Out January 12th, 2024
Chicago Melodic Death Metal two man band, Cariosus, are a new edition to the modern Metal scene. They bring a deep cerebral take on the world of Melodeath with as complex lyrics as the music can get. They shine a mirror on the soul and the modern human psyche and rip it open with beautiful brutality. I am no stranger to Melodeath, having seen a dozen shows of pure Gothenburg Metal and reviewing the scene for a decade, so I was interested to see a new one coming from America.
Some words on the album provided by the band: “Will, Until Beauty is a thesis on mankind facing its shadow. It is the confrontation of one’s darkness that is necessary to find inner light. In this work, CARIOSUS navigates the modern psychic landscape that humanity finds itself in- rife with spiritual deprivation, manufactured morality, and performative righteousness that the weakest among us use to hide from our own inner abyss. For both the individual and society as a whole, it is a call to reconcile one’s soul in both light and darkness- to create a consolidated and objective view of Being that is the foundation of true virtue.”
Will, Until Beauty is as deep and as heavy as it sounds. It’s methodically written and mature for a debut album. It’s rich in Deathcore, Blackened Death, and Neoclassical influence, deviating from your typical Melodeath sound bloomed in the dark North. Opener “Narrow Path” is a gripping rhythmic track with old school Death Metal guitars, thrash drums, and dynamic screams and growls from Alex Pfister. Alex is impressively ranged, stacking up to any Deathcore vocalist. Kevin Kryszak (Guitar) is fret board fluent, using every octave on that neck on the opening track alone. “Saturn Returns” is more modern and has some Carnifex sounding aspects to it, which vastly impressed me. There’s so much sound coming from two people, it’s hard to believe that this is their debut album. Apollo’s Lament is a slower more melodic track at first, then it hits you like an oncoming out of control train. This track is insane, changing from one measure to the next, switching sounds and influences faster than you can count. It’s complex, even for Melodeath. This song would be a great single from the album as it screams Enslaved and even chorus-effect Type O Negative melodic lines. The solo is also very Classical and intense. All Too Human breaks up the blistering heaviness showing that melodic side with acoustic percussion and Tool-esque bass lines. I absolutely love this track from beginning to end; the way it builds and moves is just so incredible and well-done.
The album continues to flow together very nicely without becoming repetitive or contrived at any point and keeps that depth going through each track. I wish I had access to the lyrics to get a real feel for the message, because it is so deep in meaning and Alex is a highly distorted vocalist so it’s hard to pick out the words. This vocalist highly impressed me, however. His range for a debut is utterly staggering. This album has a depth I rarely see in Death Metal. Cariosus is adding their own spin and I think Metal fans from every area are going to dig this album.
Metal Valkyrie Reviews 