There are certain bands that require no introduction. Cannibal Corpse. You know them. You’ve heard of them. You’ve likely been sickened, appalled or offended by them. Certainly most people reading this site can conjure an image of one of their album covers in their minds. Most can cite a song title. Probably “Hammer-Smashed Face.” Something more grotesque? Perhaps. What’s that tale about a virgin and entrails?
So, instead of waxing all poetically about some mental or physical connection I make to their music, why not cut through all that with a sticky cleaver and just get to what you want to know? Is “Torture,” their 12th studio effort, any good? Is it worth your hard-earned dollars in an economic climate that doesn’t make parting with cash very easy? If you’re a big fan of the Corpse, yes, you’re going to like it. They do have that AC/DC vibe where their albums sound a lot alike, but you expect that. Yet, there are neat twists and turns on the new one that’ll excite you and keep your head in this thing. If you’ve never really understood the appeal of the band, well, chances are this won’t change your mind. This tends to be one of those all-in or all-out bands with very little in between.
If there’s one thing that has evolved about Cannibal Corpse over the years, it’s their musicianship. They’ve become tighter and tighte
r as a unit as they’ve beheaded together, and even with some minor roster reshuffling, they never really lost their way. On “Torture,” guitarists Pat O’Brien and Rob Garrett shred and pulverize with their leads, solos and thrashing, bassist Alex Webster and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz continue to make a formidable rhythm section, and frontman George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher keeps the blood flowing and the flesh freshly chewed in his mouth. His vocals are churning and furious, and he’s the perfect storyteller for the band’s gross tales.
As always with the Corpse, you need to be able to smile along with their gory transmissions, as they’re meant to be like horror films in music form. If you’re out there taking things too seriously, now, you might want to check into a sanitarium. You being out in the open, free to walk amongst society, isn’t doing anyone any good. But surely “Torture” will ruffle the same feathers internationally that they always do and probably will frighten people in their own homeland of America into thinking the band promotes and encourages the same violent acts they detail in their songs. Seriously, get with it already.
The record opens with “Demented Aggressor,” that, yes, is both demented and aggressive. In fact, it’s one of the heaviest, most brutal tracks on here, as the assault is thrashy, yet groove-laden, and Fisher spits out his words a mile a minute. So yeah, age is not slowing down these guys. “Sarcophagic Frenzy” also proves these guys still have sick minds and are willing to mash and maul; “As Deep as the Knife Will Go” requires no reading between the lines, nor does “Intestinal Crank” a, uh, gut-wrenching song dressed with tricky guitar work and strong soloing; “Followed Then Killed” is a stalker anthem that has its eerie moments but is mostly drenched in chaos; and “Torn Through” highlights a killing spree and the balance of guilt on the killer’s mind as he (she?) stabs a plasmatic path. The only real curveball here is “Scourge of Iron,” a mid-tempo mangler that’s more sludgy and doomy, but it never skimps on the heaviness. It’s a cool change of pace that lets you get a bit of a breath and keeps their assault at least a tiny bit unpredictable.
Cannibal Corpse never will change, and that’s a good thing. They’re steady, reliable, disgusting and a lot of fun. They rips out their victims’ guts and show them to you, and isn’t that what you really want? “Torture” is more of the same, and that should thrill their massive following.
For more on the band, go here: http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/
To buy the album, go here: http://www.indiemerchstore.com/item/13533/
For more on the label, go here: http://www.metalblade.com/english/content.php
Meat Mead Metal 