CANNIBAL CORPSE
KILL (Album)
2006, Metal Blade Records




Scandals
In preparation for CC's new album, Evisceration Plague, (due out on 3rd of February 2009) and hopefully going to see them support Children of Bodom on Valentine's Day, I began listening through my Cannibal Corpse albums again for the first time in a while. And I suddenly remembered that their previous release was one of my favourite death metal albums ever.

Simply entitled Kill, this record saw Cannibal Corpse hone their sound into a razor blade sharp maelstorm of death. From the howl of "Kill!!" that opens the album to the closing instrumental 'Infinite Misery', that sways and groans like classic Immolation, the band totally nailed it. Produced by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal), the album is clear as a bell, never losing Corpsegrinder's vocals under the instruments and even pulling off a great Hate Eternal impression on 'Purification by Fire', their producer's work obviously influencing it. Corpsegrinder's vocals have an uncanny ability to be seriously brutal and yet mostly decipherable, a rare talent in the world of 'voKills'. As much as I love and respect the quality of the Chris Barnes era Cannibal, I am much more a fan of Corpsegrinder's vocal style; it is more versatile than just low end grunts and growls.

But it is the early pairing of 'Necrosadistic Warning' and 'Five Nails Through the Neck' that are technically the most impressive tracks on the record. Both contain probably the most technical riffs the band have ever produced, and show that the band aren't just a full steam ahead gore machine. We all know that Cannibal Corpse have been producing top quality brutal death since their debut, but 'Kill' is a perfect example of how they have evolved and improved since the raw days of Butchered at Birth and Eaten Back to Life. The catchy 'MakeThem Suffer',dark and evil 'Death Walking Terror' and the brilliantly named 'Submerged in Boiling Flesh' are my personal highlights but most death metal fans couldn't argue with the rest of this album

There are almost no flaws with this album,parts of it are possibly overly technical and lose a bit of catchiness but withfar too many highlights it is a hollow complaint. Essential.

2009-01-29 00:00:00