On the face of it, “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” is the perfect motto for death metal icons Cannibal Corpse. After thirty-five years of blood splattered riffs and gore drenched lyrics, you know exactly what to expect and disappointment is a rarity. However, despite the technicality so clearly on display, the band’s musical proficiency is often overlooked by those who choose to concentrate on the cartoonishly grotesque lyrics and occasionally controversial album art.
Back with another album cover deemed unsuitable for public consumption, it’s nice to see death metal legends Cannibal Corpse still shocking the squeamish and easily offended. Having to replace controversial artwork with something a little more palatable had almost become a tradition at one time but the new record Violence Unimagined (Metal Blade) is the first time the band has actually been deemed worthy of censorship since 2012.
Remember when Roadrunner Records had the hardest hitting metal roster and a slew of death metal classics to back it up? Mortuous remembers. Mortuous remembers it so vividly that they’ve recorded their debut album Through Wilderness (Tankcrimes) and crammed it full of some of those seminal Death Metal sounds. Not unlike Gruesome, Mortuous pays homage and respects its elders, but it never comes across as re-warmed leftovers. Continue reading