Spreading The Disease – Purgatory Carnival Review
Spreading The Disease are a UK modern metal entity set to release their latest EP, Purgatory Carnival, in 2026 through AMG/Universal Records.
Spreading The Disease, Purgatory Carnival Review: This review will evaluate every aspect of the album, from its intricate musical composition to its production.
The First Three Sins, The Summary
The First Sin, The Strings/Keys: Groove-driven riffing built on palm-muted chugs, tight thrash mechanics, and modern metal precision. The Second Sin, The Vocals: Aggressive, shouted delivery with rhythmic phrasing and occasional melodic touches. The Third Sin, The Percussions: Double-kick bursts, tight snare accents, and groove-metal pacing drive the hymns forward.
The Fourth Sin, Overall Discussion
Invocation of the Carnival
As soon as the listener presses play, they are pulled into a world of raw power— a fusion of old-school, in-your-face aggression and hybrid modern metal that escalates in intensity from opener to finale.
Pressure Beneath the Mask
Purgatory Carnival is built around four hymns that dissect psychological pressure, social decay, and the friction of internal versus external aggression. It follows a loose thematic arc of human struggle and self-destruction; a frantic soundtrack for the ‘carnival’ of modern pressures
Groove-Forged Confrontation
Spreading The Disease delivers a release wrapped in modern metal construction. Fusing groove metal mechanics and modern thrash production with the raw DNA of old-school thrash and industrial-tinged alternative metal, Purgatory Carnival is relentlessly confrontational.
Purgatory Carnival is built on tight riff mechanics rather than atmospheric excess, favouring the precision and punch of the groove era over theatrical fluff.
There is no ambiguity here—just the essential, high-velocity delivery of street-level, cathartic metal.
Devilmanship in Steel
Spreading The Disease executes a powerful, tight devilmanship. The dual-guitar layering unleashes a barrage of fast, hard-hitting, and driven riffs, balanced by mid-tempo chugs, precision palm-muting, and the sharp syncopation of their Slipknot, Pantera and Machine Head influences.
Central to this sonic assault is bassist and founderSteve Saunders, whose thick, driving presence provides the essential groove-metal backbone, anchoring the chaos and ensuring the Carnival never loses its momentum.
Engine of Momentum
The drumming is a demonstration in modern momentum: double-kick bursts paired with tight snare accents and groove-oriented mid-tempo sections. The production feels close-mic’d and punchy, utilising modern compression to ensure every fill lands with maximum impact.
The vocals lead the four hymns with aggressive, shouted delivery and rhythmic phrasing, occasionally weaving melodic lines directly into the aggression.
The Carnival Falls Silent
The album draws to a close as the final hymn fades, leaving behind the echo of mechanical groove and controlled aggression. The Carnival ends not with spectacle, but with impact — a final rhythmic pulse that lingers in the mind after the distortion settles.
What remains is the aftertaste of pressure released through volume, precision, and movement.
Overall: Ritual Verdict
Purgatory Carnival is a heavy and groovy fruit of art — old-school, in-your-face metal wrapped in the polished, razor-sharp edge of contemporary recording. Spreading The Disease balances groove-metal weight with thrash urgency, delivering a short but focused release built on momentum, discipline, and direct execution.
The Fifth Sin, The Memorabilia
For me, Purgatory Carnival provided a strong fruit of art release — heavy, modern, with a groove that drills into your mind. I guess that’s why there is a replay button — like a return ticket.
My favourite hymn is the closing hymn, Purgatory Carnival, whose rhythmic groove feels like a mixture of modern anthem metalcore and Amon Amarth’s melodic-death aura.
The Sixth Sin, The Artwork
The artwork captures the music and lyrics effectively, reflecting the release’s aggressive tone and carnival-like tension
The Seventh Sin, Disrelish
The only disrelish lies in the release’s brevity — just as the groove begins to fully take hold, the Carnival ends. With such a strong rhythmic foundation, a longer release would have allowed the band’s momentum to develop further.
The Hymns
01. Addicted
02. Fissure
03. Warblade
04. Purgatory Carnival
Spreading The Disease
Johnny P — Vocals
Daniel Stevenson — Guitars
Thorsten Giertsch — Guitars
Steve Saunders — Bass
Donal McGee — Drums