Fall Of Carthage - The Longed-For Reckoning

Tracklist:-

1. Fast Forward

2. Dust And Dirt

3. Sick Intentions

4. They're Alive

5. Swept To The Edge

6. Complete

7. For The Soul To Save

8. Whodini Peckawood

9. Suffer The Pain

10. Down Like Honey

11. Tapeworms

12. Paint It White

13. Bury The Crisis

14. Puerile Scumbag

15. Turning Point

16. Black December

It feels especially good to have made it through Monday. Life has a funny way of playing with your mind. Thankfully, I have a great way of clearing it right here. German thrash/metal/rap(?) band Fall Of Carthage released their sixteen-track second album "The Longed For Reckoning" via compatriot label MDD Records in January. I didn't know a great deal about this trio before sitting to write this review; however, the band does feature a member of Suidakra, who're are familiar to me. 

I have no real idea of how to approach bands referred to as “modern thrash” in their press release, as by rights thrash metal as a genre is not modern. Fall Of Carthage don’t sit in one genre though, as opening song Fast Forward demonstrates. There’s a J-pop style intro, familiar semi-melodic vocals and metal riffs. Thankfully there’s no sign of power-metal. I was little worried about what this was going to turn out like, with it being made up of sixteen songs but Fall Of Carthage doesn’t bother with the typical noodling you’d expect from a European band of their ilk. They go for the jugular in the only way they know how, even their sound does seem a tad familiar at times. Dust And Dirt being a prime example of this. The tempo is upped on Sick Intentions, which has pounding drums that back up their modern metal sound and some well-placed lead guitar work. This takes me back to my youth a bit, which I gorged on bands like Slipknot and Trivium, so it’s not in bad company at all. They’ve got a sure fire anthem in They’re Alive too, which sums up their sound. They’re not trying to be something false and they wear their influence on their sleeves. Rap metal comes through on Swept To The Edge and reminds me of nu-metal bands whose names escape me right now. It’s a bit cheesy but it’s saved by the heavier side of their music. Complete features some pleasing electronica during it’s opening sixty-seconds and grows into a really enjoyable song later on. They head towards the midpoint of the record with two fast-flowing songs starting with For The Soul To Save, which has a really hummable chorus and reminds me a bit of Tool/A Perfect Circle as it’s kind of grungy in places. Whodini Peckawood is the reason for their “Parental Advisory” sticker on iTunes. It begins with a really dirty industrial beat before once again slipping into some cheesy hip-hop. I personally don’t think it’s their finest moment on the album but it’s just my opinion. You can make you’re own mind up. Thankfully Suffer The Pain readdresses the balance with much needed heaviness. The samples used at the start of Down Like Honey fade out to reveal song grade-A groove metal. I keep expecting Serj Tankian (System Of A Down) to burst into life during Tapeworms, but instead i get a song with lyrics as equally as bizarre as anything he could come up with in a song that’s short but pretty sweet. Fall Of Carthage are back to ripping best on Paint It White, which is made even better by the step up in tempo. The real surprise for me is the gang-vocals that help make up the most hardcore song on the record, Bury The Crisis. They definitely add a harder edge to the record. Puerile Scumbag is unfortunately another poorly placed hip-hop song with lyrics to match. I like penultimate song Turning Point a lot more, as it seems more sincere and focuses on the band’s strengths. They close with Black December and a whole bucket load of off-kilter groove metal that sounds great. Misplaced songs aside, this is a decent album and Fall Of Carthage certainly mean what they play. If they can distill their sound by stripping away what doesn’t work, they’d be sure to reach the next level.  

Fall Of Carthage don't have a Bandcamp or Soundcloud but "The Longed-For Reckoning" is streaming on Spotify and iTunes if that's your thing.

You can buy the cd from MDD records here - https://mdd-shop.de/

Fall Of Carthage Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FallOfCarthage/

MDD Records Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MDDShop/