Respectively the tracks “ Heads Shoveled Off” and “ Firestorm Vengeance” captures various tempo’s and furious instrumentation, “ Corpus Delicti” (Delicious Corpse for those of you playing along at home) is without doubt one of the most brutal slabs of meat – pardon the pun – across the vast CC back catalogue. Vocally George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher has not lost any of his hell inducing rapid fire delivery that I rate extremely highly in today’s death metal scene. “ Remaimed” (top marks for the titles by the way) is your traditional Cannibal fare with gigantic guitar hooks and unholy wrath we have come to expect over the years, some of the guitar work on this album really makes you sit up and take notice.
Think “ Eaten Back To Life” era CC while at the same time not letting the album stagnate or become dull. The first track “ Only One Will Die” and the title track showcase exactly why these guys remain peerless in terms of production and sound, now I know it’s most likely an over used term now days but the band have really gone back to a much more stripped down sound. The new opus “ Red Before Black” kicks off in typical CC fashion, foot flat to the floor straight ahead brutality.
Much like when you put on a Slayer or Napalm Death album, you know exactly what you getting. That being said, fans of the band will find a lot to love about Violence Unimagined.Very little needs to be said when I write to introduce the mighty Cannibal Corpse, 14 albums in and showing no signs of slowing in any way, shape or form. If I have any critique at all it’s that I found this album to be slightly less visceral than its predecessor Red Before Black which I believe is one of the best Cannibal Corpse albums of the last 15 years. Overall this is another solid entry into the Cannibal Corpse discography. Throughout the eleven tracks here there are hints of the band’s early thrash influences on tracks like “Bound and Burned” and also some mid-paced crushers such as “Slowly Sawn” and album closer “Cerements of the Flayed” which equally grooves and pummels. His drumming is so distinctive, his blasts in particular, are unmistakable and create a heavy, chunky sound that just propels some of the riffs here but maybe his most important contribution musically is that his performance here really adds cohesion to the album. Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz remains an important ingredient to Cannibal Corpse’s overall sound as well. This is a positive for the record as his contributions also add something new to the Cannibal Corpse sound fans know and love. There are a few riffs that listeners familiar with Rutan’s work may be able to pick out that have a touch of his work in Hate Eternal, but at the same time, his intimate familiarity with Cannibal Corpse has helped make his entrance into the band a no-brainer. Songwriting-wise, Rutan’s material works incredibly well with the compositions by the rest of the band. Vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher remains a strong point as well with his brutal yet decipherable vocals that suit the music perfectly. Produced again at Rutan’s Mana Studios, the record sounds massive and the band is extremely proficient at crafting songs with a perfect balance of technical prowess, aggressive dynamics, and bloody hooks. No small feat for a band entering their 32nd year together. The albums that have followed it up to this point have all been very good as well so I’m happy to say Violence Unimagined is another strong record. Cannibal Corpse’s last release 2017s Red Before Black was a very strong album and while you could arguably say Cannibal Corpse have never released a bad album, the band’s first album to be produced by Rutan, 2006s Kill was definitely a standout in their catalogue.