The EP Principum is from Carbon Black, a 4 piece unit. I used this term unit instead of a group mainly for the fact that these lads were as tight as… well you know … a frog’s nether region. Carbon Black is led by Jon Hurley, ex-Nekrofeist. Alongside him are also ex-members from Nekrofeist Damon Bishop (guitars) and Rob Giles (bass). Rounding out Carbon Black perfectly is drummer Darryl Murphy.
Included are 6 tracks, the first being a 40-second intro. The first song Mourning opens up with drums pounding, a cool bass riff then a chunky as hell guitar. Each time I have listened to Principum it gets louder and louder. To me, that is a sign that Carbon Black has done something right. The stand-out track for me is the song Deceive. The slow bass riff with what sounds like a politician or news report fading up in the background followed by another cool bass riff which reminds me of Alice in Chains and Type o Negative.
Although a short EP, coming in at around 20 minutes in duration, don’t let this put you off.
The quality on display is more than makes up for it.
I liked this EP from the first listen. It reminded me of Disturbed, but a better version.
Solid riffs and vocals blend methodically from the powerful singing to a harsh growl. Jon uses his voice to add another layer of color to the pallet of Carbon Black, which is cool because I can understand his lyrics.
All the tracks are well produced but tend to follow the same pattern and riffs. Don’t get me wrong, I like it, and let’s face it, AC/DC made all their albums sound the same; when the formula works don’t mess with it.
Carbon Black has produced a really great EP. If this is only the beginning then these lads better get used to traveling from gig to gig. I can’t wait to listen to the album when it gets released in the future. Well done.
Carbon Black: Facebook
Release Year: 2014
Label: self-released
Category: Album
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Adrian ‘Dren’ Barham
