Written by Baazgor
| Cannibal Corpse – Evisceration Plague Metal Blade Records Released –
The One Sentence Review: It sounds exactly like you expect it to.
Tracklisting: 1 – Priests of 2 – Scalding Hail 3 – To Decompose 4 – A Cauldron of Hate 5 - Beheading and Burning 6 – Evidence in the Furnace 7 – Carnivorous Swarm 8 – Evisceration Plague 9 – Shatter Their Bones 10 – Carrion Sculpted Entity 11 – Unnatural 12 – Skewered from Ear to Ear |
Cannibal Corpse is a name that most metal fans are familiar with. Having been around for over two decades and having turned out over 25 releases on various formats, ideally, the band had and has to be doing something correct in order to have survived for this long. What has kept them afloat all of these years are what now some people are viewing as a problem…the music is getting repetitive.
I’ve read other reviews for ‘Evisceration Plague’ and nearly every one of them has likened the album to their previous effort ‘Kill’ and even to the album prior to that, ‘The Wretched Spawn’. All of this is true but the point is that this band has always released decent music. Comparing them to other bands that started out back in 1988, this is one of the few bands that can honestly make the claim that they have always put out solid, reliable, and enjoyable records, if this weren’t true, they wouldn’t be one of the highest selling death metal bands in the history of the genre. Their formula has changed little, but then again, there has never been a reason to change it…again, this is because they have always released solid records, which can’t be said for most of the other extreme acts that started during that time period, and if the formula works then don’t screw with it. So, the argument that ‘Evisceration Plague’ is very much like ‘Kill’ is realistically valid, but it’s a pointless argument. I’ll take a ‘Kill pt. II’ over most of the other records being released through Metal Blade these days, and I’ll go further as to say I’ll take it over the vast majority of death metal albums coming out today across the board.
What’s important is that ‘Evisceration Plague’ continues to display Cannibal Corpse’s most natural progression, which is continuing to build their sonic arsenal and staying in a leadership position while releasing music that demonstrates why and how they got there in the first place. This is a band that is over twenty years old; the option and the time for experimentation or wild changes in their sound are done. The intent is to kick you in the side of your head, and keep kicking it until your head is simply a pile of shards and chunks. This is your head being kicked. Are we clear on this matter?
Musically, if you’ve heard anything from Cannibal Corpse dated 1996 and beyond, you know what to expect. The thick, low-end crunch of guitarist’s Pat O’Brien and Rob Barrett, Alex Webster’s ability and his general position as one of the most prominent low end anchors in terms of other bass players, Paul Mazurkiewicz’s machine-like percussion and George Fischer’s signature bark and scream. The only difference with ‘Evisceration Plague’ is that you’re going to hear the guitars more; the riffs have an orientation that subtly leans slightly more towards melody and the production puts them right up front. You’ll also hear songs that aren’t just screaming and blast beats and fast stuff, there’s some more mid-tempo, generally slower tracks here. There aren’t as many guitar solos as previous efforts had, which I’m sure can be attributed to the loss of Jack Owen to some degree, but Rob Barrett’s efforts fit Cannibal Corpse as they should.
Songs such as ‘Shatter Their Bones’ and ‘Scalding Hail’ are driven by awesome riffs that are constantly engaging the listener, whereas tracks such as ‘Evidence in the Furnace’ and the monumentally crushing ‘Carnivorous Swarm’ are principal acts of brutality that are guaranteed beyond a reasonable doubt to send rooms full of people in a live environment into a killing frenzy. These aren’t hallmark tracks such as ‘Stripped, Raped and Strangled’ or ‘Hammer Smashed Face’, but new additions that will quickly become listening staples that will stand out from the more current works.
Overall, this is a good release and I don’t have much else to say. This is Cannibal Corpse, I have no complaints here, you really shouldn’t either. This is a band that has twenty years of history, many bands don’t make it this far and if they do they have there fair share of duds and rough patches along the way, this band has staying power and ‘Evisceration Plague’ proves it. If you have some type of qualm about Cannibal Corpse repeating themselves then, by all means, good luck with finding something with this type of history and power behind it coming out in 2009 There’s a handful of bands that have made it this far, Cannibal Corpse have paid their dues, and continue to deliver what death metal needs to have delivered: actual good, solid death metal that sounds like death metal and not some lame ‘tough guy’ melody fest delivered with stupid haircuts and lip piercings. I’m barely hanging on to my interest in death metal these days, and this is one of the few reasons why.
Final Score: 7/10
--Written by Baazgor (Andrew Krause) for Metaltome.com,
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Subscribe to this comment's feed Angelique Smith said: 
 | ... Andrew, you are spot on - I agree 200% with your comment. Honestly, I'm not finding myself playing the material from their later years, having gotten used to their earlier releases. Deeply rooted in old school, I too am holding on to 'Corpse in the hope they will release an earth-shattering album. Listened to a song off Deceased's new album the other day, and while it sounded great with Kingsley still going at it on vocals and drums, I don't hear the very same Deceased that I know and love. I only have their "Luck of the Corpse" album which, to my mind, is one of the best death metal albums ever released. Comparing their new album to Evisceration Plague - it's been too long; something new must be introduced. Not only for the fans, mind you - but for the band members themselves. I'm toying with some ideas for them. They could introduce guest artists for albums and tours. Mr Mazurkiewitz needs to do something different on the skins, I believe. From a drummer's point of view, change goes a long way. He could introduce a few different styles here and there - not changing too much yet keeping fans entertained in terms of varying styles. People give them too much of a hiding but they should follow Morbid Angel's example. Look - I've not heard their latest offering so I'm referring to all their previous albums when I say this. They have tried different things in their music; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's trial and error. One must make changes in order to learn. I respect them so much more for trying different styles. I can see from their efforts that they very professional musicians who take their craft seriously and wish to experiment with different styles. Who knows, I might even like their new album but it is doubtful, since Commando doesn't play on it due to his recovery. From a musician's point of view - is incredibly soul-crushingly boring to play the same style for a number of years. You just get to a point where you are like "I'm itching to try something new." For example, Steve Asheim joined Order of Ennead and produced the most wonderful work ever. That's to be commended and many drummers can learn so much from this skilled artist. I myself am itching to learn jazz, blues and reggae. Don't get me wrong - I love blasting my way through all my death metal favourites and especially love black metal drumming. Progressive rock is my focus at present. I'm off to find some albums to review... |
Suicidal maniac said:
 | love them This is pretty bad ass death metal band but this is not their best work it seems that they have add alittle more of a death grind core mixture into this album of course its not new but most recent ones i do love this band but the have changed alot they should be more as they started why change your sound when that is the one you have started with, right?? but what ever all i say they should have been previously a mixture of thrash and death by their sound but still epic album  |
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