A Swedish death/ thrash trio, In the Halls of the Wicked is the second album from Karnivore – an act originating in 2002 as Karneywar before changing names in 2010 to their current moniker. An 8 song effort, the band possess an evil tone and sledgehammer style of piling the riffs on – the vocals very low and growly yet surprisingly clear.
Expect a number of speedy trilling motions and equally fast double bass runs, making “Feast upon the Living” and “Psycho” brutal numbers in the older Hypocrisy meets Vomitory/ Defleshed vein. The three-piece aren’t afraid to slow things down when necessary, but their preferred method during the verses tends to be of the hyper thrash meets blasting variety. A couple of the longer tracks like “An Era of Decay” and “The Warden” give guitarist Jens Englund (who also doubles up on bass for this record) and drummer Mattias Johansson a chance to build a little instrumental tension as harmonic elements become a common thread between the lyrical output.
Overall the songwriting and performances are tight – but I can’t really say that this is anything that sets itself apart from other Swedish acts who straddle the thrash/death fence. Probably would translate a little better in a live setting, for now In the Halls of the Wicked will remain an occasional backburner release rather than something I need when letting stress subside from a hard work week.
Matt Coe, HMS
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