Given the world of technical death metal, as we know it today, it’s not hard to find talent should you simply use your eyes and ears to look even a little bit in the right place. It can sometimes feel as though there’s plenty of new talent around any given corner with every year being highlighted by some grand work of technical brutality the likes of which we could only have ever dreamed of beforehand with bands new and old constantly coming around to deliver such magnificence in heaping quantities with the quality to match in boisterous numbers. While not exactly a new name in the game anymore given their activity starting back eight years ago now, Carnosus is still a largely unknown name in the scene with 2020’s effort, “Dogma of the Deceased”, showing us that there certainly is something to be had with this Swedish quintet. In the three years since, though, it’s clear Carnosus hasn’t been still with the follow-up upping the ante in every category from the cover art to the production to the very presence of Carnosus feeling as though they’ve undergone a tremendous metamorphosis.

We could spend all day comparing new bands to those who have come before them with very few able to rise above the likes of First Fragment, Inferi, or any other name that may come to mind whether or not it’s new to our ears, but then we would never get anywhere. The real glory of technical death metal, for me, comes in the fact that so long as any given work is an authentic experience for the style then no two albums will sound the same going from one band to the next. Threads are there to be traced to influences, sure, but the works as a whole are not to be considered anything other than creations of their own magnificence. For their sophomore effort, Carnosus is not different from that very trend. Not only does “Visions of Infinihility” grow upon what was done before it three years ago, but we’re granted nine staggering passages across a 35-minute runtime that show off an undeniable evolution in the very sound of Carnosus that results in an album that is nigh on captivating, engaging, and unyielding the moment you step through its threshold. While it’s the technical prowess of “Visions of Infinihility” that takes center stage for the vast majority of this performance much like any work of the style, the melodic factor plays a huge role in the delivery of the record with Carnosus just as capable of bringing forward a dazzling display of musicianship as they are a ripping melody that really knows how to sink its serrated hooks into your flesh so that you don’t have any chance of escape with the ferocious power of “Visions of Infinihility” your new reality.

This is the foundation of undeniable greatness. What’s been brought forth here would be lauded and fawned over should it come from the bigger names in the world of technical death metal, and it’s in every way that Carnosus deserves the same level of recognition and praise for what they’ve accomplished here. “Visions of Infinihility” stands as the first great victory for the genre in 2023, and I have no doubt whatsoever that Carnosus is destined to do great things with hopefully a large, devoted audience to match.

“Visions of Infinihility” releases on February 10th!

LISTEN to advanced tracks from “Visions of Infinihility” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Carnosus on Facebook here.