Review Summary: A audio grimoire to summon the almighty riff
Carve the Earth is a blackened thrash band out of Oregon. The band has been around since 2015 and dropped one EP in 2016 prior to this release. Blood Majik clocks in at a mere 25 minutes and the band does not waste a second of your precious time. Right off the bat the band comes to the ritual table bringing forth their brand of thrashy, black metal tinged riffs. Blood Magik shows off a near perfect blend of the two styles. The black/thrash metal subgenre is easily one of my favorites and compared to most other bands claiming this genre tag (in my experience at least), this band seems to lean more towards the black metal side of things in the songwriting department. This makes for a healthy dose of atmosphere coupled with the balls of the more aggressive side of thrash, marrying into a perfect storm for metallic greatness!
One of the stand out features of the band is the vocals. Jerin Smith delivers a very wide variety of different vocal approaches and it really keeps the listener guessing what kind of wretched delivery he'll be dishing out next. Throughout the six tracks there's a healthy dose of putrid shrieking, some standard screams, and oddball growl, and a nice hearty yell here and there. "Eve of the Blood Magik Rite" is the first appearance of what may be his most unorthodox sounding performance. These odd vocals are sprinkled throughout the EP and while it may be a little off-putting to some, to me, it gives the band a truly distinct sound. Smith's delivery overall keeps the album feeling fresh and helps the runtime fly by with ease.
Blood Magik spends a good amount of its time throwing out killer riff after killer riff. Most of the tracks here do an amazing job creating an epic atmosphere without sacrificing the savage nature of the music. Tracks that lean into the black metal influence full force like "Forging the Hammer" and the closer "Perverse Creation" prove to be standout songs. Carve the Earth do a stellar job when playing the speedy, disjointed sounding tremolo sections. Overall the whole album showcases a band in their sweet spot. Not a note of filler to be found front to back, just killer songwriting and awesome performances to back them up. Each track has it's own, fleshed out identity and many elements that make them stand out. The production here is also great. Another release that has the bass sitting high up in the mix and it benefits the sound greatly. On the track "Eve of the Blood Magik Rite" the bass even gets a little solo moment that leads into an awesome build up.
Overall Blood Magik is a quick listen and one that is well worth your time. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed in the slightest. This is yet another example of 2020 already being an amazing year for metal and we haven't even hit the halfway mark yet! If you're on the fence I'd recommend giving "Forging the Hammer" and "Hypnotica" a listen, and if you like either of those take the dive and soak in this fantastic slab of metal. 'Hypnotica" ends with the catchiest riff on the album, and the ending of "Forging the Hammer" is no joke either. Anybody into thrash or black metal that's more riff based would be a fool not to give this one a shot. Anyone out there just into interesting, energetic vocal performances would be wise to give it a spin as well. This is really one of those albums you can play front to back, then when it's over, hit the play button once again and enjoy just as much as you did prior. Replay value through the roof, riff writing through the roof, audible bass that is badass, all the ingredients needed to concoct a killer metal album that will slay you repeatedly. GET IT!!!
