in that minor legacy, though. Bearing minimal resemblance to the 1993 album "The Book of Truth", "Carpet" is a mishmash of loosely woven ideas and less-than-stellar performances. It seems with the departure of Oscar Dronjak this band lost anything that established even a whisper of identity.

As noted in previous reviews, the music offered here is sharply divided between Dark Tranquillity influenced lead guitar wank-fests (tracks 1-3) and somewhat more focused tremolo stuttering At the Gates pieces (tracks 4-6). Oddly enough, the singers from those respective bands actually do vocals on this album, making it feel like a bizarre tribute concert one would see at a beach festival in the dregs of summer. My only explanation for this is that the two halves of the album were composed months apart, and the band members were merely trying to please the domineering vocalist who happened to be hanging around with them at the time. Not to say the music is completely horrendous or disposable: I think parts of the first three tracks would make amazing additions to a video game soundtrack.

Even without knowing the perplexing back story of this album it is easy to recognize the flaws. The drumming is lazy and barely manages to keep time, the twin guitar harmonies often sound like two inexperienced teenage players trying to one up each other, and the vocals contributed by Anders Friden are incredibly sloppy and tired sounding, more so than any other album he has appeared on. The vocals courtesy of Tompa from ATG are sufficiently done, but ultimately forgettable. I would certainly never recommend this album to anyone looking to investigate early melodic death metal. Whereas this album's predecessor was punkish, fast and occasionally menacing, "Carpet" sounds like a burlap sack of wet dildos rolling around in the back of a white van. I only rate it so generously because parts of the first three tracks would seriously make some killer video game music. Really!

Ceremonial Oath seem to be quite unknown to the majority of the melodic death metal scene which is kind of strange since it, for a time anyway, was home to a number of the guys in In Flames. This release even includes Anders Friden on vocals and former In Flames guitarist Anders Iwers.

I will be honest and say the instruments are played in a kind of sloppy manner at times. Look no further than the cover of Iron Maiden’s Hallowed Be Thy Name for this. There are lots of twin leads in that song and the guitarists seem to have some trouble keeping time with each other. The produce ranges from somewhere between primitive and the standard for a release at the time (think Lunar Strain). It can be muddy and dirty at times. This might totally bum people out and maybe I’m strange but to me it actually gives the album more character.

The band provides 7 good songs on Carpet. Tomas Lindberg of At the Gates lends vocals for The Shadowed End, One of Us – Nightshade, and Immortalized. For the rest of the tracks Anders does the vocals. This is pretty interesting practically giving half the tracks to each vocalist and it does a lot mix things up in that department. I would have to say I prefer Anders’ songs on Carpet though.

The last track on the album is Hallowed Be Thy Name and it’s a really great cover. The band plays at a faster speed than the original which gives it an urgency. The intro riff to Immortalized oddly sounds like something Metallica has or would have done in their old Thrash days. Even the mini solo sounds like Kirk, perhaps it is just an influence shining through. Someone mentioned the intro to Dreamsong having a metalcore like intro, though that same metalcore intro would be said to sound like a melodeath riff, funny stuff there. The song has an extremely catchy bridge that I could listen to over and over with a cool little solo.

Another favorite is The Day I Buried. It’s full of harmonized leads sometimes played at a more frantic pace. It also has some pretty good riffs within as well as some galloping moments. I also enjoy how at times the double bass is more pronounced giving it a heavier touch.

Overall Carpet is a pretty good album. I’m sure some people will be scared away by production (its really not that bad) or the at times sloppy musicianship but as I said earlier, it gives the album character. It has two of my favorite melodeath vocalists and some pretty good riffs and solos with a sweet cover. I think more people should definitely give Carpet a look.

Originally reviewed by me at http://abaddonsmetalshop.blogspot.com/

Yes, my title does accurately this album perfectly.

There honestly really isn't much that there can possibly be said about this album. It's really your standard old school melodeath affair from two bands.. er, one band, there I go again, the scene has come to know and love. Namely, Dark Tranquillity (when Friden was on vocal duty) and pre-Slaughter Of The Soul At The Gates. Yes, that's right, this album does sound identical to them both, probably because of the influence that the vocalists have brought with them.

Anders Friden, and Tomas Lindberg.

For the sake of those who have heard neither (do these people still exist?) of the afforementioned bands, I will go into detail, starting with the first half of the album.

Friden songs:

Uberstandard melodeath affair. There's very little variation around here whatsoever, except in "Dreamsong," which has a very metalcore lead in the beginning and end of the song. Or is it a melodeath lead? Hard to tell these days, really. The sound could easily be summed up as Skydancer-era Dark Tranquillity, and Lunar Strain-era In Flames. Melodeath when melodeath wasn't so immediately catchy. All three songs are mid paced, with the title track "Carpet," being the exception, which rises and falls in tempo with utmost predictability.

Lindberg songs:

Oh, hey, we've got some variation here! Ever wanted to here a few songs that're incredibly like the album "The Red In The Blah Blah Blah," but with better production quality? Here they are, in all their glory. Yes, this part of the album is much better than Friden's part. It's also melodeath, but it has more of a deathy edge, akin to old At The Gates. The songs here actually manage to sound different, as opposed to the Friden songs which are all same old, same old. For the most part, they're all fairly mid-paced, often speeding up towards the end, and "One Of Us / Nightshade," actually has nice a little acoustic sort of outro tacked on the end, which I must admit works quite well with the style of music. Easily the best track on this album comes right after that song, "Immortalized." Fairly mid paced throughout, it definitely has its moments, probably with the strongest vocal performance I've ever heard from Lindberg. Towards the end, it speeds up quite a bit, and has a killer solo.


You've heard this album before, a thousand times over now. We've all listened to "The Red In The Sky," "Skydancer," and "Lunar Strain," so, there really is nothing to see (hear) here anymore. I don't even understand why it was released as a Ceremonial Oath album. They might as well have made a Dark Tranquillity / At The Gates split album and called it Carpet, because, honestly, that's what it is.