Cannibal Corpse

Violence Unimagined

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Genre: Death Metal.
Released: 16/04/2021
Via Metal Blade

Album Review: Cannibal Corpse – Violence Unimagined

The name Cannibal Corpse has become one of the most well known in the music industry due to its prolific nature and vulgar lyrical content. Due to the amount of attention the band receives from the media, Regardless of whether it’s positive or negative, the band have been at the top of the death metal genre since forming in 1988. Fans of the band have had to wait 4 years for a taste of new music, however ‘Violence Unimagined’ will bring an end to that! Since dropping the first single ‘Inhumane Harvest’ fans have not been shy about just how much they are looking forward to the new record so, without wasting any more time, here are my thoughts on Cannibal Corpse’s ‘Violence Unimagined’.

Just as you’d expect, Cannibal Corpse waste no time and bring the brutality right from the off with ‘Murderous Rampage’. This song was the second single released for the new album and its fans have been hooked on it since. The blistering riffs from Erik Rutan and Rob Barrett fit perfectly and the sheer level of intensity generated from the track rivals some of Cannibal Corpses earlier works. No nonsense death metal is what Cannibal Corpse do best and they seem to have no plan of changing that. ‘Necrigenic Resurrection’ is up next and the all-out assault of noise doesn’t let up on this one. George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher’s vocals sound clearer than they have ever before so you can hear every gruesome detail better than you ever could before! His voice will always be one of the most iconic in the genre and with age and advancements in technology, His vocal delivers moulds songs into their brutal tales of death and destruction as seen in this track. 

The first taste of new music since 2017 was ‘Inhumane Harvest’ which blew fans and critics out of the water. A more methodical sounding track delivers nothing but headbanging goodness with an intense and in your face beat that is laid down by Paul Mazurkiewicz. The slower tracks from Cannibal Corpse always seem to hit different and this one is no exception. The sense of impending doom and unease looms large throughout the duration of this track and it doesn’t let up when ‘Condemnation Contagion’ kicks off. Once again, the growling riffs deliver that iconic Cannibal Corpse sound while the constant low’s generated from Alex Webster’s bass line just add a little more oomph to the track. Top that off with some killer fills and ear-piercing gutturals and you have yourself one of the best Corpse songs in recent memory!

‘Surround, Kill, Devour’ works well for what it is however it falls a little short compared to the rest of the album. It’s by no means a bad song as it has some great moments however it was the track I found the least amount of enjoyment from as it seemed a little too tame from what you expect from the masters of gore. Thankfully, that feeling quickly subsides when the blast beats of ‘Ritual Annihilation’ come out to play. This song is fast, heavy and brutal as hell! This is going to be one of those songs that venue managers are going to pray doesn’t get played as carnage will ensure as soon as the first note hits. I cannot wait for that!

Continuing the destruction, ‘Follow the Blood’ has the potential of splitting fans a lot. A much slower and heavy sound features throughout and the intensity comes more from Corpsegrinders vocals rather than from the track itself. Personally, I think it works well and it’s a slight change-up of the same old format we have heard from Cannibal Corpse since 1988. A very minor change up but a welcome one for me!

If your looking for a more ‘A Skeletal Domain’ era song, ‘Bound and Burned’ is the track for you. The drumming dominates the song and is by far the stand out performance from Paul. Accompany the ferocious rhythm with a blistering bombardment of squeals and thrills from Rob and Erik and you have yourself one hell of a track! This is followed by borage of palm mutes and ride courtesy of ‘Slowly Swan’. A return to the more methodical sound once again allows Corpsegrider to use his unique gutturals to create a real sense of danger and intensity that no one else has ever come close to replicating. There is a reason why Cannibal Corpse is still standing tall at the top of the mountain of guts and gore. 

With the album coming to a close, The band felt the need to chuck in the rapid ‘Overtorture’. An all-out assault of noise that doesn’t ease up for one moment! Coming in at a monstrous 260 BPM, This song should come with a health warning. An absolute beast of a track that is bound to create some of the best pits once gigs can resume! This is followed by ‘Cerements of the Flayed’. A mix of the slow, methodical style and the more balls-to-the-walls tracks send the record off well. One last bombardment of everything the band has caps of Cannibal Corpse’s latest work.

There is a reason why Cannibal Corpse is regarded as one of the best death metal bands of all time, and ‘Violence Unimagined’ may be their best work of the last decade! Erik Rutan’s playing on the guitar made a huge impact with his more technical ability allowing for more ambitious sections and the band in general just sound outstanding. All that’s left to do now is to get these songs played in venues around the world so we can unleash absolute carnage!