Carrion Vael – Abhorrent Obsessions (Review)

This is the third album from US death metallers Carrion Vael.

Carrion Vael play a modern form of death metal, and within this they combine the technical and melodic styles into a 39-minute juggernaut of an album.

Alongside the abovementioned description you can also hear elements of traditional death and thrash metal in Carrion Vael’s sound. I especially like the impact of these in many of the band’s riffs. There’s a deathcore influence here too, but it’s not overbearing. Additionally, well-judged use of synths provides darkly epic highlights that lend the music a blackened feel in places. Taken together, Carrion Vael draw from a wider portfolio of influences than many bands that play this modern sort of style, and it’s great to hear what this allows them to do with their material.

The songs are brutal and intense, and there are far more actual riffs here than is usual. In fact, the entire album is surprisingly textured for this sort of thing, largely due to the different influences that are at play. I definitely like what the band bring to modern death metal. Fast and passionate, there’s a melodic technicality in these songs that’s enticing, but it’s backed up by actual death metal muscle and dynamic songwriting. The melodic leads are sharp and energetic, and the solos that appear are emotive and flow like molten metal.

The vocals are a mix of growls, barks, and screams, and are frequently deployed in a rapid fire manner. Like the music, the singer, (and, I think, some backing vocalists), has decent range and delivers a variety of different vocals. There is even some clean singing later on in the album, but whether these are guests or not I have no idea.

If you mix together The Black Dahlia Murder, Alterbeast, and Omophagia, and add a touch of Archspire, The Faceless, and Carnifex, then you’ll have a rough starting point for Carrion Vael’s engaging sound.

Abhorrent Obsessions is a stronger release than I was expecting. Carrion Vael have unleashed an enjoyable album with good songs and plenty of replay value.

Very highly recommended.