If you've liked the past couple of releases by Cannibal Corpse, chances are that Kill will also please the ear. It isn't a far cry from Gore Obsessed or The Wretched Spawn – the guitars are deep but technical, the drums unrelenting but varied and Corpsegrinder's vocals are as good as ever, though at times faster and more percussive than they've been before.

Cannibal Corpse has been doing solid death for so long that any extreme experimentation could risk the band's being alienated by its hard-core followers and dismissed by the more casual listener as gimmicky. Plus Cannibal Corpse knows what it does best, what it loves to do, and tries with each release to compound on the previous idea and do classic-style death that much better than anyone else. In this regard, the Corpse has followed its progression thus far to the natural next step and released a crushing piece of death metal that draws on its main strengths. And though it may not be for everyone, and it may not be enough progress between albums for others, it will make any fan of the band flash a bloody, toothless grin.

The lyrics are more poetic than one has come to expect from the inimitably gruesome Cannibal Corpse, but most of the extra words are there to dress up words and phrases like: "Our victims are decapitated," "Jagged Blade," "Mutilate /Disembowel / Amputate / Kill and Rape," "Perforate the abdomen," "Dripping skin," "Traumatizing agony," and "Brains are all I ever crave." Toned down a little from before? Perhaps so. But there are plenty of tortures described in unflinching detail to satisfy the most gruesome listeners.

At any rate, the musicianship is great, with lots of satisfying grooves and interesting verses, the production is clear and the vocals solid. Corpse fans can't go wrong. (8/10)