Testify for My Victims

Long-running, prolific Scandinavian speed/thrash metal act Carnal Forge return after a nearly three-year break with Testify for My Victims, an unexpected but highly effective change of pace. Literally: the band's trademark breakneck tempos are all but absent from this surprisingly melodic album. Instead, solid, riff-based songs like "Burning Eden" and "End Game" stomp along at a medium-high speed about halfway between sludgy stoner metal and hardcore-influenced thrash. More importantly, new singer Jens C. Mortensen completely abandons the now-clichéd Cookie Monster growl in favor of a high-register, clean vocal style with occasional falsetto squeals out of the '80s power metal tradition. The resulting songs are a refreshing shift from the increasingly tired tropes of speed metal; while not exactly breaking new ground, Carnal Forge are increasing their stylistic arsenal by reaching back into metal forms past.