Review: “Between Blood And Silence” by Mangled Carpenter

Just when you thought you had it figured out, another wave of terror comes crashing down and with a sound sat cross legged in the centre of the Bermuda Triangle of Death, Grind and Extreme Metal, you know your ears are going to bleed listening to anything that mastermind Seth Metoyer creates. Not to be confused with his more recent endeavours in Pulpit Vomit, this new record from Mangled Carpenter is the next phase of something started more than two decades ago. Joining the guitarist, vocalist and programmer are bassist and backing vocalist Kris Olson and drummer Mac Hine, as they follow up 2023’s “Salvation Syndrome” with something a little different…

A wrecking ball of mechanised fury “Between Blood and Silence” circles the dram of Slamming Deathcore with chugging groove laden riffs and drum programming that hits like an an earthquake aftershock. Metoyer’s vocals are just as vicious and venomous as ever, this blood splitting tendencies moving between shrill streaks and bowel clenching death growls. If you’ve never heard of Mangled Carpenter before, be warned, they know how decimate the weak, their spine juddering tunes having as much bark as they do bite.

Showing restraint “Carved” is classic horror movie style tale in vein of 1992’s Candyman with glitch guitars that create a sense of unease. A potent Deathcore anthem with evil spoken word moments, it falls into the space between early Carnifex and Brand Of Sacrifice with its weighty crush, the dense nature of the sound making it deeply satisfying. It feels like the calm before the storm with the all out assault on the senses that is “The Absence of Light” going full throttle from the get go. A lethal dose of Mangled Carpenter hatred, this one finds the drum machine stuck in overdrive, unleashing wave after wave of skull battering percussion with fleeting breaks for bass drops. Metoyer’s throat splitting vocal tirades are equally intense, some of the shriller parts like nails on a chalk board in the best possible way.

Twisting and contorting “Down, Down, to Goblin Town” takes a completely different direction, sounding like its cut from Tim Burton inspired tale of fantasy about Nekrogoblikon. It has a unique pomp and circumstance to it, the scream-a-long and stomp appeal making it stand out like a hammer smashed thumb. While the first three cuts have a solid cohesion, this one breaks the flow but not in a bad way. A cover of the Mortification classic “Terminate Damnation” then takes us to Death Thrash territory and while the band don’t make it entirely their own, they do reshape it enough to make it harsher. Its very much like the kind of thing you’d have got from Earache Records back in the 90’s, the old school riffs masterfully recreated. If the earlier cuts didn’t come across as a little unhinged “Short, Sharp, Shock” sounds like the ramblings of one David Gunn from King 810 with a catchy chorus and a weighty hook. It may not be as seamless as you’d like but this collection is as potent as the latest batch of moonshine [7.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Between Blood and Silence
2. Carved
3. The Absence of Light
4. Down, Down, to Goblin Town
5. Terminate Damnation (Mortification Cover)
6. Short, Sharp, Shock

“Between Blood And Silence” by Mangled Carpenter is out 17th July 2026 via Rottweiler Records and Broken Curfew Records.