Carnifex (band)

Carnifex
Carnifex performing at With Full Force Festival 2014
Background information
Origin	San Diego County, California, United States
Genres	Deathcore
Years active	2005–2012, 2013–present
Labels	Nuclear Blast Victory This City Is Burning Enclave
Associated acts	Legacy of Pain, Her Demise My Rise
Members	Scott Lewis Jordan Lockrey Cory Arford Fred Calderon Shawn Cameron
Past members	Rick James Kevin Vargas Travis Whiting Steve McMahon Jake Anderson Ryan Gudmunds

Carnifex is an American deathcore band from San Diego County, California. Formed in 2005, they are currently signed to Nuclear Blast after having been signed to Victory Records. They have released six full-length albums and one EP. The name of the band is derived from the Latin: , meaning "butcher" or sometimes "executioner."

Carnifex was founded in late 2005 in Fallbrook, California. They released self-titled demo on May 18, 2006, featuring five tracks and distributed through Enclave Records. In September 2006, Rick James and Kevin Vargas left the band. Shortly thereafter after, Steve McMahon joined on bass and Travis Whiting joined on guitar.

Carnifex recorded an EP before the end of 2006 titled Love Lies in Ashes, which was released through Acropolisrpm Records on March 13, 2007. It was sold exclusively at shows as well as online stores such as iTunes before the group began work on their full-length debut album.

After their release of Love Lies in Ashes, Carnifex was signed to underground label This City Is Burning Records in March 2007, and they recorded their debut full length Dead in My Arms, with yet another member change. The band, though, was still a four-piece outfit, with current guitarist Cory Arford replacing Travis Whiting in March 2007. The line-up during the recording of Dead in My Arms was Scott Lewis (vocals), Shawn Cameron (drums), Cory Arford (guitar), and Steve McMahon (bass guitar).

Dead in My Arms was released on July 12, 2007. Carnifex began touring full-time with the record's release. Touring guitarist Jake Anderson was recruited as a second guitarist from July to November 2007. During this time, the band toured with groups such as Emmure, Whitechapel, and MyChildren MyBride, among 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 November 2007, after the departure of Steve McMahon and Jake Anderson, Carnifex signed a deal with Victory with now current members Fred Calderon (bass) and Ryan Gudmunds (guitar).