Cephalic Carnage: Misled by Certainty (2010)

Review

Misery Index, Cattle Decapitation, even Napalm Death: no other deathgrind band compares to Pig Destroyer. That is, until genre mainstays Cephalic Carnage released their crowning achievement.

Misled by Certainty boasts 14 tracks, three of which are about 30 seconds long (in the venerated grindcore tradition) and the rest are full-fledged deathgrind excellence. They range from the much more grind-oriented "When I Arrive" to the almost completely New York death metal "Raped by an Orb" (which has my favorite hilariously offensive track name so far this year). The instruments are played with surgical precision, and every single one is used. In fact, the bass really takes the forefront on album standouts "Abraxas of Filth" and "Ohrwurm" (which also feature organ-based atmospherics).

Saxophones also peek in on "Ohrwurm" and the true album standout: the 12 minute epic "Repangaea". That track incorporates some serious influence from new millenium giants Mastodon and Gojira, and it seems to fit perfectly into an album with otherwise very brief cuts. This track alone is worth the price of admission. The only low point of the album is "A King and a Thief", which features samples (a technique I am thoroughly tired of, and should only ever be used to open up an album unless your last name is Zombie).



The Verdict: I loved Xenosapien, but Misled by Certainty is a leaps-and-bounds improvement and evolution, even by a band that's been in the business for 18 years. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.