A Movie Within The Mind - Carrion, Oscar and the Karma

I know that I’ve written about these guys before, and I’ve also dedicated a cellar session to them, but I can’t stress enough how much these guys deserve the recognition, and this release is absolutely their best work yet.

Carrion is a 5-track concept EP (and we all know how much I love a good concept piece,) chronicling the inner struggle of a general at war. Seeing his troops turn to corpses on the battlefield in front of his eyes, he comes to the realisation that one day he will join them, and that there is nothing that he can do to stop death from drawing ever closer. The tracks within this EP take place in only a short moment of time, focussing on the inner turmoil of the general in his last moments, rather than any physical action around him.

The maestro himself, Oscar Merry, has told me “Look honestly mate, I don’t know what happened. I fell into some kinda of musical blackout/haze for four days and when I came to, this was sitting in front of me”. He conjures up these beautiful stories and translates them perfectly into song, all without a shred of theory knowledge. I cannot put into words how jealous that makes me, considering these results. He recommends finding half an hour of time and a dark room to listen to the tracks in full, and although I didn’t have a dark room when listening for the first time, I would absolutely agree with his suggestion - just be prepared to feel a demonic presence in the room with you. I cannot stress this enough - this music is not for the faint of heart.

The vibes are set instantly with the first track, and what an intro it is. Crows To The Aftermath is a cinematic ambient piece, sending a chill down the spine with every line. It's highly reminiscent of Oscar and the Karma's last release, Sever (Orchestral), and I'm thrilled that they're continuing in this creative direction and have managed to build on that foundation so brilliantly. It's not long before you are hit with this thick demonic whisper: "So this is it... The end...", going on to fill your mind with images of war and blood. The speech is over shortly after it begins, leaving time to construct this scene in detail and really immerse yourself in the mood of the battlefield. This push-and-pull feeling between different instruments, while consistently swelling towards the next chapter in the story is gorgeously done. Right at the end, there is a harsh edge to the sound that takes over (which will visit us again later), preparing to take you to the next track, Carrion.

This next track follows on from the intro seamlessly, while slightly changing the feel - the piano taking the forefront, with a ticking clock in the back of the space, counting down to the general's final breath. We're greeted by the familiar voice of Oscar Merry, carrying on with the grim imagery with a defeated, melancholic voice. The band comes in softly at first, keeping the space open and taking over the riff from the piano, but not shaking the foundation of the song too much. I have to say that the kit sounds gorgeous, super spaceous and sat in the back. Having said that, the mix doesn't feel empty - I didn't even realise the bass was missing until it came in for the verse - it's just really spaced out, which I think is a great creative choice. Just as I was wondering "hey, isn't this a metal band?" the verse is rounded off by a build into the sound that I would expect from this group - that thick grit filling every crevice of the vast expanse from before. They still stay true to the track, however, and keep that piano and synth in the background, tying the two sections together. Each line is 5 bars now, but Oscar's lyrics reference the track before. This is something the happens throughout the whole EP - references to lyrics in other tracks, some in the past, some in the future. Just when I thought I'd had my fill for this song, the tempo slows right down, giving absolute filth just for the OG Karma fans. The band is really taking their old sound and developing it, rather than going through a complete makeover, as some bands often do, and I think that they've made this EP into a really easy transition for old fans to go through, rather than bamboozle them with a completely new sound.

Speaking of bamboozled, the third track is a COMPLETE vibe change. They've given me something old, now it's time for something new. I've Forgotten How I Used To Feel is an acoustic track featuring the man of the hour, Oscar Merry. This song was really reminiscent of his cellar session with us - simple, yet effective storytelling. I adore this vulnerable side of Oscar's voice, and those vocal flips break my heart every time; he's insanely good at conveying emotion through his voice, whether that's defeat, rage, or insanity (as we'll soon see). This track was short and sweet, expressing the vulnerability of man, and reminiscent of a simpler, calmer time; life within the safety of home. It creates this hollow feeling, wanting for a life that doesn't exist - that feels like a dream, a warm blanket of memories. Lasting for only two and a half minutes, you can hear the defeat in the final line "bury my all alone", and it's over before you can mull on it for too long, for death is drawing near on the battlefield.

Track 4 is the one that I haven’t stopped thinking about since that first playback. I had trouble getting to sleep that night, and I still feel like something is behind me at all times, about to scream into my ear. The warmth from the last song has vanished, and replaced with the helpless fear from before. The strings are bending between notes, a guitar with an edge to it has replaced the smooth piano, and muffled whispers bring a hard-hitting first line; "Sometimes I can see them when I close my eyes... Sometimes when I open them, too".

References to tracks before and yet to come are scattered throughout the lines of our general, now turning insane, confronted with demons that join in on the title "Are you here to take me away?". The words have no rhyme or rhythm, and the voice behind him becomes more prominent with each repeat, until finally he cracks with a scream that sounds more animal than human, and it makes me absolutely shit myself every time. Oscar told me that this track was only written to transition from the key of the first two tracks up to the final song, and yet it feels like a vital piece of the story. The juxtaposition between this song and the last is super effective, and I find myself fully prepared for the final chapter of the story (or so I thought).

Casting Shadows shows the final minutes of this general's tale. The different parts of the story - the fear, the defeat, the depression, all coming together to form the same point. Three voices revolve around the lyrics, all from the same person, but not quite knowing how to land, and so ending up out of pitch and sync with each other. As the song progresses, two of the lines start to match, and only one goes astray, but slowly they all join together in unison, before breaking off into notes that form gorgeous chords, gradually growing into the pinnacle of the soft, orchestral half of the song. If you ask me, I think they represent all the alternate universes our main character has, or all of his different thoughts about his situation, all coming to the same end. It makes me shed a tear as his cries of helplessness are being surrounded by the looming sound from the intro track that, I assume, represents death drawing near. Sudden silence, a breath of acceptance, and then the true story of this general summed up by an absolutely FILTHY final section. The drama, the anger, all of it channeled through that classic Karma sound. Their final gift to us is a DISGUSTING breakdown, a swelling orchestra, and a final gutteral scream of resistance, before death comes closer once again, for the final time, and takes the general's life in a flash, leaving nothing but silence. Holy shit, this EP needs to be used in a fantasy war film or something. The day Oscar Merry gets into sync licensing, is the day when he takes over the film industry.

Upon finishing this absolute masterpiece, I sobbed (alone) in my brightly-lit office (bedroom) for about 7 minutes, having gone through an ethereal journey that I still didn’t quite understand. For an additional 10 minutes, I sat in contemplative silence, never processing and therefore never coming to a conclusion about whatever it was that I had just experienced. Even now, I'm not sure how I've managed to write about this EP in semi-coherent sentences. All I can say is I’m glad that I didn’t listen to this while going through an existential crisis beause this would’ve put me in such a rut. Oscar Merry has done it again - just like in his Cellar Session, he has created an intricate and beautiful world within our minds through his music and lyrical storytelling. I think I like this project in particular because it combines all of my favourite genres into one, and the mix by Callum Wotherspoon is flawless - every time I pick it apart, I find something new to admire. It makes me so emotional knowing that people out there make stuff as crazy as mine, and I'm thrilled for everyone to go through this emotional grief over an imaginary general, as I have. Oscar, I cannot wait for your next story.

Mixed by Callum Wotherspoon

Mastered by Tom Cory

Album Art by Alison Merry