Carnivore: Carnivore - 1985
Just FYI, if you're one of those people on this site who thinks that jokes about rape aren't ever funny then you might wanna skip this one. This band couldn't give a **** about "decency" or your "feelings". In fact the lyrics to "Male Supremacy" might just cause you to punch the nearest misogynist pig in the face...
Quote:
I live to war it's in my blood if I want it I take
The men I've killed the children slaves
and all the women I've raped
Between my legs I've got what it takes to be called a man
Fighting, feasting, ****ing all I can
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Not that Carnivore should ever be taken seriously. Their self-titled song, "Carnivore" (a charming little ditty about eating pussy that has a woman moaning halfway through), has a chorus that goes "CARNIVORE!!! I'm a meat eater!" and there's even a ten-minute song called "World Wars III and IV". So yeah, my kind of douchebags.
But what exactly do they sound like? I haven't heard their second album but I hear it's supposed to be "crossover". This album has no thrashcore influences though. In fact this sounds more like speed/thrash metal with a heavy influence by trad metal like Maiden, Priest, and I'm pretty sure I hear some Dio in there too at times. My kind of douchebags. Granted, this band isn't exactly a revelation. Like most of the bands in this thread they do their job well, but without reinventing any wheels. I definitely give them credit though for being early on the scene (1985) rather than some Johnny-Come-Latelys jumping on the bangwagon around '88/'89 or so.
Of note is that this band's main claim to fame is that they were Pete Steele from Type O Negative's first band. I've only ever heard the one song by them, but there are actually some moments on this album that foreshadow what would come later. The middle of "Male Supremacy" is taken up by a melodic, laid back, rather gothic passage not a million miles away from Joy Division that, given the delightfully offensive lyrics and the take-no-prisoners nature of the music, mocks the concept of melodic, laid back, gothic, Joy Division passages while still somehow taking the idea seriously at the same time. But the best thing about this album, other than the rape jokes, is Pete Steele's voice. He has a growl/shout whose closest comparison that I can think of is Cronos from Venom. He isn't
that raw, and gives it a more self-consciously campy style that isn't any less badass for it. He's seriously one of the best thrash vocalists I've ever heard. Small wonder then that his "singing" is so high in the mix.
So, basically Carnivore is good, hearty fun for the not easily offended and the discerning thrash fan. Like me. True story.