New Orleans' Goatwhore has taken their meld of blackened death metal to new and nastier places on CARVING OUT THE EYES OF GOD, their fourth album proper. Unlike their previous two albums, FUNERAL DIRGE FOR THE ROTTING SUN and HAUNTING CURSE, the dark atmospherics that punctuated them is gone, leaving only an attack: feral, brutal, and beautifully recorded. Fans drawn to death metal will welcome the sonic improvement: you can hear every single lyric here, whether growled or shouted by vocalist Louis B. Falgoust II. Founder Sammy Duet's guitar sound is massive, Zack Simmons' drums are thunderously clear and unmuddled, and for a change, you can actually discern Nathan Bergerou's bass. Stand-out tracks on the set include "Provoking the Ritual of Death," "Reckoning of the Soul Made Godless," and "Razor Flesh Devoured." There isn't really anything new here, but there doesn't really need to be; CARVING OUT THE EYES OF GOD is so flawlessly executed it makes up for its lack of originality.