I have to give Sweden’s Carnal Agony a lot of credit. They took the negative criticism I, and others, leveled at their initial demo, Carnal Agony, and used it as inspiration to improve their sound. Demo #2, which contains two re-recorded songs from Carnal Agony, “Carnal Agony” and “Rebels Lament,” sounds light years better. The band invested in some real studio time and it paid off. You can now actually hear the pugilistic riffs and gruff vocals of a band whose sound is like a bar fight between Iron Maiden and Metallica. There’s still work to be done, though. The vocals are rather plain when in the mid-range, though much better when they reach into scream territory and the leads are too simple. Carnal Agony have their collective heads in the right place; they recognized their shortcomings and instead of accusing everyone of “not getting it,” has begun addressing them. There’s still a long way to go but this is a band I’ll be pulling for to reach their potential as long as they remain willing to improve.
1. Rebellion (05:37)
2. Secrets Within The Shrine (04:02)
3. War Prayer (03:50)
4. Sleep Waker (Bonus Track) (03:53)