When it comes to Cannibal Corpse, there will always be a contingent who will predictably -- as they do with every act capable of shifting more than five hundred units of an album -- roll their eyes and thumb their noses in a show of ill-conceived elitism whenever the band bring out a new album. Yet, for all the accusations that Cannibal Corpse have become a caricature of their former glory, few can argue over the resolve with which the band continue to stick to their original mission statement: heavier and faster with every album, and never, ever wimping out. It has made them an oddly comforting commodity in a scene where so many fall by the wayside as they desperately try and cotton on to the next big thing, as Cannibal Corpse continue to ramp up the intensity on every successive release and toss in just the necessary number of tweaks along the way to keep things interesting.
So, while In Flames and Arch Enemy continue to ham it up to the delight of the
masses, "The Time to Kill Is Now" wastes no time with tawdry introductions as it
sets the stage for an unequivocal lesson in the art of true (literally) blood
and guts death metal. That the long-serving Jack Owen no longer features as a
member doesn't ever enter into the equation, as the band's familiar hallmarks
are instantly and continually apparent. There's the nigh on certifiable
technicality of "Necrosadistic Warning", the rumbling groove of "Death Walking
Terror" and the dense, ominous atmosphere of "Infinite Misery" -- all led by
George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher's imposing roar, who quite frankly has always
bettered that of his predecessor Chris Barnes, and never more so than here.Notwithstanding Hate Eternal mainman Eric Rutan's distinctly rawer production job, the differences between _Kill_ and its 2004 sibling, _The Wretched Spawn_, are finespun and unlikely to be evident to anyone who isn't acutely familiar with the band's back catalogue. This won't win over the hearts and minds of their detractors, but it hardly matters in the face of such a solid effort. Cannibal Corpse will never experiment with clean vocals or quasi-folk guitar flourishes, and I can imagine that Alex Webster would probably break out in hives at the sight of a keyboard. What the band's tenth opus confirms, if any doubt still existed, is that until the day they decide to call it quits, this Buffalo quintet will remain a staunchly uncompromising vanguard for relentless aural carnage.
Personally, that sits just fine with me.
Contact: http://www.cannibalcorpse.net