Band:	Cephalic Carnage
Album:	Anomalies
Style:	Grindcore
Release date:	2005
Guest review by:	helofloki

01. Scientific Remote Viewing
02. Wraith
03. Counting The Days
04. The Will Or The Way
05. Piecemaker
06. Enviovore
07. Dying Will Be The Death Of Me
08. Inside Is Out
09. Sleeprace
10. Kill For Weed
11. Litany Of Failure
12. Ontogony Of Behavior

The long awaited album from the groundbreaking grindcore band Cephalic Carnage is finally here and let me tell you, it really kicks some ass! This album, like it's predecessor "Lucid Interval," is a true masterpiece, but in a much different way. Once again Cephalic Carnage have by some sort of strange magical concoction created a record that manages to combine Grindcore and Progressive Metal. From beginning to end Anomalies takes you on a musical journey through the powerful (and vast) repertoire of this band. Each song distinguishes itself from the rest of the album as memorable and unique, while managing to maintain an incredible solidarity as a unit. There are not many bands that can do that this well, but Anomalies is truly quite the accomplishment. However, the music is very deep and really takes a couple of listens to sink in.

First of all the signature Cephalic Carnage elements are there. Their incredible sense of syncopation and insane midriff blasts are frequent. Gruesome vocals and a keen sense of musical humor also make their mark upon the album. Their lyrics are the typical "goofy crap they came up with while stoned," though possibly not quite as creative as in the past. This is ok though because they sound absolutely fantastic within the music which is the important part. Also, as usual John Merryman's drum performance is beyond words and he is easily the best drummer on Relapse Records.

So what does Anomalies sound like? At a first listen it's really hard to say, because the styles within vary so much. Riffs with Dillinger Escape Plan type intensity lead into gruesomely crushing hooks. Injections of rockabilly and sludge are carefully placed in between the insanity. Hell, they even took a stab at Metalcore this time around with their hilarious "Dying Will Be the Death of Me." Still I assure you this album does manage to have it's own (and very unique) sound.

The real unifying factor of this album is the production, specifically the guitar tone. Like the rest of this album first impressions are deceiving. The first thing I noticed about the guitars is how they just destroyed. Over all incredibly brutal and intense sounding on every song on the CD. After a few listens I saw a little deeper and the texture of the guitars is actually quite soft. So imagine being crushed by a giant pillow of destruction and how it sounds and you're about there. Anyway, now for the point: what this accomplishes is a very stoned sound. Listening to the album you can just feel the haze of smoke floating around your head.

This all might sound really weird and contradicting, but trust me each song is extremely well thought out and not just in the context of itself but in the context of the entire album. My biggest recommendation for this record is to listen to it several times, because hidden within the goofy jokes about Metalcore and marijuana is a new step in incredible music.