Cannibal Corpse - Evisceration Plague (Metal Blade/Riot)

Cannibal Corpse have delivered a very heavy album, but it perhaps isn't as good as it would seem.

 

For a band with such a long history, and with so many golden moments scattered throughout that history, every Cannibal Corpse release is eyed pretty critically by fans and press alike. Evisceration Plague is no exception to this. While these guys have hardly been coveted by the press, this release has gained a lot of attention. I can see why, but at the same time it walks a fairly fine line.

 

The first spin of this album that I indulged in really impressed me. It's flat-out the whole way: a heavy as fuck, full-on relentless attack. But at the same time, Evisceration Plague is perhaps less soulful than some of their previous releases; by which I mean that it's skillful and driven, and intense, but not quite so passionate. Almost like these guys have done their best to go their hardest, without paying a huge amount of attention to how they bring themselves into their work.

 

Going through this release, from Priests of Sodom, through Scalding Hail, and up through Evidence in the Furnace, you are at the mercy of an unremitting onslaught of death metal. Many of the tracks run at a similar pace all the way through, which is less a matter of it being absolutely furiously paced, but rather that Cannibal Corpse's style leads you to believe that it is. Occasionally, such as on To Decompose, you get a vocally-driven groove, with a varied chunky tempo; and on tracks like A Cauldron of Hate you get a nice, not-too-technical track, with the addition of a nicely placed splash and a nod to the old school.

 

While this album is easily among the heaviest these guys have done, it's definitely not the darkest. The two elements are very distinct, even though some people often confuse darkness with heaviness; listening to Evisceration Plague repeatedly it becomes easier to see this. Likewise, if you're not a critical listener, you can be fooled into feeling a sense of stylistic variation that doesn't actually exist.

 

Having said that, though, the phrasing on some tracks is very tight and well written: you occasionally get a riding cymbal that creates tension before dropping you into the next phase of audio battery, accompanied by a nice overlay of technical solo. It's the sort of work that young bands struggle with, and that experienced bands like these guys pull off effortlessly.

 

I must admit that Evisceration Plague isn't something that grows on you, however. Quite the reverse: the more I listen to the album the less it endears itself to me and the more critical I become, and the more it bores me. But for an occasional spin, it's pretty good and is, I feel, still something these guys should be proud of.

 

Cannibal Corpse's Evisceration Plague is out now on Metal Blade/Riot.