Turnaround for Carbonic Fields.
Five years after their debut album, the Le Havre-based band now led by Thomas D’Herbomez (vocals), Mathieu Méheust (guitar/vocals), Mickaël Cossé (guitar), and Emeric Méheust (drums) is collaborating with M&O Music on the release of their second album, Spiritus Mentis.
We kick things off with Sigillum, a mysterious yet majestic intro that builds in intensity with every passing second before launching into In the Storm, a track where the band’s thrash/death metal roots are immediately apparent, featuring a few orchestral passages before the vocals ramp up the intensity even further. The catchy choruses provide a bit of contrast to the most aggressive sections, as does the unsettling solo before the final surge into the theatrical Porcelain Face which immediately establishes a dark and oppressive atmosphere that the various vocal parts further reinforce. The band also relies heavily on its keyboards to enhance the jerky rhythm section, which eventually leads into Devil(s)wing and its danceable tones, allowing the vocalist some eccentric flourishes while his bandmates deliver a sound that’s half-aggressive, half-joyful, with a perfectly balanced contrast. The powerful sound returns very quickly with Go(d)escent, a heady track so gripping it’s hard not to nod your head along, followed by the furious Pentacrual which returns to the band’s ultra-fast symphonic influences – which they don’t hesitate to blend with new elements to deliver frenzied riffs. Let Us Prey makes use of a clever play on words to weave a horrific atmosphere accompanied by childlike vocals that contrast with the violent sections, and the name Apocalies also makes me smile before I’m hit with a massive and extremely catchy sound that cheerfully draws from dark death metal, but also incorporates slightly more accessible touches at times. The band takes off at full speed on Escape 616 and confirms some Black/ Death Metal influences in the most ferocious passages, where blast beats and visceral riffs combine with samples, making this track one of the album’s most violent. But the finale soothes the spirits before letting Ghosts Still Follow take over with palpable anxiety, using intoxicating elements of Gothic Metal to reinforce its increasingly theatrical nature. The album picks up at full speed with False Messiah and its extremely effective, direct approach, and once again, the alternating vocals give the track a very interesting identity, one the band continues to develop all the way through to Exitium, a very gentle and melancholic outro that brings the album to a close with an acoustic guitar and the rumblings of a storm.
Carbonic Fields’ evolution is undeniable, and their blend of Thrash, Death and Symphonic Metal is incredibly effective! It’s impossible for Spiritus Mentis not to open more doors for them, their songs and visual identity are simply devastating!
85/100
