From My Collection #81: Carnivore – Carnivore

Welcome to another edition of From My Collection. 1986 is widely regarded as the greatest year in thrash history and for good reason. It was the year thrash emerged from the underground and exploded commercially, spawning a slew of albums that remain groundbreaking to this day. However, I’m willing to play devil’s advocate and argue the greatest year in thrash history was in fact ’85, right before thrash went mainstream. For one, the year boasts what is objectively the greatest thrash album of all time in Exodus’ Bonded by Blood.

From there, we’ve got Slayer’s Hell Awaits, Anthrax’s Spreading the Disease, Destruction’s Infernal Overkill, Kreator’s Endless Pain, Overkill’s Feel the Fire, and the subject of today’s retrospective essay, Carnivore’s self titled debut, just to name a few. I’ve been wanting to write this essay for quite sometime, so before we move forward, if you are of a weak disposition, now’s the time to retreat to the safer confines of *insert lamestream NPC “metal” site here*. Alright, now that that’s taken care of, let’s enter the bloodthirsty realm of the Carnivore, shall we?!

OK, so growing up in the early ’10s, ya boy was a huge Type O Negative fan. I still AM a Type O Negative fan, but back in those confusing days of puberty and figuring out life for myself, I found solace in the bleak, gloomy, and oddly erotic sounds of the Drab Four, as they were branded by the metal press. It also didn’t help that, right after discovering them, founding frontman Peter Steele passed away at the age of 48, resulting in this new musical discovery becoming more of a musical shiva. I immersed myself in the goth metal euphoria of Bloody Kisses (1993), October Rust (1996), and World Coming Down (1999) for what felt like an eternity. And then, I discovered Carnivore.

I can’t remember exactly how I discovered Carnivore. Chances are it was scouring through YouTube or the various recesses of the metal interwebs, who were also going through a bit of a pimply faced phase in those simpler days, but that’s another story for another time. All I know is my introduction was likely something along the lines of, “Hey, you like Type O Negative? Check out Peter Steele’s OLD band, Carnivore!” Being the completist that I am, I immediately gave Carnivore a shot, eager to hear what my unjolly green giant idol was up to before leading one of the most prominent metal acts of the ’90s. Needless to say, nothing could’ve prepared me for what I was about to hear.

This wasn’t slow, doomy, or romantic at all. It was fast, ugly, and barbaric! Having stumbled upon the likes of Venom and Celtic Frost around the same time, I found myself oddly infatuated by this speed-crazed power trio. They sounded nothing like Type O Negative…well, that wasn’t entirely true. Upon hearing Carnivore, TON’s random flirtations with thrash like “Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity”, “We Hate Everyone”, and “Kill All the White People” made a lot more sense. These were their roots.

Being that I usually like to start things from the beginning, I checked out Carnivore’s self titled debut album first. While I enjoy 1987’s Retaliation almost as much, it’s Carnivore that edges it out by a hair, being my favorite of the two. Thanks to asshole price gougers, an original press of this classic eluded me for the better part of my lifetime, until it was gifted to me by a friend alongside original pressings of Hellhammer’s Apocalyptic Raids (1984) and Kreator’s Endless Pain (1985) (Thanks Scott!). What can I say? My friends are cooler than yours.

Carnivore opens with the absolutely ripping “Predator”, which upon first listen, sounded like nothing my 11 year old ears had ever heard before. This wasn’t the precise thrash of Metallica or hellish onslaught of Slayer. This sounded like Venom after a nuclear holocaust, and I loved it. Everything about it, from the barked vocals and murky riffage, to the thunderous rhythm section and unsettling sound effects, made the growing hair on my armpits stand at attention (again, with the puberty references…I’m a menace).

Following this is my favorite Carnivore cut (pun fully intended) of all time, “Carnivore”. As much as I love “Predator”, I feel this would’ve been a better opener. It packs Carnivore’s entire mission statement, both musically and lyrically, into just a little over 3 minutes of thrashing insanity. Taking the age I was into consideration yet again, the edgy, sex-crazed lyrics of “Carnivore” caught my attention as much as the songs galloping thrashpunk riffs. “She’s my cherry pie.” or any of the other hair metal smut I heard via VH1 Classic, this was not.

This aforementioned edgelord lyricism would reach new heights on the 7 and a half minute epic thrash suite that is “Male Supremacy”. As politically incorrect as this song may be perceived through the lens of 2024, what’s undeniable is that “Male Supremacy” is an excellent song. Not only this, but musically, it surpasses many of Carnivore’s peers. In 1985, throwing in a gentle, melodic passage on a release of this nature was far more controversial than any so called “offensive” lyrical content. Carnivore said, “To hell with the rules.” and did so anyways, resulting in a song that holds up as well today as it did then.

Side A closes with “Armageddon”, which continues the “post-apocalyptic, neo-barbaric” themes of the opening “Predator”. The song starts with a painfully slow and sludgy Sabbathian riff barrage, before kicking into high gear and thrashing us with reckless abandon. Easily the thrashiest song on the album up until this point, Carnivore pushes the speed and brutality dials to overload, daring us to snap our necks in half. The only break we get is one more sludge passage before a final dash to the finish line.

Taking the underlying punk aspect of Carnivore’s sound into consideration, one can’t help but think these thick, doomy riff-driven passages were partially inspired by Black Flag’s My War, released just a year earlier in 1984. Furthermore, Black Flag played New York many a times in the early ’80s, including one December 13, 1984 show at The Ritz with doom metal pioneers and SST labelmates Saint Vitus as support. Perhaps a young Steele attended one of these shows and found inspiration?

As we flip over to side B, we’re greeted by the midtempo, yet malicious “Legion of Doom”. This ode to violence is a warning to any mortal who dares stand in Carnivore’s way: “By the light of the moon, beware the legion of doom.” What stands out the most about this song, besides the hardnosed lyricism and thrashy outburst in the middle, is Steele’s vocals. I don’t think Steele gets enough credit for influencing extreme metal vocals. Perhaps it’s because Type O Negative aren’t “cool” or “kvlt” and by then, his vocals had been refined as his infamous baritone. With Carnivore, Steele barked and snarled with pure rage. Similar to Cronos and Tom G. Warrior, there is not a trace of melody to be heard.

Perhaps the most ironically titled song on this outing, “God is Dead” storms its way through the stereo, expanding further on the post-apocalyptic theme that dominates Carnivore. I label it ironic considering later in life, Steele converted to Catholicism. Granted, this wouldn’t be for another 20+ years, so for the time being, we’re treated to the post-humanity, post-civilization, post-religion observations of this being who, pre-internet age, one might actually believe was a mutant. As brutal as metal became musically in the following decades, there’s an authenticity to bands like Carnivore, Mercyful Fate, Hellhammer, and so forth, that leaves 99% of those who followed in the dust.

The violence continues with “Thermonuclear Warrior”, which has to be one of the coolest song titles in metal history. Admittedly, the lead riff on here sounds eerily similar to Venom’s “Welcome to Hell”, but that’s fine by me. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery, and if you were gonna ape anyone in the ’80s, you may as well ape the black metal masters themselves. Closing it all out is yet another epic in the 10+ minute “World Wars III and IV”. That’s right weakling: Carnivore fits not one, but two world wars into their album closer. Unlike “Male Supremacy” however, “WWIII&IV” is essentially a straightforward thrasher, followed by a harrowing soundscape of apocalypse in the form of a nuclear exlposion.

Although Carnivore never caught on with the masses, it didn’t stop them from attacking our eardrums yet again with the aforementioned and aptly titled Retaliation. Whereas Carnivore comes off as a musical adaption of Mad Max, Retaliation expanded upon the politically incorrect themes of “Male Supremacy”. The band would splinter in 1990 upon the formation of Type O Negative, only to resurrect in 2006, albeit with a new lineup, and play the euro festival circuit until Steele’s untimely 2010 passing. While Steele is no longer with us, his spirit lives on in the dark beauty of Type O Negative…and savage fury of Carnivore!