Review by Rosh on November 22, 2023.

It is with a heavy heart that I mourn the passing of the influential frontman Lars-Goran Petrov of Entombed/Nihilist fame. With the Swedish death metal legend's untimely death comes a slew of renewed enthusiasm towards Entombed's already classic early work, especially the seminal Left Hand Path. I, too, would have written a review about that iconic piece of pounding Swedish devastation, but I feel that with its 99% average on Metallum, there's little more I can add to the discussion, despite how personally and deeply impactful I have always found that 1990 masterpiece to be. Instead, I seek to pay tribute to Petrov by reviewing a similar band's (who were also among the first to record at the renowned Sunlight Studios) 1990 death metal masterpiece. Let me be clear that with this review, I am NOT trying to steal LG's thunder - quite the contrary. I am further cementing the legacy of the masterful Swedish scene and giving context to why the metal world has lost one of its best frontmen by reviewing friends of Entombed. Being another pioneer of the Swedish sound recorded at Sunlight Studios, containing similar riffing and drumming patterns, being filled to the brim with death growls from Matti Karki that are similar in tone to those of Petrov on LHP, and having the same cryptic feel that makes early 90's DM so charming and timeless, it's clear why I take Dark Recollections to be a beautiful companion album to Entombed's debut.

With that out of the way, I must now make clear that this is, of course, a stand-alone review, not a side-by-side comparison with Left Hand Path - suffice it to say that if you like one, you'll like the other. As far as the music on this 1990 slab of brutality goes, I must begin by talking about the guitars. The trademark Swedish chainsaw tone meshes beautifully with the substantial power chords riffs and the driving tremolo ones. However, the riffing here is generally less melodic than the guitar work on Dismember's debut from 1991, so it makes for a rawer (albeit less emotional) death metal experience than Like An Everflowing Stream. In addition, the more obviously d-beat inspired drums also add to the sense of rawness, which is a trademark of the Swedish sound at any rate. Matti Karki also delivers a more primal death growl than his more humane vocals across Dismember's consistent catalog of albums, which is befitting for the overall more cryptic feel of this album compared to later releases these musicians were involved in. Overall, the closest comparison to Matti's vocals on this album would be LG's on LHP, but when the blast beats kick in and the growls become fiercer in tone, it becomes clear where Vomitory's sound came from (despite Matti's vocals being less guttural than those heard on Revelation Nausea or Blood Rapture).

Carnage are able to capture a strong sense of groove in their generally mid-to-fast-paced sound, which usually tends to be key for other mid-paced death metal bands like Bolt Thrower and Obituary as well. However, Carnage retain more elements of their grindcore roots, which means that they do conjure up a bit more of a sonic whirlwind with their death metal, despite barreling forth with a sludgy tempo quite often as well. The best example of this dynamic would be "Blasphemies of the Flesh", which starts off in dirgey fashion before delivering nothing short of deranged savagery during the verses and a foreboding bridge. On the other hand, in their notorious song "Torn Apart", the verse riffs feel both visceral and catchy, giving the listener some breathing room in between the intense vocal lines but still keeping a great deal of momentum going. This is definitely one of the best Swedish death metal songs overall, whether you prefer the version heard on Dark Recollections or the re-recorded version featured on the reissue of Like an Everflowing Stream.

I do feel that a couple of the middle tracks on here feel a bit less distinctly Swedish, but this is of course not a bad thing since it proves the sound to not be entirely one-note. For example, "Infestation of Evil", aside from the drumming and a couple of power chord riffs towards the middle, wouldn't feel entirely out of place on one of the classic Obituary albums, while "Gentle Exhuming" certainly belongs on Mental Funeral alongside "Twisted Mass of Burnt Decay." This variety ultimately leads me to my next point, that being that this is, even more so than other cryptic OSDM gems, a very feel-based album. The musicianship can at times be relatively crude even compared to other extreme bands of the time, but the vision for the direction of the songs is always clear, and that's not something a lot of young bands always capture. In some cases it can be a bit redolent of previous tracks like on "Self Dissection", but still you know there's going to be a walloping climax to the song - "something something self dissection something, now, NOTHING REMAINS!" "Death Evocation" is also a well thought-out finale before the outro, if for no other reason than the epic buildup to the headbangable verse riff.

Last but not least I'd like to briefly discuss the early grindcore demo tracks included on my CD reissue - they're phenomenal! Just how I like my grind, really - rotten in the same way plenty of death metal adjacent to Carnage was. There's already a couple of reviews for The Day Man Lost demo here on the archives, so I'll just say that while it's not the most extreme sounding old school grind demo, it's a succulent four-something minutes for the more OSDM-than-punk-leaning grind listener, and it has a very dense and satisfyingly heavy sound.

That's really it. If you're craving to have your eardrums eviscerated by chainsaw guitars and gnarly barks of death, then you need to hear Dark Recollections as well as Left Hand Path by Entombed and Into the Crypts of Blasphemy by Interment. The Swedish sound may get a bad rap nowadays since the HM-2 sound is way overdone, but we can't start discrediting the originators. Carnage lives up to their namesake, and this album is a worthy compliment to be touted alongside the first full-length that the late LG Petrov lent his not-even 18-year old pipes to. The latter reason is why, though he isn't on this album, I hereby dedicate this review to LG in honor of him and his legendary metal scene. Rest in pow-- festering slime, brother!

Rating: 9.7 out of 10