Carthagods – The Monster In Me

The result – dynamic and diverse songs that offer powerful melodies, harmonic guitar lines, melodic vocal deliveries, and an overtone of dramatism from the backing arrangements. Add to this a polished production and wonderful orchestration by Vikram Shankar and you get a very enjoyable and fluid album.

Opening track “Whispers from the wicked” wastes no time in getting things under way with rhythmic guitar lines, powerful vocals, undercut or overlapped at times by harsh vocals from Dark Tranquility’s Mikael Stanne, but is it the symphonic backing arrangements that give it a darkly epic vibe, making it a highlight of the album. Such a great opener that hooks the listener immediately. Up next we have the first single released, “The monster in me” which has some faint oriental vibes to it from the violin lines, but overall it’s a rather rocking song with a catchy chorus to it, and a groovy guitar solo.  “The Devil’s doll” has probably the best guitar melody on the album, courtesy of Tarak Ben Sassi, which coupled with Mahdi Khema’s dramatic vocal delivery and Timo Somers’s incredible solo mid-way through, make for an intense listening experience.

 The power ballad “The Rebirth” is a mellow, mid-paced, and dramatic piece of music, that showcases, for the most part, Mahdi Khema’s more and intense soulful vocals. “A last sight” and “Memories of neverending pains” are familiar tunes since they both appeared on the band’s previous release, but these versions are orchestrated a bit differently to fit in with the intensity of the album, and I have to say I prefer these revamped renditions to the original tracks. “Cry for the land” features some of the best drumming sections I have heard on this album, courtesy of Aymen Ben Hamed, but overall it feels like a filler song. Closing the album is an instrumental track under the name of “The rebirth II” which is really a fascinating cut, and, I think it’s safe to say, one of my best instrumental tracks I have ever heard.