Photo credit: Danny Tilson
Melodic death metallers, Carrion Vael, recently unveiled their new single, “Truth or Consequences,” and its official video. The track comes from their brand-new album, Slay Utterly, out now, via Unique Leader Records. Watch the new video and find out more below.
Opening with ominous Spanish-style guitar arpeggios, “Truth or Consequences” immediately establishes a haunting atmosphere before erupting into crushing groove-driven riffs, relentless fast-paced vocals, and massive, memorable choruses. The contrast between melodic tension and sheer brutality mirrors the dark subject matter at the heart of the song.
Lyrically, “Truth or Consequences” tells the story of David Parker Ray, infamously known as the Toy Box Killer. Living in the remote desert outside the town of Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, Ray constructed a soundproof bunker on his property where he abducted women passing through the area. Isolated miles from civilization, his crimes went unnoticed for years, and while the true number of his victims remains unknown, estimates are disturbingly high. The song captures both the suffocating isolation of the desert and the relentless horror of Ray’s actions.
“Truth or Consequences” serves as a chilling introduction to the larger narrative scope of Slay Utterly, Carrion Vael’s fifth full-length album and their most ambitious release to date.
In 2017, brutal melodic death metal storytellers Carrion Vael set out on a mission to understand disturbing events that may baffle the sane. Each album and each song explores an aspect of true crime history, often focusing on the stories of individual serial killers and their victims. Though this conceptual focus underpins Carrion Vael’s songwriting, they seek to fully utilize all of their skills and talents to ensure that each song develops the sound it needs to tell its story. The band released their first album, Resurrection of the Doomed, independently in 2017, then signed with HPGD Records and released their 2020 follow-up, God Killer. Subsequently, the band signed with Unique Leader Records and released Abhorrent Obsessions (2022) and Cannibals Anonymous (2024).
With their fifth album, Slay Utterly, on the horizon, Carrion Vael are set to continue this journey into the monstrous side of the human psyche. Vicious, but surprisingly poignant in just the right dose, Slay Utterly presents an anthology of serial killer stories from significant points in history. The album is certain to enthrall fans of horror, history, and true crime with its vivid portrayals of the minds of both murderers and victims.
Slay Utterly tracklisting:
01 19(fucking)78
02 Truth or Consequences
03 1912
04 30 on 9
05 40 Echoes Upon the Parlor
06 Lord of 74
07 Bisection 47
08 Black Chariot
Carrion Vale is:
Travis Lawson Purcell – Vocals
Alex Arford – Bass
Trenton Limburg – Guitar
Ryan Kurder – Guitar
Matt Behner – Drums
Follow Carrion Vael:
https://www.instagram.com/carrionvael
https://www.facebook.com/CarrionVael
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6FUd4s6HqtYH5qDLxjvQ7n
https://www.youtube.com/@carrionvael8395