{"id":18806,"date":"2012-03-01T16:36:58","date_gmt":"2012-03-01T21:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=18806"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:09:31","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:09:31","slug":"cannibal-corpse-torture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/cannibal-corpse-torture\/","title":{"rendered":"Cannibal Corpse | Torture<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Trevor Portz<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Good ol\u2019 Cannibal Corpse, perhaps the only death metal band that, according to Scott Ian, could be considered \u201cclassic\u201d enough to be shown on VH1\u2019s That Metal Show. Through vocalist and guitarist changes, Bob Dole-fronted criticism, continuous banning in various countries, and even an appearance in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, these guys just keep on pumping out good, old-fashion gory brutality the way mom used to make it. Seemingly frozen in time (yeah, a nod to Obituary there), core members Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz appear content to just keep on doing what they do best, with nary a concern for keeping up with those newer bands they helped influence. While this may be comforting to death metal fans opposed to change, it can also make the band look like a bunch of mangled old dogs afraid to learn anything new. Unfortunately, their latest album, Torture<\/em>, is a bit too much of the latter\u2014a [body] bag full of old tricks.<\/p>\n

If Torture<\/em> had come out in 1990, extreme metal fans would be drooling over its goretastic lyrics and detuned rumble. As is the general course of things, though, death metal has evolved a lot over the last 20+ years. The blasts have gotten faster, the riffs more complex, and the grunts even more guttural. Some older bands have done well to keep up\u2014Suffocation and Nile come to mind\u2014but others have stayed true to their original sound. Like Bolt Thrower, Benediction, and the aforementioned Obituary, Cannibal Corpse seems to have taken a more AC\/DC-like path. Sure, no one expects a drummer in his mid-40s to compete with the high-speed lunacy of John Longstreth (Origin) and Tim Yeung (Hate Eternal, among others), but it\u2019s the fact that virtually every riff and beat on Torture seems recycled from a previous Cannibal outing. Several listens will fail to leave any imprint, and if anything will only serve to make fans reach for their copies of The Bleeding, Vile, and Tomb of the Mutilated.<\/p>\n

With that said, there\u2019s not much to praise about the individual songs on Torture<\/em>. There are no Beavis and Butthead-ready \u201chits\u201d like \u201cStaring Through the Eyes of the Dead,\u201d no whiplash-inducing headbangers like \u201cI Cum Blood,\u201d and no wicked experimentation such as that seen on \u201cFrom Skin to Liquid.\u201d This is Cannibal Corpse by numbers.<\/p>\n

Like the songs, the production and performances are equally mediocre. That\u2019s not to say that either is bad. These guys are great technical musicians, and while the playing is solid, it feels a little uninspired. Erik Rutan\u2019s production is also good, but also sounds a little too similar to everything else out there. There\u2019s just nothing here to make this record stand out in any way.<\/p>\n

The bottom line here is that, like the Saw movie franchise that they go so well with, Cannibal Corpse has made a few too many sequels copping the plot of the original. With the amount of talent and influence contained by the members, it\u2019s quite a letdown to see them falling into monotony. This is the band that could officially become known the Rolling Stones of death metal, but they\u2019ve got to up the game to hold the [extreme metal] world\u2019s interest.<\/p>\n

Genre: \tDeath Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nGeorge \u201cCorpsegrinder\u201d Fisher (v)
\nPat O\u2019Brien (g)
\nRob Barrett (g)
\nAlex Webster (b)
\nPaul Mazurkiewicz (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tDemented Aggression
\n2.\tSarcophagic Frenzy
\n3.\tScourge of Iron
\n4.\tEncased in Concrete
\n5.\tAs Deep As the Knife Will Go
\n6.\tIntestinal Crank
\n7.\tFollowed Home Then Killed
\n8.\tThe Strangulation Chair
\n9.\tCaged\u2026 Contorted
\n10.\tCrucifier Avenged
\n11.\tRabid
\n12.\tTorn Through<\/p>\n

Label: Metal Blade<\/p>\n

Website: cannibalcorpse.net<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 4.8\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Trevor Portz Staff Writer — Good ol\u2019 Cannibal Corpse, perhaps the only death metal band that, according to Scott Ian, could be considered \u201cclassic\u201d enough to be shown on VH1\u2019s That Metal Show. Through […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[470,2317,1092],"class_list":{"0":"post-18806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cannibal-corpse","8":"tag-cd-review","9":"tag-death-metal"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18806\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}