Death is June - Looking Back in Anger at Cannibal Corpse's "Torture"

This is the last of my series of Cannibal Corpse reviews, after this one I have reviewed their entire catalog. It is as gritty as expected and more in line with the band's current trajectory. It opens with a heavy banger and then bleeds into the second song which is equal in thrashing intensity. There is enough nuance to make the first two songs worthwhile. "Scourge of Iron" is a more mid-paced song that is one of the band's upper-tier songs thanks to its crushing grooves. "Encased in Concrete" is one of the band's typical rushed hyper-fast blast fests that thrashes by you too fast to really hit you. When these violent urges are tempered with more dynamics on a song like "As Deep as the Knife Will Go" the results are more impressive, while still allowing for some faster sections. 

Whenever they titled a song with something absurd like "Intestinal Crank" I expect a senseless blast fest, but this time it's not the case. Yes, it is fast, but there is some nuance to the riffing. "Followed Home and Killed" finds the faster chugs bringing this to the band's more middle-of-the-road aggression, though there are some darker melodic chords thrown in to give texture in a few places. It almost sounds more like Dethklok who was trying to be an exaggerated version of this band anyway. "the Strangulation Chair" chugs away with the typical taunt intensity. The double bass gives more purpose to create accents. This is an example of how they can still retain their brutal style but also perfect their well-honed songwriting chops. Their bass player is certainly underrated and when given the spotlight on this song shines. "Caged Contorted" is another reckless blasting song that prioritizes brutality though managing to crank in a few catchy riffs.

"Avenge the Crucifer" is direct and catchy, putting it in the band's top 20 songs. "Rabid" lives up to it's name sonically, though it has that rushed feeling I am not the biggest fan of. 'Torn Through' has mean riffs that pack a more focused punch, I will give this one a 9.5, as the songwriting is much improved and puts this at the top of the heap when it comes the best picks of their discography. 

pst302