She should have stayed, though, because this new album scratches a lot of specific itches. No disrespect, but if you were only “whelmed” by TBDM’s Servitude in 2024, this might cause you to sit up straight and listen. The first track I’ll mention, “1912,” is far from worship with its clean vocals to begin and the background symphonics, but once they end, the song truly gets going with the mix of high and low vocal approaches we’ve all come to expect. Those symphonics continue through most of the song, and there’s even a bass drop around the 3:00 mark. A couple of tasty solos later, and we’re moving along.

Carrion Vael continues to employ the symphonics well, which means restraint, such as on “Black Chariot,” the final song. Their usage gives each chorus a grandiloquent feel but certainly doesn’t take away from the bludgeoning. I won’t lie and tell you their approach has a lot of tricks other bands of the same sub-genre don’t also use, but there’s far more confidence and bombast.

Along these same lines is “40 Echoes Upon the Parlor.” It begins with a breakneck-speed main riff, which transitions into grandiose clean vocals in the chorus. These vocals almost veer into what I’ve called “goblin cleans.” You’ll know what I mean immediately. It’s the best hook on the album with the symphonics in the background and double bass accompaniment.

At this point of the review and perhaps impressions from the cover art, you might be asking yourself, “Well, where’s all the barbarian cock, forehead-slapping heaviness?” It’s in “19(fucking)78.” Oh, but there’s singing here as well, with an epic chorus to open the album. There’s even a spoken word section, so we’re still not lacking in variety. This is a mission statement if I’ve ever heard one, with the blazing fast riffs, kicks, and all the other elements creating a synergy that tells you exactly what you’re about to receive for the next 42 minutes.

I have only two complaints, and they are incredibly minor. One has nothing to do with the music. My first is that even within the variety displayed, it’s the same variety in each song. If that isn’t making sense, it means the band has a lot of great tricks, but they use almost all of them in the same way, song-by-song. Once again, however, those tricks are brilliant, so they are minor.

The final complaint is more of an observation. You guys had to get that barbarian cock on the cover, didn’t you? Considering the accompanying weaponry, an intelligent barbarian would do himself well to keep that particular sword in its sheath. Regardless, Slay Utterly is a certified, stamped, sealed, and delivered banger to start 2026, and will be repeated because of it for the rest of the year.

Firstly, this is not tech death, and it’s not deathcore. So, what is it? It’s melodic death metal in the vein of The Black Dahlia Murder (RIP Trevor). If you’ve read this site, you know how we all feel about their discography and it’s difficult not to make some comparisons, even though there are several elements which make it stand on its own.

There are more symphonic elements in Carrion Vael’s sound. In the opener, after a long intro, including some background synths, “Wings of Deliverance” kicks in your teeth with some stellar guitar work, a little isolated bass, and those highs and lows employed by the late Mr. Strnad, performed quite admirably. This a solid, if not perhaps a tad formulaic opener, but it does set the table for what’s to come.

What’s to come, friends, is a dang old banger, I tell you what. The first standout is track 5, “Tithes of Forbearance,” with its background synths in the chorus. They’re quite subtle and far from dominant, adding to the track, not distracting. It helps that this is one of the better hooks. However, what comes with about 2 minutes left is unexpected. Although it doesn’t last long, there’s a clean vocals section after the guitar solo. It’s brief, but it does make way for a breakdown, and a repeatable chant of “kill, kill, kill!” The synths then carry the song out.

You’re probably wondering how I can call an album a “banger” when the first standout is in the second half. That’s because the first half is killer melodeath, but instead of just saying that, I decided to highlight the better second half.

The last bit I’ll mention is of course the closer, “The Paint Shop.” It’s another solid, well-performed slab of melodic death metal, but with a little less than 2 minutes left, the clean vocals that were utilized earlier come back. They stay a little longer, making more of an impact until keys finish off the album.

I’ll describe this album in a hopefully relatable way. You know the ex you have that, while you don’t want a relationship with them, they were incredible at, for lack of a better phrase, “doing the deed?” So much in fact that once in a while, you wonder what they’re doing, thinking maybe you COULD take things to the next level. Carrion Vael’s new album is like that in that it’s great in the moment, which is an incredible fuck, and sometimes that’s all you need. Maybe if things line up, you’ll go long term, but even if they don’t, it was still pretty good while it lasted, eh?