Carbonized - Disharmonization

CARBONIZED - Disharmonization (FOUNDATION 2000 - CD 1993)

I’m not gonna keep this review long. Why? Because I was – and still am – extremely disappointed and unhappy with the way the music of Carbonized went after their debut album. I really like this band’s early stuff. “Au-To-Dafe” and “Recarbonization” demos, “No Canonization” EP and finally “For the Security” LP are great pieces of unique, slightly grinding Swedish death metal. It was very good, a bit experimental and sometimes progressive but brutal stuff, which definitely belonged to some of the most original recordings in the early 90’s. And then Carbonized recorded this… something. “Disharmonization” is extremely different and musically incomparable to anything else they’ve done before. Yes, it basically has nothing in common not only with the previous Carbonized recordings, but with death metal at all. This music sounds sick, almost kind of schizophrenic, due the way how it sounds and switches between many weird riffs, styles and ideas.

I guess you can say that “Disharmonization” is sort of fusion between prog rock, jazz, funk, fuck knows what else with Voivod and a very small touch of death metal or metal in general added to have even weirder effect. Right from the first song you’ll be like “what the hell is that??”. Where are these chunky, heavy, sometimes twisted riffs of Carbonized gone? Where’s brutal growling gone?

The opening instrumental song is as bizarre as it is useless. I don’t like how Carbonized opens this album. And I don’t like what follows. “Vlad Tepes” greets us with really bizarre riffs, which have almost painful effect, because you’ll feel like this sick melodies are drilling your head and give an instant headache. Guitar parts aren’t aggressive at all of course. I mentioned that it all sounds like incomparable fusion of many non-metal genres, with weird, sometimes almost annoying and cacophonous riffs and vocals, which have clean, but really mad tone. I bet you’ll listen to “Vlad Tepes” and wonder what is going on there. I’m glad that the next song “Lord of Damnation” contains few heavier (death??) metal riffs, there’s even nice grinding fast part and harsh growls of Christopher Johnsson. But that song is an exception, as the majority of the album is exactly what a title like “Disharmonization” can describe. Sometimes it all sounds out of tune, other time it sounds if someone drunk was making noise on the guitar… and you know, I don’t care, as it all sounds absolutely shit to me. I really don’t like this album. When I bought it I felt disappointment, but I wanted to give it more listens and see if I can find method in this madness. But I never did. And I still cannot force myself to like “Disharmonization”. Sure, there are some fragments that will remind you the brilliancy of the debut LP or EP, like “The Voice of the Slained Pig” and “Lord of Damnation”… but it doesn’t matter. But the whole album is barely listenable and surely far from what I like to hear. Such hybrids hardly ever work well and to be honest, I prefer pure and simple death metal rather than experimenting with sounds and styles.

Standout tracks: “The Voice of the Slained Pig”, “Lord of Damnation”, “Spanish Fly”

Final rate: 45/100