Carbonized
For the Security

Time to get back in the game, and as far as I'm concerned, there's no better way to do it than by dusting off a forgotten gem of the death/grind fragment.

On this "For the Security" by the Swedes Carbonized (esticazzi...) I have nothing to say except that it is a damn masterpiece. An almost perfect album, "flawless" as they would say across the Channel, that flows down and inside you like a nice glass of cedar soda on the porch, in front of a summer sunset: 28 minutes, but it will feel like just ten if you're unlucky.

After tackling one of the most flashy covers I can remember seeing in my (short, eh) life, where two guys are copulating in a car amidst skulls and burning buildings, we are greeted by a devilish, bone-crushing riff like few others: let the tasting begin. And if the first two utterly ignorant tracks don't seem like a big deal to you, despite being two deadly smashes (especially "Hypnotic Aim"), know that it's the third one where the real fun begins. Already "Euthanasia," in fact, reveals the value of this masterpiece, thanks to some ingenious insights that often reminded me of the great Demilich, masters of Finnish techno-death. Also worthy of mention are the three bombs that open side 2: "Reflections of the Dark" features some sensational tempo changes, spiced with a sublime guitar, thick as a brick; "Third Eye" is as close as it gets to the "psychedelic grindcore" (what the shit) mentioned by Wikipedia; "Purified (From the Sulfer)" contains a Hall of Fame-worthy intro. And as it should be, in cauda not venenum, but the cherry on top: the bass lines of Lars Rosenberg in "Monument," the closing track, will leave you like Meg Ryan at the bar.

Exactly, I wrote Lars Rosenberg; but that's not all. Citing the words of Excreted Alive, it's common, with these groups, to make "curious discoveries." Suffice it to know that the lineup of this record coincides with the one that plays on "Theli," the fifth album by Therion, excluding Mellberg. Of Rosenberg, also ex-Entombed, I've told you; the guitar of Christofer Johnsson, with its crushing heaviness, delivers exquisite refinements, sometimes truly bordering on the psychedelic. However, my greatest applause goes to the "Docent," Piotr Wawrzeniuk, whose work behind the drums is simply incredible. Thematically, they are supposedly analogous to early Therion ("Of Darkness," for example), but the lyrics are almost entirely unavailable.

After this album (1991) Carbonized would decisively change direction, first releasing "Disharmonization," a (more or less) lucid madness that sometimes reminded me of Mr. Bungle, and finally "Screaming Machines": complete delirium. Personally, I hold on tightly to this "For the Security": a fierce, relentless, complex work that will, however, reward you with each listen.

[I dedicate this review to De Marga and Extro (who know why—and thanks a lot...).]