Are there any death metal bands or metal bands in general that have consistently released one brutal album after the other without any compromise? I can name a few but not many that have been in existence for the same amount of time that Cannibal Corpse have. This is the bands 35th year since they released a single self-titled demo back in the late 80s and since then have set the benchmark within death metal ever since. It doesn’t matter if the line-up has changed or evolved over the years the core monstrous brutality of Cannibal Corpse has never wavered. In recent years I have felt they have released some of their best material ever and continue to unleash landmark death metal releases to such an extent that their popularity has risen continually to become the global phenomenon they are. You only had to go their recent UK tour jaunt to realise that many of people at that gig weren’t even born when the band released ‘Eaten Back To life’ in 1990. In fact I’d say the majority of fans probably got into the band in the new millennium when they released ‘Gore Obsessed’ or ‘The Wretched Spawn’. Added to that the band has continued to rattle feathers with their album covers which I’ve always felt typify exactly how Cannibal Corpse should look.
‘Chaos Horrific’ is the bands 16th album, and if you think about it, that’s an album every two years, thereabouts, plus the EPs and live releases alongside their endless touring. I have seen Cannibal Corpse on every single tour they’ve had in the UK going back to the Butchered At Birth Tour’ in 1992 and have a ton of shirts to mark the events culminating in me seeing the band 22 times, mostly in the UK but also in Europe too. Their work-rate is unbelievable and that enduring effort has paid dividends with the band having more popularity now than they’ve ever had with sold out shows on virtually every tour.
Once again the amazing Vincent Locke, long-time collaborator with the band, has created the gore saturated album cover which looks like a rendering of a scene from some 80s zombie or gore flick. That visualisation superbly matches the sonic output which kicks off with the cracking bass riff on ‘Overlords Of Violence’ backed up by cymbal smashing mayhem that leads into Corpsegrinder’s inimitable deep vocal bellow. There are no subtleties, Cannibal Corpse doesn’t need them, but the technical dexterity is there to hear. It may come across as a bludgeoning whirlwind but the band ingrains all their songs with quirky riff runs as the opener showcases. ‘Frenzied Feeding’ stamps its authority down with metronomic monstrousness and if you want to give your neck muscles a workout then this song is sure to create some sort of injury.
Noticeably the bands double kick blast beat has been reined in preferring a relatively slower approach for this album. Case in point is ‘Summoned For Sacrifice’ which had me thinking about their magnificent ‘Gallery Of Suicide’ album in 1998 with its menacing almost intimidatingly slow pacing before it picks up towards the middle section. There’s a ton of thrash riffing too, and if you know the band’s debut then you know that album was stacked with them. Here it is more subtle, as the riffing onslaught is backed up melodic outbursts peppering the songs with excellent breaks.
Equally devastating is the pulverising ‘Blood Blind’, where that blanketing density gives the song a thunderous almost miasmic choking aura before returning to blistering speed on ‘Vengeful Invasion’. As I said the album is chock full of thrash riffing and this one emphasises the point perfectly before the excellent title track speeds into life with its very catchy virtually speed death metal guise initially. The powerhouse ‘Fracture And Refracture’ offers the thrash highlights again with snapping drum work but still no blasting that were used to. That appears on ‘Pitchfork Impalement’ which has a typical CC riff start building to the riff break which arrives within less than a minute and is backed by a swerving pace drop before the sudden trademark double bass kick blast that this band pioneered many years ago.
Closing the album is ‘Drain You Empty’ and my reference earlier to their ‘Gallery Of Suicide’ album rears up brilliantly again here. The slower more pervading assault is tempered with menace and reinforced with a sinister toning that feels creepy and undulating. The gradual increase in speed is expected and allows the songs brutality to fully expose just how effective CC are at writing death metal.
Potentially the bands most melodic album to date, ‘Chaos Horrific’ sees Cannibal Corpse continue to be masters of this genre without pause.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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