CARNAL FORGE: “THE FRACTURED PROCESS”

(This is DGR‘s review of a new EP by the Swedish band Carnal Forge, released in March by ViciSolum Productions.)

Much as it is tempting to turn every review into a tome that could challenge Webster’s Dictionary in terms of pages, sometimes something shorter and sweeter is the order of the day. Carnal Forge have been kicking about since the late ’90s, with one real lengthy gap between releases in that time. Their 2019 album Gun To Mouth Salvation was their first full-length in close to twelve years so it’s not too hard to believe that in an age of ever-shifting lineups a near-six-year gap would then follow before we heard from the guys again.

March 2025 offered us a peak behind the curtain of what the band still have in the tank with a three-song EP entitled The Fractured Process, and judging by the near-eleven or so minutes of material that this EP is offering up, they’re not looking to rock the boat too hard. Carnal Forge are continuing the walk the pathway of some very sinister melodeath and thrash music, effectively kicking the machine back into motion right where it left off from Gun To Mouth Salvation.

Despite its appropriately sinister overtones, Gun To Mouth Salvation worked out to be a whole lot of fun by the time it wrapped up. Some of the circle-pit igniters were undeniable and there were times throughout the album where it seemed like Carnal Forge had managed to mine their vein of melodeath better than The Haunted had at the time. Gun To Mouth Salvation quickly became something of a go-to for this writer, and for an album that had a twelve-year wait, you would’ve never guessed that unless you’d been following the Carnal Forge team for a long time. It was sword-sharp and punchy as hell, which often makes for a good listening session.

The newspaper presses probably won’t be spun up as hard after the revelation that The Fractured Process is of the same bloodline, given that these songs have their roots planted in work immediately following the Gun To Mouth Salvation sessions. The Fractured Process was apparently cooking for some time in that regard. It is certainly a shock to the system at least because Carnal Forge waste no time getting the machine rolling again at least.

“The Final Enemy” bursts into life with immediacy. Zero introduction or scene-setting and with a foot planted firmly through the accelerator, you’re granted one quick guitar lead before Carnal Forge are off to the races. The song doesn’t think to stop until the initial lead-guitar assault is wrapped up and it can get to the main verse. It’s not complicated music at all, mostly built to appeal to the primal side of things, but that guitar part re-emerging for the chorus of the song is an awesome moment. Carnal Forge don’t stop behind it either, just because the guitar decided to be “pretty” for a segment. It’s headbanging gallop all around and then right back into running around like an absolute fool.

“Fragment Of Sanity” doesn’t wander too far from the fields planted by The Fractured Process‘s opening number either. Carnal Forge are still driven heavily by their guitars and “Fragment Of Sanity” is partially a continued sprint from the first song and partially an experiment to see just how bent they can make the thing sound. It’s a little more lead- and solo-heavy than the opener, but these are songs following the Carnal Forge blueprint to the letter on that front.

Since it is a little on the shorter side than the two preceding numbers, “Ready To Burn” runs like it has somethng to prove from the get-go. It is more urgent sounding than its two already landspeed record shattering siblings. It’s difficult not to be a sucker for a song whose primary purpose seems to be “what if even faster than before, and we’ll figure out the rest later?”. It’s a tightly compact three minutes of shred work that earns Carnal Forge‘s place in the thrashier side of the metal world.

Carnal Forge‘s take on death and thrash metal remains murderously efficient on The Fractured Process. It is good to see these songs shocked into existence at least, given that they’ve been kicking around for a while in the band’s annals. Hopefully this will lead to an equally as mean and teeth-gnashing full-length album in the future rather than Carnal Forge wrapping up on older works. It’s hard to tell where the band may be headed on that front given that they seem to spring into existence with a sudden burst of energy and then disappear back into the shadows.

The Fractured Process is at the very least a strong starting point for the band’s future endeavors, and even though it isn’t fully enough to make the gap between releases feel as if it hasn’t been long, it’s certainly enough to make clear that Carnal Forge never fully stopped. At nearly eleven minutes’ worth of music, The Fractured Process makes for a worthy spin if you need something to kick you in the ass and get things moving for the day.

(All of us at NCS offer our condolences to the family and friends of the band’s long-time bassist Lars Lindén, who succumbed to cancer earlier this month.)

https://vicisolumrecords.bandcamp.com/album/the-fractured-process-ep
https://www.facebook.com/carnalforge/