Review: “Delusion” by Carry the Torch

“This was feeling like we had something great all along, we started to play ‘Clear View of the End’ live quite early on, before it was even recorded, and that always was a popular song with lots of headbanging. I have said a few times that this album is heavier where it’s heavy, faster where it’s fast, and it’s got more dynamics than our first one (Obsession, 2019). I’m really excited to put this one out there for people to hear, because it contains great songs and a nerve that’s for me new, I have never been a part of a band that sounds this good. I’m really proud of the boys’ development and skills!” – vocalist Dennis Johansson

Written and recorded in the band’s home studio in Linköping, except for the drums, which were tracked down at Zokker in Mörbylånga, Öland by drummer Björn Lindgren, “Delusion” marks just the second album from Swedish Death Thrash quartet Carry The Torch since they were spawned back in 2011. There is good reason for that however with the riffs slingers who also feature both Philip Nilsson and Victor Wahlstedt on guitars having members also operating in Stoner Sludge collective Headstoned, Thrash overlords Plästered and Death Metal extremists Toxaemia at the same time…

What starts as a headlong dive down Alice’s rabbit hole into a World of Groove soaked Death Thrash in “Children of the Purge“, brought to life with a tasteful roar from Johansson has the violent twist of the sharpened blade against the spine as the band inject a lethal dose of melancholia on a couple of occasions to add melody a feeling of lingering sadness. That serves to suck some of the life out of the cut, turning what is essentially good fun into something with a sour taste. The reasons for that seem hard to fathom on first listen, like a pair of concepts that don’t fit well together forced into the same space, however there is enough in it to keep you interested and it grows on you with multiple listens. After that false dawn, the album title track rights the wrongs with a Melodic Death Thrash masterclass and a solid haunting solo, the melancholia saved for an orchestra touch that fades the song out nicely, acting as a palate cleanser. Continuing to build the mountain “Clear View of the End” finds Carry The Torch lay down the kind of cut that would fit perfectly on the self titled album from Chimaira. A dark main riff just above mid tempo creates a weight of atmosphere while Johansson’s brooding uncleans make way for a couple of well executed solos. The verve and swagger of this one make it an obvious stand out, the sinister edges and dark corners allowing nuances to rise to the surface. Rich in vibrant lead parts “Lazarus” is a headbangers delight, one of those cuts that will have even the hardest of Metal heads raising a poison chalice and only lacking a bombastic face melting solo or a crushing gut punch breakdown to turn lead to gold.

Naming a song after your band (or your band after a song) is always an interesting move but “Carry The Torch” works well, synths and lead moments building the Melodic Death Metal overtones that leave Johansson’s savage bark the bands heaviest single element. A song that encapsulates what the band are about in a single entity, this is one that burns like wire while avoiding too much experimentation. Sounding like it belongs in the cinema, instrumental “The Fathomless Deep” builds uneasily in the first half, acoustic guitars against the sound of crashing waves on the sea shore building into a second half of not quite all out attack. A nice interlude, it serves as a moment of calm and clarity before “Where Dead Saints March” picks up baton as another heavier cut of dirge laden Metalcore origins. A spoken word moment and orchestrations add tasteful embellishments before the duelling lead guitars intertwine for a classic Trivium style moment, however it does feel a verse and chorus over long. Perhaps taking a page from the songbook of Soilwork, “Filtered” dances around the brain with an air of familiarity that draws you in before crushing you to death like a boa constrictor around the neck. Galloping drums and Melodic Death Metal riffs are the order of the day, the orchestrations once again rising to the surface in the final third, giving it a little more substance for sustenance.

Named after the weather system, “El Niño” turns up the intensity and heat with a solid groove laden bass line that the band ride upon like surfers on a wave. This one actually sounds like a Pissing Razors cut sonically with Johansson finding a brutal new gravelly low and offsetting it with odd whispered moments that work really well together as opposites attract. Repeating the Groove Death Thrash formula “As We Drown” has the bigger, bolder chorus “As we drown… in our own blood!” which adds more sing-a-long ability for the bigger stages. A haunting melodic moment then flows into an extended section of mid-tempo riffage before a final chorus that draws out the track once more. While there is nothing overly wrong with that, sometimes less is more and it feels like the lack of a voice from outside the band in a producers chair has lead to a little bit of over indulgence and bloating on some of these cuts. Last but by no means least “Until the Light Takes Us” smashes the clock in fear with an iron fist of pure hatred and one of the albums finest moments. The chorus is shrouded in dark beauty, shimmering like treasure on the ocean floor in dawns cold light while the orchestration and Traditional Metal styled solo bring it home in style. A solid album that will grow on you with multiple listens rather than blow you away on the first spin, this one has plenty to offer and some interesting ideas [6.5/10]

Track Listing

1.  Children of the Purge
2.  Delusion
3.  Clear View of the End
4.  Lazarus
5.  Carry The Torch
6.  The Fathomless Deep
7.  Where Dead Saints March
8.  Filtered
9.  El Niño
10. As We Drown
11. Until the Light Takes Us

“Delusion” by Carry the Torch is out 9th June 2023 via Black Lion Records with pre-orders available over at bandcamp.