Carnifex

Hailing from San Diego, Carnifex forged a severe deathcore identity by merging traditional death metal with metallic hardcore, an approach rooted in the influence of Slayer, Carcass, and In Flames. The band surfaced in 2005 and delivered two well-received albums before breaking through with their third studio effort, 2010's Hell Chose Me. Later releases such as Die Without Hope (2014), Graveside Confessions (2021), and Necromanteum (2023) sustained their assault on extreme music while incorporating symphonic black metal into an already potent sound.

Carnifex originated in Fallbrook, California, in 2005, centered on Scott Lewis (vocals), Shawn Cameron (drums), Rick James (guitar), and Kevin Vargas (bass). Following a self-titled demo issued via Enclave Records, James and Vargas exited; bassist Steve McMahon and guitarist Travis Whiting joined, yielding the 2006 EP Love Lies in Ashes. In 2007 the group signed with This City Is Burning Records and issued their debut full-length, Dead in My Arms, at which point they added second guitarist Jake Anderson for tours supporting Whitechapel and Emmure.

Victory Records welcomed Carnifex the next year, coinciding with further personnel shifts as McMahon and Anderson departed and Fred Calderon plus Ryan Gudmunds arrived. Their sophomore album, 2008's The Diseased and the Poisoned, reached number 19 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, while the third release, 2009's Hell Chose Me, moved over 3,000 copies in its opening week. Until I Feel Nothing followed in 2011, succeeded in 2014 by the acclaimed fifth album Die Without Hope on Nuclear Blast. Slow Death emerged in 2016, refining the band's approach by deepening the classical and electronic textures first explored on Die Without Hope. World War X arrived in 2019, restoring the high-velocity deathcore intensity of earlier work beneath a layer of blackened symphonic metal. Two years afterward, Graveside Confessions delivered punishing old-school blackened deathcore, and 2023's Necromanteum probed existential and afterlife themes through matched brutality and atmosphere.