DESTROY FEAR: THE DARK CARNIVAL ALBUM REVIEW
- Jan 17
- 7 min read
Melbourne based Melodic Metal band Destroy Fear have returned with their second Album 'The Dark Carnival' after debuting last year with the Album 'The Mountain before us all'. Strap in because if you are a fan of
2000s inspired music, this is one for you. The Album begins with track one, 'Intro to the Dark Carnival'. While only 46 seconds long it does an incredible job of immediately making you feel unnerved and fearful with laughter, demonic voices saying "Welcome" and off-kilter notes that will have you feeling like you are in a nightmare fever dream of a fun house at a circus.
You made your bed, now lay in it, welcome home, learn your fate, always wanting more, in this dark carnival, this circus of shadows, will take your soul. Intro flows into 'Dark Carnival'. If you like chunky guitars, double kick madness, guitar solos and combinations of clean and harsh vocals this is the song for you. The overall tonne to the song hit me with a nostalgia bomb, giving the energy of Bullet For My Valentine, Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive's ultimate baby. Once you are lured into the dark carnival there is no escape, you will pay for your misdeeds and be trapped forever. No where to run, let's have some fun, nowhere to hide, so step inside, there's nothing to fear, i'm always here, to lead you astray, in every way.
Forever was and always will be, You worked your way under my skin,
'Slings and Arrows' begins with loose bass notes and "Let's go" before flipping into scaling and technical guitars. The drums throughout this track are a stand out for me, with a clean performance of double kicks, fills and consistently precise rhythm. I never needed you as much as you needed me. There are several points of silence used effectively throughout this track, creating suspension before you are rapidly pulled back into the swing of the song like a slingshot. You'll never see me fall, to try to take it all, Those who live in glass houses must learn to not throw stones.
If my body is covered in mud, in the end does it even matter? If my hands are soaked in blood in the end, will anybody even care? Next track up is 'Elusion' and I think the potential circle pit song of the album, up to this point. A high energy sound track is the backdrop to angst filled lyrics which to me speaks of being the person who "gets their hands dirty" for the good of the people they care for and to have the same people not care about the effect it has on you. I think the way the clean and harsh vocals are used portrays the clear calling out for help and acknowledgement of the situation, while the harsh vocals show the hurt and anger at being disregarded. There are several points throughout this track that I can see being "chantable" moments of crowd interaction and I can't wait to see it. If my soul was cast out into the abyss ,would you come and find me? If my soul was left outside in the dust, would you come and save me? No. No. No. NO.
I don't need another drop of sweat to prove anything more or less, you won't have another empty threat to keep it close and clutch it to your chest. 'Hypochondriac' introduces an appealing roll to the vocals before slamming into a layered crowd style vocals that will have you amped up and ready to throw down in the pit. The energy of this song is heightened from the very beginning and even during the "calm" moments of the pre-breakdown it is building you for all out war. The first time listening to this track my thought was "This track fucking slaps" and after listening to it several more times that did not change. I'm prepared to fight. Go! If you like to fight pit, I feel this will be the one for you. Musically this song is oppressively heavy, and relentless and has twists and turns all over the place that keeps the energy flowing. I have better things I will stand on my feet and I'm ready for more, I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid of the ride.
Selling you hope, but the hope is a lie, and when you reap what you sew, what you've sewed is your demise, into the shape of a heart and it bleeds just for you. We now come to the half way point with 'Overcome'. What are you willing to lose to achieve your dream? And then when you get your dream, was it worth the sacrifice? Overcome will have you questioning that exact point. The beginning of the track feels like someone who has hit their peak, and hit every milestone they were wanting to achieve, only to find out it is lonely at the top. The track then flips into realising that what you lost is something that you would not give up if you had your time over again. I won't lie, this song took a few times of listening through before I could properly connect to it, but once I did, it was straight up depressing. The last breath that I take, Every fight that I forsake, I am overcome, And if I never see your face again, I deserve, I deserve it, But as punishment for all my sins.
This can't all be for nothing, can it? This hasn't all been in vain, has it? Doubt is the poison inside of my mind. 'All For Nothing' starts with the feeling of the tension that has built at the edge of a wall of death, ready to fling yourself into the chaos. There is a lot happening in this track instrumentally and it took me a few goes to hear everything that was going on. The song shifts from unchecked energy to despair and back again as it progresses, ending in the resolution that, yes, it was for nothing and repenting for that. I do need to critique that there are several points throughout the clean vocals that it feels a bit clunky due to the word choice and it did pull me out of the track. The word choice fit lyrically but felt like it affected the flow of the vocals. Don't let this fall from grace, rob you of all your faith, do not let this fall from grace, steal away all that you own.
You had it all, yet you let it slip away, had it all within your hands and you threw it all away. Next we have 'House of Cards', which to me plays as the 'play stupid games, win stupid prizes' anthem for the album. For want of a better word, there is something pretty about the instrumentals of this track, considering the subject matter it could have been an overly aggressive piece, but the music is kept contained, making it feel like you are stood back watching the chaos of another persons own creation. Vocally, menacing is the descriptor that comes to mind as you hear the proclamation to 'burn it down' in a soft tone after the frustration and annoyance at the beginning of the track. I could see House of Cards having a cello piece in the instrumental mid-section, which would elevated a song like this to the next level. I hope that kind of feature is presented in the future for Destroy Fear because I think it would suit their musical sound perfectly.
This house of cards is finally crashing to the ground, the smoke and mirror reflecting the light that burns it down.
I never felt so close to you, I never felt so far away, I did everything I appose, there's another chance I throw away. Alpha. Omega. 'Alpha Omega' Relationships can be tumultuous when the pairings do not align, and the downfall can pull you down into the slump of depression like water emptying from a bathtub. You travel through Alpha Omega with the chaotic energy of the end of the relationship and it pushes through to the questioning stage of "What could I have done differently?" The music drags you through the upheaval from one chaotic note to the next before switching anxiously around the three minute mark. Shaking vocals hit hard as the subject confesses that they are terrified they won't make it out alive. The underlying vocal tone of this track hit like a 2000s screamo song with the level of emotion used throughout the track. The searching, The fading, The aching, The heart arch, the heart break, I can't take the ending. Alpha. Omega.
We're not afraid, but I am scared to death. 'Without teeth' hits like a public neutering of a coward. If you have no will to fight and defend, what are you? I cannot bite the hand if I have no teeth.
Without teeth has a melodic rhythm that will pull you in and hold you in place, sliding in and out of heavier sections with slightly sarcastic overtones. This track will definitely become a fan favourite for those who have someone in their life without a spine. There are several sections that will have a crowd chanting back to the band while they get pummelled in the pit. We are the truth you choose to forget, we are the blade at the side of your neck.
There's a coward in the shadows, there's a war inside his mind. Finally for The Dark Carnival we have 'Recreant', and it starts off with "Watch it burn" and then jumps head first into an onslaught of instrumentals and vocals. A beautifully pure guitar solo in the last third of the track gives your brain space to catch up and decompress, before flinging you right back to the heaviness to finish out the song and album. Recreant has all of the makings of a hectic pit song and I cannot wait to see it. Fight fire with fire, fight hatred with hatred, darkness with darkness, you're a coward (x5), Coward!
While there are some things production wise I feel Destroy Fear can tighten up, they have incredible potential and I am excited to watch their music style grow.
Destroy Fear will be performing at Outcast Festival 26 tonight at Stay Gold in Melbourne, you can grab your last minute tickets here:
Destroy Fear will also be performing at Eclipse of Metal and Punk on April 11th at Bad Decisions Bar in Victoria. Tickets can be purchased below:
For Fans Of: Killswitch Engage, In Flames and Parkway Drive
My Favourite Song: Hypochondriac
7.5/10
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