Cannibal Corpse - Torture (Metal Blade Records) By: Mike Sloan

[8.5/10] Like Inspector Gadget used to say: “Wowsers!” What happened to Cannibal Corpse? Torture, the latest release from one of the most successful bands in the history of death metal, is an absolute monster from start to finish. What’s peculiar, though, is that these Floridian legends haven’t changed their style or rediscovered themselves or reinvented the wheel; Cannibal Corpse have done what they’ve been doing since 1994. The funny thing, though, is that this quintet has finally shattered the mold that has turned them into largely a repetitive, almost boring technical death metal band for the past 13 or so years.

Granted, the albums featuring George Fisher on the mic have all had their share of memorable songs but overall, Gallery of Suicide, Bloodthirst, Gore Obsessed, The Wretched Spawn, Kill, and Evisceration Plague have all been a virtual carbon copy of Vile. There wasn’t too much alteration of sound or delivery with each passing album and, over time, Cannibal Corpse album releases changed from ballyhooed events into, “Cannibal Corpse has another new album out? Meh…”

Everything has changed with Torture, the band’s 12th full-length. What has been created and delivered is easily the band’s finest collection of songs since The Bleeding. It seemed like Cannibal Corpse had been resting on their laurels and releasing throw away songs every time out. And why not? They make enough money to live (presumably) and the several EPs, live albums, DVDs and box sets all sold very well. There didn’t appear to be some sort of public backlash because everything these guys sent to retail was a success.

However, there is an angrier-sounding CC on Torture, though the songs aren’t an all out blitzkrieg of mayhem, either. They are as vicious as they are catchy and as blistering/fast as they are crushing/slow. The heavy parts flatten skulls and the hooks within virtually every song can snag Megalodon. After the relatively thrashy opening track “Demented Aggression,” the album kicks into second gear with the groovy, incendiary “Sarcofagic Frenzy,” hands-down one of the catchiest songs The Corpse has ever recorded. Paying homage to Celtic Frost and some of the bottom heavy snails that spewed from Obituary’s cabinets, “Scourge of Iron” slowly grinds up the listener. Similar to Morbid Angel’s “Where the Slime Live” coupled with a lengthy and thoughtful guitar solo (for CC, anyway), it’s an eye opener that this band has really pushed the envelope in delivering songs with a stable structure.

The album never relents and other highlights are the thrashy “Encased in Concrete”, the technically brilliant and swarming “Followed Home Then Killed” and the monumental “The Strangulation Chair” which doesn’t sport just a bass line; it displays a swirling display of how inhuman Alex Webster is on the strings. “Crucifier Avenged” is a punishing, groove-laden grenade in the vein of most of Deicide’s Once Upon the Cross album (their finest hour, for the record) and then, when it seems like things are just getting warm, the album finishes with the savage “Torn Through.”

The only true flaw in Torture is that the overall production is far too polished and clean. Yes, it’s heavy but the chainsaw-like guitars have lost almost all of their bite and the drums simply aren’t anywhere near as thunderous as they should be. It’s a borderline tragedy because the final product has lost so much strength thanks to the crystal clear production. This isn’t anything new with Cannibal Corpse or with label Metal Blade, but maybe the idea of retaining much of the raw, unbridled fury should be kept intact? Had the album sounded rougher around the edges and had the instruments not been cleaned up so much in an effort to flaunt the band’s technical prowess, Torture might be the clear-cut album of the year thus far. Oh well, almost nothing’s perfect and the album is so good that it still snagged an 8.5

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