Review by Ben for Carnage - Dark Recollections (1990)

Carnage contained Matti Karki (vocalist of Dismember), David Blomqvist (guitarist from Dismember) and Fred Estby (drummer from Dismember), so it's not all that surprising that Carnage sounds an awful lot like Dismember. When you add in the fact that the fourth member of the band was Michael Amott (on bass and guitar) from both Carcass and Arch Enemy infamy and you'd assume this album would be an absolute certainty for classic status. But while it's a decent example of early Swedish death metal, I can't say that Dark Recollections is as entertaining as albums from Entombed, Dismember, Unleashed or Grave, all of which came out around this time.

There are just not enough catchy hooks or crushing sections to get me coming back for more. The production is perfectly adequate, and they nailed the guitar and drum sound, but Dark Recollections just doesn't do enough to make it essential in my opinion. It's a little difficult to pick highlights as not many tracks stand out, but I do enjoy Gentle Exhuming (you gotta love that title), Blasphemies of the Flesh and the title track. Plus, the cover artwork is cool (by Dan Seagrave of course!!!).