Macabre – Carnival of Killers (Review)

Macabre Carnival Of Killers

There are so many gimmicks and different takes on different styles across the wide world of metal that it’s a damn near impossible task to keep track of them all. From a well-done samurai theme, marauding drunken pirates, American Civil War tales of all sorts, World War One, and everything in between, metal has had no shortage of innovation when it comes to making an engaging sound. But, I never once thought about taking a carnival theme with an extremely demented theme that crosses all sorts of boundaries across the world of extreme metal. That just sounds like a clusterf**king, doesn’t it? Yet, it’s in the hands of Macabre that we see it performed in a way that comes off as gloriously schizophrenic.

What really gets me going about this release more than anything else is the simple and true fact that there are no rules to be had. I found myself caught at a loss of words oftentimes when I was listening to “Carnival of Killers” simply because of how all over the place Macabre was for the entirety of these sixteen ravenous tracks that feel downright cannibalistic in one instance and the kind to throw a pie in your face just to see how you react, giggling the entire time. It makes for an experience the likes of which no one can truly determine what the true destination is, for it changes what feels like every single minute based on the whim of the band and it’s with that unmitigated chaos that’s only sated by blood, laughs, and a perpetual fire somewhere in the background, and it is fascinating to witness! Every inch of “Carnival of Killers” feels like it was made by a really f*cked up clown in many instances, but that’s changing all the time as well! Macabre never keeps the same sound going for too long with the listener almost having their neck snapped from the whiplash from how often this band changes tune as one song can contain straight thrashy death metal that could peel the very meat off of your bones to what can only be described as a delightfully demented barbershop quartet. It’s f*cking fantastic! It allows “Carnival of Killers” to take on a life all of its own the likes of which I’d be hard-pressed to find elsewhere done in such excellence, and if that doesn’t speak to what’s on play throughout this entire record then I don’t know what else does.

It’s one thing to talk about metal albums that have a damn good sense of humor, even a sick one at that, that actually comes across well. Plenty of other acts have been doing it for years, but it’s here with Macabre that it’s in their sixth full-length album in twenty-five years that we see it at a unique peak the likes of which is incredible to soak up in every moment. Right from the beginning, the tone is set for “Carnival of Killers” to become something that’s ridiculous but also voracious in every sense, and I truly could not think of any other act to pull it off in such exquisite fashion.

“Carnival of Killers” releases on November 13th via Nuclear Blast Records! You can pre-order “Carnival of Killers” via multiple sources here, and you can listen to the singles on Bandcamp here.

Track Listing:
1. Intro
2. Your Window Is Open
3. Joe Ball Was His Name
4. Stinky
5. Abduction
6. Tea Cakes
7. Them Dry Bones
8. Richard Speck Grew Big Breasts
9. Slaughter House
10. Breaking Point
11. The Lake of Fire
12. Warte, Warte
13. Now It’s Time To Pay
14. The Wheels On The Bug
15. Corpse Violator
16. The Murder Mack