Death is June - Looking Back in Anger at Cannibal Corpses' "Bloodthirst"

 By 1999 I had obviously grown apart from Cannibal Corpse as I do not even remember this album coming out. I think I was listening to more hardcore at this point in time. They began to become the AC/DC of death metal at this point, as there was little window dressing and they were pumping out albums that were what they did and nothing more or less. The first song falls in line what that thinking. They begin to toy with the formula once you get to "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty" which sounds more like what the band has been doing recently. Corpsegrinder has a powerful growl that is the face of the band. They are generally not shying from speed-fueled riffs, but have room to play around with. 

"The Spine  Splitter" finds a tightly coiled riff offering up another beating to your ears in a very refined manner. I am not sure if they even know what these lyrics are about, as this is where it sounds like they are becoming a Dethklok-like parody of themselves, and perhaps if it was another band it would matter more, as right when it;'s going to hit you the wrong way they do something more interesting. They also have more shredding guitar solos if you are into that kind of thing. It is only fitting a song called "Ecstasy in Decay " is accented by a darker throbbing throb. The arrangements are beginning to cross over into a more technical side of death metal here. Perhaps they felt like they should be taken more seriously on this album? 

They do not have a lot of "satanic-themed songs" unlike some of their Tampa friends in Deicide or Morbid Angel, which lyrically makes 'Raped by the Beast" more unique. The song works for what they do it's one of the more straightforward approaches on this album. "Coffinfeeder" has enough groove to it despite its rapid attack to work for me. There is more of an atmospheric lead-in to "Hacksaw Decapitation" than what the subject matter seems to call for. I would have used it for "Raped By the Beast", so there are my two cents on it. Some of the riffs are pretty crushing though. " Blowtorch Slaughter' reminds me a little of "Hammer Smashed Face".  "Sickening Metamorphosis " feels a little rushed from the manic manner they pound into it.  The last song uses the dynamics of chaotic to less chaotic as its formula, So your preference to this sort of thing should be weighed against it., there is a killer riff that crops up for what would be the last verse, but cool riffs do not a good song make, applies to everyone. I will give this album a 9, so solid and professionally done, like they had something to prove, I had forgotten this album existed so a nice "new" find.

 

pst283