Carnifex and Despised Icon

Taking their name from the Old English Latin word for ‘executioner’, Carnifex wear their death metal influences pretty firmly on their collective sleeve. Their current lineup currently comprises just two original members - frontman Scott Lewis and drummer Shawn Cameron - as well as rhythm guitarist Cory Arford, bassist Fred Calderon and lead guitar player Jordan Lockrey. They formed in Fallbrook, California, and went onto release their debut album, ‘Dead in My Arms’, in July 2007.

That album sold over five thousand copies, despite enjoying no real widespread publicity, and that achievement in itself was enough to gain them a three-record deal with Victory Records, who would go on to put out ‘The Diseased and the Poisoned’ in 2008, ‘Hell Chose Me’ in 2010, and ‘Until I Feel Nothing’ a year later, in October of 2011. Musically, they’ve adhered pretty close to the deathcore crossover sound that characterized their early work, which in turn lends a genuine intensity to their live shows; they were part of the Never Say Die! tour in Europe in 2013. In 2014, they released their fifth studio album, and their first on the legendary Nuclear Blast - ‘Die Without Hope’. Signing to a label so important within their own genre is clear evidence of Carnifex’s current upwards trajectory.