KARNAK

Karnak biography
Karnak was created in 1993, from an original idea of Mr. Stefano Rumich, an Italian drummer who proposed a new music style, where classical atmospheres of death metal are blended together with progressive components, taking also into consideration the sound of groups like Pestilence, Death, Atheist and Voivod. The band emerged from the blossoming Italian scene that began to form in the early 1990s with bands like Sadist leading the way.

They started up the bumpy road in the distant 1993 as Subtraction when they managed to record one isolated demo ("Eternal", 1994). A year later they paraded under the name Obscenity succeeding in assembling two demos ("Pierced Flesh", 1995; "Beyond", 1996). The band changed their name to Karnak, probably a reflection of their infatuation with ancient Egypt and its unfathomable mysteries.

Karnak has been initially influenced by bands such as Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Suffocation. To this period belongs also the musical support given to the German group Pyogenesis, when Karnak has achieved great success, leading to the creation of their first record, entitled "Perverted". Karnak was one of the first bands to use dissonance as a major feature of its death metal sound which made it sound ugly and harsh.

In 2000 Karnak finally entered the music world with the album "Melodies of Sperm Composed", recorded at Gabriele Ravaglia's Fear Studio and promoted worldwide by The Twelfth Planet Records. Unfortunately later the activity of Karnak suffered a slowdown because The Twelfth Planet Records barely promoted the band (in 2003 the label stopped its activity altogether).

In spite of this slowdown, Karnak has continued to develop their music throughout the years, the musicians experimented and constantly tried to improve their technique and song writing skills.

On their last album "Dismemberment" (2010), Karnak blends the most significant aspects of Meshuggah, the brutality of Nile, Suffocation and Morbid Angel and the dynamism of Pestilence.

The band seamlessly blended the technical brutality of high speed death metal with experimental and progressive elements that made them stand out amongst the crowd. The band has released three albums and three EPs to date.