Lamantide - Carnis Tempora: Abyssus

Labels: Black Fire Records/Cave Canem Records/Dingleberry Records/Epidemic Records/Frammenti Di Un Cuore Esploso/Here And Now!/Icore Produzioni/Shove Records/Zegema Beach Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Digital

Release Date: 26 Oct 2015

Tracklist:

1. Caro Salutis Est Cardo

2. Lo, Caronte

3. Di Bui E Terre

4. Stagioni Di Carne

5. Untitled

6. Immortalis Lapis

I'm trying my best to write these reviews after writing two others, at least that's the plan anyway! This is the latest in my ongoing (it's going to be ongoing for quite a while, which is fine with me) Zegema Beach Records roster review series. it focuses on the 2015 EP from Italian mathcore/post-hardcore band Lamantide. As you can see from above, it was released by a ton of collaborating labels and is to date the band's most recent release.

Lamantide is one band that hasn’t really come up on my radar, despite seeing and hearing the name mentioned multiple times. They’re a lot heavier than I was maybe first expecting but that’s no bad thing at all. EP opener ‘Caro Salutis Est Caro’ is a heady mix of hardcore, screamo and mathcore with a great metallic edge. The guitars are the real driving force here, while the percussion sounds very true and organic. The vocals sound almost crusty, but without the reverb and at a lower register. 

‘Lo, Caronte’ continues Lamantide’s metallic attack in a much faster vein. Featuring grinding tempos and brief off-kilter parts, it’s filled with energy, darker energy at that! ‘Di Bui E Terre’ follows on instantly afterwards and this time, the faster tempos are replaced by sludgier ones, alongside some proper beefy mathcore too. One thing’s for sure, there is no messing around on Carnis Tempora: Abyssus so far.

Lamantide’s musical direction is very much geared towards heavier textures yet when they do go for a more traditional screamo/post-hardcore sound, they manage it really well as demonstrated on ‘Stagioni Di Carne’. It’s much more akin to similar approaches taken by compatriots like Raein and Ojne. The penultimate song is ‘Untitled’ and acts as an interlude/sound collage before closer ‘Immortalis Lapis’. That final song piles heaps of atmosphere into the mix, while still being just as explosive.

I’ve tried to keep things a little bit shorter with this one. Not because there isn’t much to talk about with this release but because it just happened that way. Lamantide certainly warrant more column inches and even though they’ve been quiet for a while now, hearing Carnis Tempora: Abyssus will definitely get your blood flowing. Fantastic stuff yet again.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally below:-

Physical copies can be purchased from the labels below:-

Epidemic Records - https://www.epidemicrecords.net/store/

Here And Now Records - https://hereandnowrecords.bandcamp.com/merch

Shove Records - https://shoverec.bandcamp.com/merch

Zegema Beach Records CAN/INTL - http://www.zegemabeachrecords.com/

Zegema Beach Records USA - https://zbrusa.com/

Black Fire Records - https://www.facebook.com/BlackFireRec/

Cave Canem Records - https://www.facebook.com/CaveCanemDIY

Dingleberry Records - https://www.discogs.com/label/Dingleberry-Records

Epidemic Records - https://www.facebook.com/epidemicrecordshc

Frammenti Di Un Cuore Esploso - https://www.facebook.com/fcerec/

Here And Now Records - https://www.facebook.com/HereAndNowRecords

Shove Records - https://www.facebook.com/SHOVE-records

Zegema Beach Records - https://www.facebook.com/zegemabeachrecords