Few bands within the grindcore genre have risen to such notable prominence as Denver, Colorado natives Cephalic Carnage. Formed in the early 1990s as an amalgamation of the death metal and grind sounds, this outfit has released six experimental and rather technical full length albums, in addition to a few EPs and splits. And, though they are not to be taken very seriously...their extreme, yet amusing form of deathgrind has projected them up to the greats and given them much exposure within the underground metal community. Today, we're talking about their so-called third album titled Lucid Interval, which is regarded by many fanatics as a cult classic of sorts.
Lucid Interval was originally released to the public in 2002; however, it was re-released nearly a decade later in 2011 by Relapse Records, with some bonus material and extra content to go along with it. This masterful deathgrind composition features over an hour of extreme metal broken down into many different tracks and also includes themes of fantasy, reality, violence and other engaging concepts. The album also has several guest vocal spots as well as production and mastering by Dave Otero and Steve Sundberg in addition to artwork by Orion Landau.
While Lucid Interval begins with a rather slow, droning riff, it is a catchy and memorable intro for the madness and chaos yet to come. It doesn't take too long for the grindcore aspects to come in hard. The relentless and aggressive nature of the album's second track, 'Fortuitous Oddity', is a good hint as to what's to come next. Then, 'Anthro Emesis' shows up with a stable riff to serve as a distant melody to the aforementioned madness for the time being. Vocals on this release are mostly gutturals mixed in with some high fry vocals, but they work very well in combination with everything else. Lucid Interval rarely ceases its fast pace, aside from a few songs such as the filler 'Cannabism' track. The outro to 'Anthro Emesis' makes you want to break stuff, as well...so be sure to listen all the way. 'Pseudo' is yet another track I've found appealing due to its chaotic, typical grind nature and nonstop all-over-the-place riffs. However, my personal faves off this release would have to be 'Black Metal Sabbath' for its ominous atmosphere and constant tremolo patterns mixed in with blast beat drumming (besides the catchy riff towards the middle); and 'Lucid Interval' due to its chorus riffs and shifting tempos.
Not much to say about Lucid Interval on the side of negatives, perhaps aside from the sometimes monotonous grindcore patterns and filler tracks that are "just there" as fillers. The bonus tracks aren't really much on the reissue, either.
Despite its chaotic nature and over-the-top execution, Cephalic Carnage's Lucid Interval is a brilliantly and cleverly written record that still holds up to this day. This hour-long opus of 'Rocky Mountain (hydro)-deathgrind' is an instant classic because of its many quirks, fast paced riffing, memorable transitions, and other oddities that make it exactly what it is. And, while it's not too much different from the band's other works, it is still arguably their best for its structure and overall vibes.
Fave Tracks: 'Pseudo', 'Black Metal Sabbath', 'Lucid Interval'
For Fans Of: Cattle Decapitation, Circle of Dead Children, Pig Destroyer
Buy/Stream it here!
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-Review by: Dave Raffy
Musician, reviewer, fan & promoter
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