Carnifex (band)

Carnifex

Carnifex is an American Deathcore band from San Diego, California, formed in 2005.

History

Carnifex formed in 2005 in Fallbrook, California with a starting lineup of Scott Lewis and Shawn Cameron, as well as former members Rick James (guitar)and Kevin Vargas (bass) as a four piece. After releasing a self pressed, self titled 5 song EP which included the tracks 1. Death Awaits 2. My Heart In Atrophy 3. Redemption and Regret 4. An Event Of The Fallen 5. Tragedy In Remission. The Ep was released through local label Enclave Records in 2005. Two demos in early & mid 2006 followed. The first demo, referred to as the Hope Dies demo was a online release and was also only for sale at the bands live performance. It included 3 tracks. 1. It Was Only Love The First Time 2. Dead Against The Gates 3. Hope Dies With Decadent. In Sept of 2006 Rick James and Kevin Vargas amicably parted ways with Carnifex on the cusp of there touring career. Shortly after Steve McMahon joined as the bands bassist and Travis Whiting on guitar. The second demo, referred to as the Love Lies in Ashes demo was also only available online and at live performances. It included four tracks. 1. Collaborating Like Killers. 2. Slit Wrist Savior 3. Hope Dies With The Decadent(revised version) 4. Love Lies In Ashes. Carnifex was signed to underground label This City Is Burning Records in Dec 2006 and recorded their debut full length Dead in My Arms with yet another member change still a four piece but with current guitarist Cory Arford in March of 2007. The recording line-up was Scott Lewis, Cory Arford & Steve McMahon. Dead in my Arms was released on July 12, 2007. Carnifex began touring full time with the release of this record. Touring gutarist Jake Anderson was recruited as a second guitarist from July 2007 - Nov. 2007. During this time Carnifex toured with bands such as Emmure, Whitechapel, MyChildren MyBride, Legacy of Pain, With Blood Comes Cleansing & many others. The reasonable success of Dead in My Arms, and the prevalence of the deathcore genre as a whole, attracted the attention of Victory Records. In Nov 2007, after the departure of Steve McMahon and Jake Anderson, Carnifex signed a deal with Victory Records with now current members Fred Calderon and Ryan Gudmunds. Dec 2007 - Jan 2008 was spent writing the bands Victory debut before starting their headlining run in February.

The Diseased and The Poisoned was released on June 24th, 2008, which reached #19 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart. Since the release of The Diseased and The Poisoned Carnifex has toured over 22 countries with such bands as The Black Dahlia Murder, Obituary, Unleashed, Killwhitneydead, Finntroll, Warbringer, Parkway Drive, Unearth, Despised Icon, Architects, Whitechapel, Protest the Hero, Bleeding Through, Darkest Hour, Beneath The Massacre, The Faceless , Necrophobic, Veil Of Maya, The Ghost Inside, Stick To Your Guns, Suffokate, Emmure, Impending Doom, Conducting From The Grave, Miss May I, Molotov Solution, Neuraxis, War From A Harlot's Mouth, Success Will Write Apocalypse Across The Sky, Arsonists Get All The Girls, The Plasmarifle, Knights Of The Abyss, Within The Ruins, 3 Inches Of Blood, Obscura, Dr. Acula, Stray From The Path, Annotations Of An Autopsy.

On November 28th, 2009, Carnifex finished recording their third full length album Hell Chose Me , which was released on February 16th, 2010. They have recently uploaded all of the tracks off of the new CD "Hell Chose Me" Onto their mypsace for streaming.

Band members

Current

• Scott Lewis – lead vocals (since 2005)
• Cory Arford – guitars (since 2007)
• Ryan Gudmunds – guitars (since 2007)
• Fred Calderon – bass (since 2007)
• Shawn Cameron – drums, percussion (since 2005)

Former

• Rick James – guitars (2005–2006)
• Kevin Vargas – bass (2005–2006)
• Steve McMahon – bass (2006–2007)
• Travis Whiting – guitars (2006)
• Jake Anderson – guitars (2006-2007)

Discography

Studio albums

• Dead in My Arms (This City Is Burning, 2007)
• The Diseased and The Poisoned (Victory, 2008)
• Hell Chose Me (Victory, 2010)
• Muthafuaka Die (Victory, 2012)

EPs

• Carnifex (Enclave Records, 2005)
• Love Lies in Ashes (self released, 2006)

Demos

• Hope Dies Demo (self released, 2006)

External links

• Template:MySpace
• Carnifex at Victory Records
• Interview with Shawn Cameron of Carnifex by Melanie Falina for UnRated Magazine