Fall of Carthage - Emma Green

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FALL OF CARTHAGE, the trio who refuse to identify as a specific metal subgenre, are back with their third full length album since forming in 2014, “Emma Green.” To the bands credit, they really are hard to peg to a specific genre. We hear lots of death and metalcore elements in the vocals on this latest effort, lots of death and djent/metalcore elements in the guitars, and plenty of punk in the drums. It’s an interesting and unique blend.

This concise 3^rd effort, coming in at a run time of 34 minutes, kicks off with opener “Signs of Corruption,” establishing a groove metal sound at the forefront with vocals that almost border on rap metal at times. The chorus is catchy as hell. Track 2 “Priceless” takes the album to an immediately heavier note, with breakdowns and metalcore screams aplenty. It’s even better than the opener, and keeps the album pulsating forward.

Things only get more weird from there. Tracks 3 and 4, “Superior” and “Emma Green” both sound like DISTURBED and SYSTEM OF A DOWN had a bastard child. I’m not sure what to make of it, there’s lots of rhythmic and staccato vocals, weird electronic styled breakdowns, and overall it just sounds like one big heap of organized chaos. I think I dig it, but to each their own. There’s a lot to parse from the sounds being presented.

Track 6 “Lies In Your Cup” is possibly my favorite on the album, taking things to a djentier place with a few breakdowns that would make ARCHITECTS proud. It’s heavy, punchy, and angry. I also greatly enjoyed track 8 “F.A. Gov,” one of the chunkiest songs on the album presenting more of those djent vibes I love so much. We also get some different background screams layered in that provide a lot of texture and provide a sense of ebb and flow. Speaking of ebb and flow, track 9 “Dollarhungry”, has an emotional and melodic opening guitar line that gives a western and melancholic vibe, it was really cool and gave the album even more variety.

All in all, this is a 10 track frenzy of organized chaos that is a lot of fun, but maybe not for everybody. They’ve got a little bit of everything going on here. If you’re in the mood for a heavy, modern, djenty metal album with irreverent lyrics out the ass, you should have a great time listening to “Emma Green.”

Songwriting: 7
Originality: 8
Memorability: 8
Production: 6