Year: 2023
Total Time: 39:15
Label: Metal Blade
The quarantine and the whole crazy situation with covid affected numerous people all over the world, so the music industry could not be left untouched. As there were many musicians affected negatively, there were also others that this situation had a positive impact to them and saw it as an opportunity to start composing new songs. CANNIBAL CORPSE who, after the release of their album “Violence Unimagined” in April 2021 couldn’t go on tour, started writing new material. As a result, the band was able to deliver us its new album “Chaos Horrific” in September of 2023.
As everything around changes and everything stays the same, for another CANNIBAL CORPSE album Vince Locke is responsible for the artwork and Eric Rutan for the production. “Never change a winning team” is a well-known principle and the “cannibals” follow that as a rule. So, Vince Locke has once again captured the title of the album perfectly, creating a sick cover dominated by a bloody zombie chaos. On the other hand, Eric Rutan offers us another impeccable production, ideally contributing (apart from being a guitarist now), to the shaping of the band’s sound identity over the last years.
The album includes ten compositions and its duration is around 39 minutes. In the beginning, the bass intro by Alex Webster in “Overlords of Violence” gives the order for a massacre outbreak. Along with “Frenzied Feeding” which follows, we have already reached the sixth minute of the album and I feel like a train has passed over me! Familiar situations for die hard cannibal fans. In the majority of the album, high rhythms are dominating your ears, not that I was expecting something else of course. There are compositions such as “Summoned for Sacrifice”, “Vengeful Invasion”, “Fracture and Refracture” and “Pitchfork Impalement” in which we are getting more mid tempo parts, while the fast parts are switching with the slow ones. The songs are also filled with demolishing breakdowns in which the rhythm section of Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewic proves why they are the main driving force behind the band’s sound. As for the vocals by George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher, there is not much to be said, as he continuous to spit his liver out!
Also, noteworthy is the fact that “Chaos Horrific” is the second album with Eric Rutan on the guitars (apart from the production), with the musician having now a more strong bond with the band. Something that we can notice here, as Rutan has presented his composing ability as some songs. “Blood Blind” and “Drain You Empty” are the perfect examples. By listening to those songs, we can identify that Rutan has left his imprint and contributed in this new material, while he respected at the same time the band’s musical heritage. I would say that his leads have a more “sick” feeling, presenting some elements from MORBID ANGEL’s “Domination” era as also from HATE ETERNAL.
Although «Chaos Horrific» was composed and recorded after the release of «Violence Unimagined», it has better arrangements and its audition is more pleasant comparing to the previous album. The band has never released a mediocre album and “Chaos Horrific” could not be an exception. CANNIBAL CORPSE is a perfect example of a band that through its hard work and not through drama or gossip, managed to become one of the most successful, musically and commercially wise, Death Metal bands in the world. Having already thirty years of successful career and after sixteen full albums, the Americans returned with “Chaos Horrific”, which is another example of qualitative and violent Death Metal album. This album may not differ a lot from their previous records however keeps the band’s flame burning. Speaking the truth, there is no fan of the Americans that would like to listen to something different! So that’s the way we loved them and they return that love once again by offering us another sweeping “romantic” musical manifesto of violence. Hail to the cannibals!
Rating: 7,5/10
Editor: Nikos Manousis
Related Link: CANNIBAL CORPSE – Official Page
