I'm sure you can tell by the title of the new album
that Cannibal Corpse hasn't lost its edge. Over the years, their sick
lyrics and ruthless sound have only been refined, making them one of the
greatest and most notorious death metal bands of all time. According to
the press release from Metal Blade, their work has been banned in Australia,
New Zealand, and Korea, and Butchered at Birth can't be sold in
Germany. I can imagine government officials leering at their cover art
and saying, "Uh, not in my country."
Gore Obsessed proves that Cannibal Corpse hasn't calmed down any,
although their lyrics have gotten a lot more intelligible since they started
out. Now I can pick out phrases here and there without even looking at
the liner notes; songs like "Dormant Bodies Bursting" and "Sanded
Faceless" are worth being enjoyed to the fullest.
Cannibal Corpse's style is unrelenting, as always. The album hardly slows
down during its entirety, and the energy level only seems to increase
with the track numbers. The quality of the songs gets better further into
the album, too, when their matured style really becomes apparent. "Hung
and Bled" is one of my favorites on this album, and it diverges noticeably
from the traditionally straightforward Cannibal Corpse "sound."
Drums, guitars, and vocals all sound great. It's all much clearer and
seemingly more thought-out than on previous albums. The production of
Gore Obsessed isn't any great leap from past albums, but anything
else would be blasphemous (ha, ha). It will be great to see Cannibal Corpse
try to outdo this release.
