MAGNUM CARNAGE
"Evil
Never Dies" (self-produced; 2005)
Reviewed by Jeff Rogers
Usually when the boss tells me he's sending me a box of CDs to review, I salivate like a kid on Christmas Day and, when the box arrives, I tear into it like Charlie into the last Wonka Bar. The first thing I do is take a look at the CD covers and, sometimes, you can judge a book by its cover. This was one of those times. And I didn't really like the cover.
To be fair I did listen to all of "Evil
Never Dies." It's 38:44 that I can never get back, but it comes with the job.
Throughout this CD, the music just does not mesh. The beginning of the CD starts with some carnival music and then goes into some metal guitar that doesn’t sound like it was
even tuned, and then come the drums that remind me of that monkey who bangs his
cymbals until his batteries die out. And the vocals are muddy and muffled.
It's not all bad. Every now and then a tasty riff emerges but it’s so buried in the racket
it can't escape from the horrible noise emitting from your speakers.
"Evil Never Dies" is supposed to be Black Metal. The back of the disc boasts that it was recorded in Honolulu, HI “for the price of four eternal souls.” It was produced by
Kai Hellion Laigo and "engineered by The Devil."
Magnum Carnage: Kai Hellion Laigo, Daniel Fernandez, Alex Nagata and Cassandra Metternich.
For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/magnumcarnage.
"Flowers
of Flesh & Blood" (self-produced; 2003/2001)
Reviewed by Christopher J. Kelter
Magnum Carnage has been a going concern in one form or another since 1996. As I understand it, the band is based in Hawaii – this island state doesn’t exactly offer ample opportunity for touring, but in the modern electronic age it isn’t necessarily an impediment to getting your music heard by the masses.
With four official, full-length releases (as of 2006) Magnum Carnage may not exactly be prolific, but as one listen-through of “Flowers of Flesh & Blood” will tell you, uniqueness and creativity (no matter how infrequent) can stand for a lot. “Flowers of Flesh & Blood,” originally released in 2003, shows Magnum Carnage to be a black metal band unafraid to take risks with theatrical and avant garde twists. Thrash esthetics go along with the aforementioned styles to create an interesting hybrid.
Fans of black metal will appreciate Magnum Carnage’s “Flowers of Flesh & Blood.” It’s interesting in its own right, but in the end full consideration of the band’s style and effort will only be appreciated by those black metal fans that can open their minds to something not exactly old-school, not exactly melodic or symphonic, nor devoid of any
“Flowers of Flesh & Blood” was produced by Kai Laigo. While not having the best of independent production values, “Flowers of Flesh & Blood” does strike a good balance between black metal’s penchant for low production values and modern recording technology’s crisp recording techniques.
Magnum Carnage: Dr. Zeus on guitars, vocals, keyboards, and Midi; John Voorhis on drums; F.C. Snyder on bass, Lord Hinsdale on bass, Angelo Barquez on lead guitar, and Joel Courtenay on lead guitar.
For more information visit http://www.myspace.com/magnumcarnage.
Rating Guide:
A classic. This record will kick your ass.
Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.
So-so. You've heard better.
Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.
Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.
Copyright © 2007 by R. Scott Bolton. All rights
reserved.
Revised: 18 Mar 2024 11:16:02 -0500.
