Yet another new band from the French Extreme Metal scene, Carnal Lust offers us their first full-length with Whore Of Violence. On the exterior Carnal Lust may appear to be just another generic brutal Death Metal band, however, they’re a little more than that as they incorporate a couple of non-Death Metal influences into their music which in the end makes the music all the more appealing.

Whore Of Violence starts out with Psychotic Dementia, which sets the pace for the rest of the CD. Brutal, violent, aggressive Death Metal is on display here, but as Psychotic Dementia clearly demonstrates, Carnal Lust are not satisfied with just copying the Morbid Angel’s or Monstrosity’s of the Death Metal realm, and instead throw in a healthy dose of Death/Thrash and even Black Metal riffs. The combinations of these influences show up in every song, with some tracks leaning heavier on the Thrash riffs or the Black Metal riffs but the end result is usually the same. The result is commonly positive as the band moves from riff style to riff style, rapidly, and the songs are constantly evolving; with the band never riding the same riff for very long. There are definitely more chaotic bands out there, but Carnal Lust do a commendable job of working variation into their songs, which is important because the traditional Death Metal side of Carnal Lust is a tad generic. Vocally, the band is not as strong as they are in the song-writing department. Occasionally, the vocals become nothing more than repeated grunts but I will say the tone and overall sound of the vocals are rather unique, not really sounding like anyone else. The phrasing is so-so over the blast beats, but works well when Carnal Lust use more Death/Thrash styled riffs and drum runs. Something I would have like to have seen more of is the doubling of the vocals. Much like Deicide the grunt is sometimes accentuated with a much higher-pitched scream and it works very well such as on Human Die, moreover, the scream is used by itself every now and then, and it could fit right at home on most Black Metal CD’s. When the scream is used over the Black Metal-ish riffs, the band could almost be mistaken for a Black Metal band, that is if it wasn’t for the heavy production.

Unfortunately the CD lacks in the lead department. There aren’t really any real leads, in the traditional sense, but there some semi-melodic underlying riffs playing over the chugging, which in combination with each other sometimes almost (key word, "almost") sounds like Amon Amarth believe it or not. They usually only last for 10-15 seconds or so but it was a nice addition that I would like to hear more of in future releases. As mentioned the production is very heavy, being close to perfect for the style. The drums are mixed well, and the bass is audible, but the real star of the show is the guitar sound. The guitars are essentially very thick, heavy and dirty, and when the band busts out the Thrash riffs the tone sounds like Destruction on steroids.

Whore Of Violence took me a couple of listens to hear all the little intricacies of the band and to catch all the change ups but once I got into the CD I really enjoyed it. The vocals need a little work, though Carnal Lust have the right idea, and at times they milk the Morbid Angel psuedo riffs a little too much and they start to sound generic, which may turn off listeners not willing to give the entire song or CD a chance. So while there is room for improvement Carnal Lust has released a fairly competent debut that should turn some heads for its aggressiveness, and willingness to go beyond standard Death Metal dependencies.