Cephalic Carnage

Misled by Certainty (Relapse)
By Mike Delano

If you think Cephalic Carnage is content to simply travel down the same ol’ well-worn grindcore road of numbing blastbeats or one-dimensional wall of sound, then you don’t know what you’re in for on Misled by Certainty. It’s varied, cohesive, and fun. The opening one-two of “The Incorrigible Flame” and “Warbots A.M.” is a relentless slab of supersonic metal that jerks with the tempo seemingly at will before segueing into the malevolent cyber circus of “Abraxas of Filth.” None of this would exist without the extreme levels of musical proficiency, but it never feels like a cold display of technical prowess, nor do you have to wade through a sea of prog-rock goop to get to it – all is in service to the song. Or, more accurately, all is in service to the album, since Misled is fully-realized from beginning to end, piling all of Thanksgiving dinner onto one plate, from the 38-second surgical strike of “Pure Horses” to the widescreen, cinematic presentation of “Ohrwurm.” Now it’s just up to your brain to process it all without shutting down.
(www.relapse.com)