Carnivore was a Thrash Metal band formed by Peter Steele (later of Type O Negative fame), and was formed out of the ruins of the Brooklyn hard rock group Fallout. They released two albums: "Carnivore" (1985) and "Retaliation" (1987). The band broke up not long thereafter, and Peter Steele formed Type O Negative. The first Type O Negative album, "Slow Deep and Hard" was partially composed from material originally written for Carnivore. Despite being disbanded for over 15 years, there have been several reunion shows that have taken place over the years. On of the shows was at Wacken Open Air 2006, where they had an 1,25 hour setlist.

Original Carnivore guitarist Keith Alexander died in a biking accident on July 11, 2005.

The first album is more traditionally metal-sounding, drawing inspiration from Black Sabbath and 1970s Judas Priest, while the second has significant hardcore-crossover influence. Both are fit neatly into the speed-thrash genre, however. The lyrical themes include nihilism, anti-religious sentiment, a mockery of racism, intolerance, and general human stupidity, a heap of cynicism, and explicit tongue-in-cheek depictions of gore and despair. For example, this line from "Ground Zero Brooklyn" sums up the band fairly well: "I shit my pants as I wait for the reaper!". Song titles like "Jesus Hitler", "Race War", and "God is Dead" are also representative.