Review by Felix on April 9, 2024.

Carnivore achieved cult status. Guess this cannot be denied. I just do not understand why. Their crossover thrash commutes between punk-infused, short eruptions and drug-imbued, multi-layered heavy metal stompers. But in hindsight, it seems to me that they focussed too much on provocation. Cheap provocation, to be clear. At first glance, “Race War” with lines like “Your skin’s an ugly colour” seemed to indicate a right-wing band (abominable thought), but “no one wins, we all lose” left some loopholes open for the band. Music-wise, this opulently designed track with double bass supported mega-heavy verses and some speedy sequences indicate a solidly working unit. This is no isolated case. “Retaliation” features a band that acts like a well-oiled machine. Okay, I must say that some parts of the songs are going nowhere. Nevertheless, the band’s song-writing usually shows no serious signs of weakness, neither when it comes to punk-inspired sections nor when the musicians walk on metallic territory.

On the other hand, outstanding tunes are missing. “Retaliation” transports a lot of attitude and was probably an inspiration for later hardcore combos like Biohazard. But the song material itself is just okay, nothing more. Of course, one can enjoy “Angry Neurotic Catholics” or “Ground Zero” to a certain extent, but the constant self-pity of Peter Steele (R.I.P.) is hard to endure. His messages are “My only wrongdoing was being born”, “I wish you had left me unborn” or “Somebody put me out of my misery” – and these excerpts are taken from three different tracks. Insult to injury, Steele’s lyrics are also pretty dubious (“Skins and Bangers joining fight as one”) or / and full of nonsense. “His mother a nun raped by a nazi”, “Reich und roll”… eh what? But I acknowledge, lyrics are just lyrics and music is music (you didn’t know this before, I guess…). So I apologize for this phrase, let’s get back to the music.

The entire B side is a pretty joyless experience. No, the songs aren’t bad and Steele’s bass adds some casual moments. His vocals are (regardless of the lyrical content) powerful and sound natural. His comrades do a technically fine job as well. I also recognise that, just like Nuclear Assault, the three dudes went their own way. In a polarised world of posers and thrashers, Carnivore didn't allow themselves to be completely taken over by the latter side. But the songs lack catchy sections, musical brilliance and a total flop like the Jimi H. cover (“Manic Depression, of course…) or the completely boring instrumental do not make things better. From this follows that songs like “S.M.D.” (from the A side) or “Technophobia” do not leave a lasting impression, at least in my humble opinion) and choruses like the one of “U.S.A. for U.S.A.” want to create an Agnostic Front compatible hardcore feeling, but their impact is small.

As said before, Carnivore’s cult status cannot be denied. “Retaliation” scores with a proper production and its artwork mirrors the apocalypse in a very easily understandable way. But it cannot fulfil the expectations when it comes to the most important thing, the music itself. Once again, the songs are mostly somewhere between solid, acceptable and okay, but far away from justifying the word cult. Just my two cents, I hope you do not understand this as a provocation.

Rating: 6 out of 10