Cannibal Corpse
Bloodthirst |
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©1999 Metal Blade 1. Pounded Into Dust 2. Dead Human Collection 3. Unleashing The Bloodthirsty 4. The Spine Splitter 5. Ecstasy In Decay 6. Raped By The Beast 7. Coffinfeeder 8. Hacksaw Decapitation 9. Blowtorch Slaughter 10. Sickening Metamorphosis 11. Condemned To Agony |
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Before hearing Bloodthirst, I held this notion that Cannibal Corpse are nothing more than a stupid, pointless band whose existence, let alone their enduring popularity, was a fluke of nature. Turns out my earlier assumption was somewhat mistaken, for Cannibal Corpse's newest ain't half bad. Bloodthirst isn't the most subtle or inventive piece of work to grace my ears, but I must give them credit for their uncompromising attitude towards music. As most metalheads know, Cannibal Corpse play fast, brutal death metal; if you hear one of their albums, you've more or less heard them all. And though it doesn't pave any new ground, Bloodthirst is well executed and benefits from a smoldering production. I can even enjoy some of these songs, provided that I play them one at a time. This segues unhesitatingly to my major gripe about the Tampa quintet: their albums are boring. No, your eyes do not deceive you. The songs, by themselves, are intense and ferocious and leave you craving for more intensity and ferocity, but after eleven or twelve tracks (i.e. by album's end), the only craving I have is for my Loreena McKennitt CD. If they only learned to diversify their music, who knows what we would have? I suppose I'm being unfair to the brutal death metal subgenre with my critique, but I can't help noticing how the songs blur together and become indistinct from one another. Cannibal routinely take one musical phrase from an earlier song and transplant it into a later track, turning the album into monotonous, repetitive clutter. Death metal zealots, disregard this because you know your tastes. Not surprisingly, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher grumbles like a primate. The missing link, perhaps? The lyrics are meaningless and offensive, but Cannibal Corpse without the gore wouldn't be Cannibal Corpse. The cover art... Well, need I say more? Don't get me wrong; I recommend this album to any and all fans of brutal death metal. Bloodthirst, though it be a well-crafted slab of beastly and carnal music, just isn't my thing. Review by Jeffrey Shyu Review date: 11/1999 |
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