Karnivore - Eye of the Beheader REVIEW

Eye of the Beheader

SDFK Records 1998

***1/2

I'll say right away that Eye of the Beheader is not a better record than Dungeon Meat, and if it rates higher than Dungeon Meat elsewhere on the internet, blame it on the Morpho. The record sounds like it was made in a stately marble room with lots of nice studio furniture (bummer). The good news is, its 3 hours long and reeks of Oracle.

Given Karnivore's track record of making heavy & dark jams, you'd expect more secrets, or at least something more "chaotic" in character. Say goodbye to Elof's "texas style" mastery of his Scheter Hellraiser... Z1 plucks and heavenly pads galore?!?! Basically this is way more mainstream than 1995's Masters & Slaves... And while a track like Saw You Rot might sound bleak on paper, lets face it, '98 is all about industrial grade bumout cocktail music. Whether you like their new sound or not, you can admire Karnivore for their consistency and they prove yet again that they can still generate the jam. If you like more plastic sounding metal, this is definitely for you.

“I sold my song, my mouth was sown

It’s coming undone, and that’s why I sold out”