When we say we love a band what does that really mean? I love a lot of bands but there are probably only a handful that I truly could never be without. One of them would be Cannibal Corpse. As a teenager listening to Live Cannibalism and building my Death Metal obsession my life was forever changed. Iron Maiden might be my favourite band of all time but Cannibal Corpse are the Iron Maiden of Death Metal, unquestionably. There is no other Death Metal band that embodies the spirit of the genre like they do. Are you new to Death Metal? Do you want to know what is sounds like? Well, you’d best pop on the new record then.
Fanboy moment aside (for now) Cannibal Corpse really need no introduction, they are Death Metal. One of the absolute biggest if not, the biggest band the genre has to offer, with good reason too. From the Barnes era of Butchered At Birth, Tomb Of The Mutilated and so forth to the now more modern sounding Corpsegrinder era the band have remained as consistent as ever. They are proof of the saying ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ and I love that about Corpse. Today we look at the landmark fifteenth full length album Violence Unimagined, put out through Metal Blade Records, but does the Corpse formula still work? (I would just also like to note that the uncensored artwork for this album is literally some of the coolest Death Metal artwork I’ve ever seen, I want a shirt now).
Kicking things off in typical Corpse fashion is Murderous Rampage. Instant relentless riffs from newcomer to the band Erik Rutan, these are hook heavy and laced with traditional Heavy Metal flare. Then in comes the iconic vocals of one Corpsegrinder. Therein lies the success of Corpse to me, catchy Death Metal that is still brutal but most importantly memorable and full of hooks in almost every respect. Necrogenic Resurrection builds on some Tech tinges from the prior track. Paul’s drumming shines through with great unrelenting ferocity and the whole package together is Death Metal of the gods ‘we are not worthy’ I cry. Inhumane Harvest comes crashing in thereafter, a track that already feels like a staple of a good Cannibal Corpse diet. This is one of the more ‘standard’ songs on the album, but it’s huge and I can’t wait to hear it live. Even a song like Condemnation, Contagion which is pretty typical Corpse is still flooded with memorability. A real anthem and one that I can imagine going off like a bomb live would be Surround, Kill, Devour. There’s a certain circle pit mentality to the song but also a great sing-a-long touch, one of my favourite points about this band.
The second half of the record gets into gear with Ritual Annihilation which has this awesome evil kind of vibe to it, something that really shines through in the guitars. Sure, this is Corpse as you know and like them but there is a definite newer direction here, playing with some more challenging songwriting to great effect. Follow The Blood and Bound And Burned add more to this, I absolutely love some of the guitar work on these tracks, some of the best the album has to offer for sure. In fact, this entire second half is a real display of the bands toying with some new ideas. Corpse are still as consistent as ever in tone but the fact that they’re still delivering interesting music all these years on is a real feat. Final track Cerements Of The Flayed is a huge ending for the record. Massive chunky riffs that remind me of Scourge Of Iron come in and create the perfect backing for a full on Death Metal assault.
What can I say, if you’re a huge Corpse fan then this ticks all the boxes, another absolute winner (literally there is not one bad album). Although I have heard Corpse albums be classed as hype machines and if you’re a passing fan of the band then perhaps it won’t quite grip you. Sure, there are songs I prefer on earlier records, indeed Torture was such a perfect album that I really don’t think anything has lived up to it in sometime. That said none of their albums have been rubbish and I find myself revisiting all of them on a regular basis, Violence Unimagined shall be no exception.
(9/10 George Caley)
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