Italy's tongue-in-cheek CARVED have released their second full-length record to date, "Kyrie Eleison". CARVED is a band that maybe one of the few artists in the subgenre of Symphonic Death Metal, a style of Heavy Metal that attempts to blend traditional Classical music instrumentation with the most extreme elements of Death Metal, similar to bands like SEPTIC FLESH. CARVED is an ambitious group who has worked very hard to create a product that isn't overly cheesy and authentic.

The hook on the album's single "Lilith" is infectious and will no-doubt still bounce around in your head long after you listen to it. And for such a heavy Metal band to use flute in their composition is courageous. Woodwinds are fickle instruments when it comes to Metal unless you are a Folk-based group. But the wind instruments and orchestral strings add a delicate element to the loud uproar of the electric instruments.  Not every song on "Kyrie Eleison" is like this one but "Lilith" seems to be a very strong single. Not only is it memorable but it also encapsulates the essence of CARVED and what to expect from them.

CARVED shows their more symphonic side on songs like "Heart Of Gaia", which is a song heavy on the keyboard and how the rest of the instruments crescendo into a humungous conclusion. The woodwinds find their way back into the record but this time, there are also lots of orchestral strings thrown into the mix. CARVED gets big props for having actual string and woodwind instruments on wax instead of going with synthesized versions of these instruments, which no doubt would have been easier to arrange and record. But I think the most noticeable thing about songs like "Heart Of Gaia" is how much nostalgia I am picking up on from listening to this and remembering music from bands like DREAM THEATER and older QUEENSRYCHE. CARVED transitions back into this more melodramatic side throughout the album but will twist back into its Death Metal form before you can even start to think that CARVED only plays around with heavier vocals and tones.

It still seems like CARVED is still struggling to find its footing amongst its process of musical alchemy. I noticed the nostalgia thing and that is certainly a strength that CARVED has but it is also a hindrance on the band's ability to modernize what they are creating. I listened to this record in disbelief that this came out in the year 2016 because I think the production of music like this is somewhat stuck in the mid-to-late 2000's. I wouldn't go so far as to say that this band is stuck in the 1990's but I will say that CARVED is heavily influenced by music from that era and more likely than not, acts as a muse for their songwriting. Sometimes groups like this are limited in their overall budget to produce a record that sounds as rich as its composition.

"Kyrie Eleison" is an album that I admittedly went into listening with low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised by the workmanship I could hear on the mix of every track. I am not going to pretend that I loved every minute of this record but I was never really bored or frustrated by any element of the hour's worth of music CARVED had to offer. And I was very pleased when I realized that CARVED's music was not a carbon copy of the work from DIMMU BORGIR or SEPTIC FLESH. CARVED are their own, idiosyncratic group that produces a unique brand of music that combines an appreciation for the Classical and the malicious. This record is definitely worth a listen, whether it is your cup of tea or not.

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