Review by Dominik on January 1, 2026.

If you've been following the news lately, you could be forgiven for thinking the world has been reduced to two ongoing experiments in endurance. First, the never-ending stream of nonsense, verbal compost and cerebral waste products that Mr. Donald continues to distribute across social media. A man who appears to suffer from a tragic lack of insulation between his solitary brain cell and his mouth. The other is the increasingly heated debates surrounding artificial intelligence and whether it represents salvation for mankind or harbinger of our eventual replacement. Compared to Mr. Donald at least the latter occasionally shows signs of intelligence, even if it's artificial. Which brings me, quite surprisingly, to a black metal band from Sweden known as Voodus. Given Sweden's reputation as one of the most digitalized nations on the planet, I found myself briefly wondering whether I had for the first time listening to metal stumbled upon a band that was less flesh-and-blood and more code-and-algorithm. I am aware that Voodus predates the first usable AI systems, but their latest album, "Emanating Sparks", exudes a strangely artificial, constructed aura that is difficult to ignore once you've noticed. Unfortunately, not in a futuristic, boundary-pushing way, but more like something that has been carefully assembled from a well-labeled archive called "Swedish black metal, approved elements only".

Where the band's moniker likely isn't intended to mean anything concrete and seems intentionally vague (the obvious closeness to "voodoo" seems to be too obvious), it still sounds appropriately sinister and atmospheric. Unlike certain orange-tinted public figures, however, the members of Voodus carefully avoid anything that might provoke an emotional reaction stronger than a resigned shrug. The musical foundation ticks every box of Swedish black metal known to men with such precision that it stops feeling organic. There is chugging mid-tempo, disciplined blasting, and guitar work and melodies that read like a textbook on the Swedish school of black metal. The vocalist delivers a performance that is neither dull nor deranged. It is not bad, not offensive, but so interchangeable that it could just as well have been put together by something without heart or soul.

A different issue, aside from my probably unfounded suspicion, lies in the songwriting itself. There is not a single track on "Emanating Sparks" that carries a theme or emotional core from its beginning to the end. Instead, ideas are introduced, abandoned, revisited, and discarded with little sense of direction. Take "The Scorned" as exhibit A. It opens with a black 'n' roll-infused riff that promises a certain danger and swagger, only to collapse into chugging territory shortly thereafter. A brief melodic break precedes controlled blasting, which is followed by a double-bass-driven mid-tempo section, and sudden return to speed. Before any of this has time to fully resonate with you, an acoustic interlude enters the picture, that makes way for a melancholic, borderline depressive solo, guiding the track toward its conclusion. It's all competently done, what is precisely the problem. Every trick in the black metal playbook is crammed into one song, but without intent, urgency, or a sense that anyone involved "needs" this song to exist.

A second song which exemplifies my challenge with this release is "Where The Whispering Wind Blows". The title alone sounds like it was pulled from a black metal song title generator, but the track initially does many things right. Another short acoustic introduction leads into what is arguably the album's strongest section, where gripping melodies, riffs, blasting, and vocals finally align. However, given the song's runtime of over twelve minutes, my optimism quickly gave way to suspicion, and rightly so. Around the five-minute mark, the track slows down considerably, remaining just on the tolerable side of "acceptable", before circling back to faster parts. The final stretch then devolves into a slow, uninspired five-minute walk toward the finish line, what leaves a bad aftertaste in your mouth like garlic on the next morning.

And that, in essence, is the story of "Emanating Sparks". The title track joins the growing pile of mediocrity and does exactly what its name suggests: it emanates sparks. Unfortunately, these sparks neither ignite a fire nor cause any meaningful destruction, let alone level a village. The track is not bad by any stretch, the mid-song heavy metal solo has its moments, and a groove two-thirds in may even prompt some foot-tapping, but taken as a whole, it sounds overly constructed, overly polished, and entirely lacking any danger. Still, together with "Below And Beyond", it represents the album's highlights. Nonetheless, the latter also suffers from the same "just emanating sparks" condition: a slow build toward aggression that never fully pays off. Comparisons to melodic black metal compatriots Istapp come to mind, particularly in the faster passages, though without ever approaching their quality or impact.

The production completes the picture and follows the same pattern as the music itself. The sound is clean, well balanced and professional, but completely devoid of menace. Nothing is wrong, but nothing feels right either. The album sounds Swedish in theory, but not in spirit. It's black metal by blueprint rather than by conviction.

Rating: 6.8 out of 10, because the album conveys competence without conviction, polish without danger, and sparks without fire which ultimately leave little more than lukewarm ash.

Review by Adam M on January 3, 2026.

This was a fun listen that furthers Carcass place atop the death metal heap, but did nothing to really change the viewpoint of the band.  There is a rollicking melodic flavor to the songs that makes them catchy and addictive.  It is still similar to Surgical Steel, but has a unique flavor and an ability to become ingrained in your memory.  There aren’t many bands that sound like this, so a new album from them is certainly welcome.

The musicianship is solid with melodic guitars and Jeff Walker’s trademark vocals making for a very tuneful listen.  There is nothing that completely blows you over like the first time you heard Necroticism, but the band is still very strong and able to craft dynamic and thoughtful songs.  The production is pretty good, but nothing new to the band and the entire affair comes across pretty standard standing.

The flaw to the album is that they already made a similar comeback with Surgical Steel and this is indeed nothing very new or original.  It is still a very well-constructed and melodic piece of work that is quite fresh and inventive.  There are still very few bands that sound like them, so new material is welcome and this provides a quick glimpse into the outfit’s frame of mind.  There is still nothing outstanding to be found and this is fairly standard sounding.

All in all, this was an addictive and catchy platter that really had an effect on the time period and made for great new material.  It is quite memorable and has a large amount of melody involved.  Fans of the band’s last few album will really like it and find this to be a great new chapter in their discography.  It is still only pretty good and has nothing on albums like Necroticism and Symphonies of Sickness.

Rating: 7.2 out of 10

Review by Michael on August 17, 2021.

Well, somehow, I miss the good old times when you got your medical terminology knowledge from studying Carcass lyrics. Unfortunately, they changed lyrical topics in 1993 when they released Heartwork so that my profitable career as a doctor ended very early in my youth, even before it really started. Now I have to earn my bread as a reviewer sitting in a moldy and dark chamber I can only leave to eat, drink or go to the toilet. “Buried Dreams” as they said when I was younger….

Now I have the newest Carcass output Torn Arteries in front of me and I have to confess that I didn´t had the greatest expectations for this album. I guess, I have to blame the lukewarm (although this is still flattering) Despicable EP from 2020. This was a pretty boring release which disappointed me a lot after the quite okay (but also not too exciting) comeback album Surgery Steel. After listening to the first single output (aside from 'Under The Scalpel Blade') 'Kelly´s Meat Emporium', I have to confess that I got a little bit more excited for the album. So let´s see if this promising song (which is going a little bit back to the good old grindcore days) is only a flash in the pan or trendsetting for the album.

Torn Arteries start with the title track which is kept in the style of the mid 90s Carcass outputs, mid-paced and melodic stuff which appears very interesting. Here and there some grind shouts are performed by Jeff Walker so that you can be quite happy with the start. ‘Eleanor Rigor Mortis’ (is it the Eleanor Rigby that died in the church and nobody came to her funeral??) starts very fast and develops into a groovy mid-paced track with some quite melodic riffs. ‘The Devil Rides Out’ starts with a cowboy-like riff and turns into a galloping track with very catchy hooks. ‘Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited’ (what a title) is the longest track on Torn Arteries and the longest track Carcass ever have written and also very diverse. A lot of breaks, twists and turns characterize the song. The tempo is very varied, and you don´t get the impression that the whole track has a running time of 10 minutes. ‘In God We Trust’ is the most outstanding song on the release. I have to confess that I really LOVE this track! It´s just a perfect song to party! Okay, the start is a little bit average and a typical Carcass riffing, but when they start to increase speed in that track combined with this groovy riffing and these casual drumming, it is very rousing. In the middle of the track, you can discover the typical Carcass melodies for what we all like them (some riffs even remind me of old Arch Enemy) and I think it would describe it best describing the track as Carcass meets some groove metal. The other two tracks remaining both are typical Carcass tracks though the band lets some traditional metal influences flow into them, both tracks are worth listening to. Apart from that is the last title ‘The Scythe´s Remorseless Swing’ a pretty great title. I guess that Nathaniel Hawthorne would have had been pretty glad to find such a title for one of his stories.

Let´s sum it all up: Carcass is back in town and if you liked their latest output, you won´t be disappointed (I told the reason for that already). I you liked only the older releases until the late 90s, I guess you should risk putting an ear to Torn Arteries because in my opinion they found their old strength. Not all is really gold because I think the slow parts could be a little bit less utilized, but when the guys keep up speed, they appear very convincing.

So, for now, I have to leave my chamber for dinner. Maybe I will read a little bit in the ICD 10 or watch old Emergency Room episodes while doing this and maybe my career as doctor will get a second chance!

Rating: 8.6 out of 10 scalpels