Carnivore

Carnivore was an American crossover thrash metal band formed by Peter Steele (later of Type O Negative fame) out of the ruins of the Brooklyn hard rock group Fallout. They released two albums: Carnivore (1985) and Retaliation (1987). The band broke up not long thereafter.

The first album is more traditionally metal-sounding, drawing inspiration from Black Sabbath, Motörhead and 1970s Judas Priest, while the second has significant hardcore punk/crossover influence. Both are fit neatly into the speed thrash genre, however. The lyrical themes include nihilism, anti-religious sentiment, a mockery of racism, intolerance, and general human stupidity, a heap of cynicism, and explicit tongue-in-cheek depictions of gore and despair. For example, this line from "Ground Zero Brooklyn" sums up the band fairly well: "I shit my pants as I wait for the reaper!". Song titles like "Jesus Hitler", "Race War", and "God is Dead" are also representative.

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