Vim Fuego
You don't buy a Cannibal Corpse album expecting subtlety, innovation, and great musicianship. You buy Cannibal Corpse expecting bludgeoning death metal, bloodthirsty lyrics and great musicianship. And they still have the amusing zombie artwork!
‘Corpse's riffs have become ever more complex over the years, and have continued to do so here. Hey, they ain't Meshuggah or Atheist, but there's a huge difference between what's on offer here and their debut "Eaten Back To Life". There are unexpected flourishes thrown in here and there, but the listenability remains. The solos are frenetic, as would be expected, but are perhaps a shade cleaner than in previous albums. The drumming is less straightforward than the earlier blast–blast–blast style, with a few odd rhythms thrown in. Never fear though, there are still plenty of blast beats here.
Perhaps the best feature of this album is George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's vocals. They are actually clear enough for most of the lyrics to be understood without closely following the lyric sheet. Corpsegrinder is still bestial in his delivery, but the murderous lyrical creations are given a fuller horrific scope. Corpsegrinder's style suits the band far better than his long departed predecessor. He has developed a two tone style, both guttural, adding a touch more variation and venom to the overall sound.
"Hatchet To The Head" is a moshpit favourite, with a shout along chorus in the vein of "Skull Full Of Maggots" and blast beats aplenty. "Dormant Bodies Bursting" sees the band cut back the speed a fraction on the chorus, to great effect. It's downright menacing. There are no dud tracks here at all.
The final act of this album is a surprising, but extremely well executed cover of Metallica's "No Remorse". To describe it as heavy is an understatement. A nice solo has been added at the beginning, and the rhythm and bass absolutely thunder along. Corpsegrinder doesn't reach the falsetto screech James Hetfield achieved on the original; instead he drags the vocals down to a more deathly pitch. This is really what this song SHOULD sound like.
Cannibal Corpse don't so much get in your face with this album, as leave you "Sanded Faceless".