Album Review: Images of Tyranny by Carthus (Self Released)

Melbourne, Australia’s Carthus will release their full length debut on the 21st of July titled Images of Tyranny.

The 5 piece metal band play a mix of sub genres, really just combining all of the things they love into their own unique output. Growing up fans of the likes of Megadeth, Pantera and Amon Amarth, being inspired to play because of such bands has seen them evolve into an eclectic, but exciting band with a style that stands out from the crowd. Part folk, part power, part groove, part death but all metal.

Images of Tyranny was recorded and mixed by Chris Themalco at Monolith Studios, was mastered by Thomas ‘Plec’ Johansson at Panic Room Studios with cover art by Mark Erskine at Erskine Designs and a logo by Alim Arisman.

Carthus are Abhi Jain on vocals, Jack Karavas on drums, Jimmy Johnstone and Marko Zegarac on guitars and Sam Marino on the bass.

Additional Orchestration and interludes are provided by Jack Karavas (captain’s orchestra) with guest piano written by Benjamin Harvey (song 9).

Images of Tyranny brings us nine tracks to get stuck into and an overall run time of around 45 minutes.

We get underway with Fed to the Lions and it’s an instant attention grabber with a ringing clean melody that transforms into a crunchy beast of a track. Heavy guitars and rhythm combine with deep toned, growled vocals to get your adrenaline flowing. The vocals switch up too, heading into a passge of more barking, higher toned shouts and then giving a bit of back and forth between the styles. The chorus drops into a bit of groove and all while the drums blaze and guitars hold a melodic line within all the stompy riffage. Chuck in a banging solo and we are off to a fanatstic start.

Vindictive Retribution is seriously catchy in it’s start. The beat is wicked, the riffs and drums just killing it and getting your head banging along almost instantly. The vocals are powerful, still deep, still packing power and depth but the drums and riffs are blowing me away. Extra lead guitar melody, another strong solo and those vocals wrap around the overall rhythmic beast of a track to create a very fun and energetic track. Blood Crown is the longest one on Images of Tyranny at over 6 minutes. Again the riffs, the bass and the drums are just killing it. I really love the differing vocal tones, it keeps things fresh and the lead guitar work is hypnotic. The solo in this one is top notch, the stomping section that takes over after it with both vocals going for it, damn, this is fun.

Carthus are killing it so far and that doesn’t stop with Method in the Madness. Fast and fiery, it comes straight out of the blocks with a barrage of drums and riffs. The tapping drum style as the pace drops a tiny amount is cool, the sudden descent into hell with a thick and murky groove and filthy vocals is a big win for me. Yet another absolutely cracking solo freshens the song up before it goes into a somehow even darker, even crunchier section. Little change ups in the sort of spoken section, the pit destroying barked section all give the track, and tracks so far, individual identity and showcase Carthus as a band consisting of some serious talent.

Warborne has a bit of a viking metal/power metal vibe to the intro – a little touch of Amon Amarth maybe – with it’s big guitars, heavy vocals and rhythmic beat. I love how catchy and listenable it is despite it clearly being some pretty heavy and meaty stuff. The lead guitars and overall beat and flow of the track keeps it feeling infectious even as the vocalist roars rabidly at us. Nightmare comes next on Images of Tyranny and brings the melody with a blazing and winding lead guitar melody driving a lot of the song.

The heaviness comes and comes hard with intense vocals and those excellent drum blasts on show yet again. This is just really fucking strong metal. The pace keeps rising until we are absolutely going nuts with huge roars and insane drums and riffs, then suddenly, we drop away into a gentle melody, catch our breath and enjoy a powerful solo that also works as the tool to bring us back up to fire and fury. Brilliant.

Swamp Monster is a thick and murky one with big riffs and a huge roar to kick things off. The vocals are deep and powerful with a quick delivery sitting on top of a bed of catchy drums and riffs. There is a bit of an off kilter rhythym to this one at points with the riffs purposely a little off beat. I don’t adore that, it makes me struggle to catch on mainly in the sections after verses. A small niggle though as otherwise it’s just another strong track with heavy groove and impressive vocals.

The penultimate track on Images of Tyranny is Blind Supremacy. Starting with a slower chunky groove, it transforms into a writhing beast with vocals leading the way, spat out viciously and really fast. A little bit of a mix of tones in those vocals keeps it fresh in a track that really goes for the throat in a final flurry of hard riffs, a neat solo and ferocious roars. I say final flurry as the final track comes next, titled Ripples in Time, it is an instrumental outro, melodic and gorgeous. A time to reflect on the quality just enjoyed but is definitely a very sudden change in pace.

Carthus have crafted a top quality album here in Images of Tyranny. There is a lot going on in an album that is jammed full of intense aggression, thick riffing but also catchy rhythms, plenty of melody and solos. It’s pleasingly hard to categorise other than to just say “heavy metal” though there are definite melodeath, death, occasional deathcore and more. A sum of many parts but it all works and just combines the skill of the band with these genres to create songs that are well structured, exciting to listen to and that flow really well on the album overall.

The band are clearly talented but I guess who isn’t these days? I mean, if you are in a band (a proper band), you are likely to have members that at least have some skill with their instruments. Being a skilled musician isn’t enough to make a good band. You need to take those components and apply them to songs that get the best out of the members, and create exciting compositions. That is where this album excels for me. Each song seems natural but very careful crafted and the production allows every instrument to shine through, sometimes together, sometimes individually. It’s very strong and showcases a massive emerging talent in Carthus.

Do youself a favour and be sure to grab a copy of Images of Tyranny – you would be mad to miss this. Grab it on your favoured streaming platform on the 21st of July or from the band on Bandcamp.

Carthus Links

Bandcamp – Facebook – Instagram – YouTube