Cannibal Corpse
Violence Unimagined

I don’t have much to say or write about the new album by the unrivaled masters of Brutal Death Metal and similar genres.

Fifteenth work in a career that has seen them excel, without EVER making the slightest misstep or losing their touch. Always extreme, always possessed by the demon of madness. And that’s also true for Violence Unimagined.

Cover and title emphasize tremendously the tonnage, the leaden heaviness of the eleven songs present.

I invite the bravest of you to check out the censored cover, which harkens back to "Butchered at Birth" from 1991: ruthless in a word...

A couple of weekend listens on YouTube were enough for me, not yet having the CD format in my bloodthirsty hands, which is on order.

No novelty from the sound perspective: they only know the sonic butchery and they do not want, must not, cannot change path.

There is an important novelty in the line-up: they forgo Pat O’Brien’s contribution, as he had serious legal issues in the United States. Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Hate Eternal) steps in his place, also handling production duties.

Due to the pandemic, bassist Alex Webster, one of the band’s founders back in 1988, was stuck in the Western US, unable to attend the recording sessions held in Florida. But the final result doesn’t suffer from this: 43 minutes sounding from the first to the last second CANNIBAL CORPSE!!!

Relentless, destructive assaults; alternated by slower moments where the sound becomes thicker, saturated, but equally lacerating.

Unrestrained restarts; accelerations driven by the uncontrolled growl of George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher capable of sudden, degenerate screams so piercing they instill fear. Vocal cords and throat are now on the verge of a retch.

Drums and bass as usual are steamrollers. The two guitars even more incisive, penetrating, especially thanks to Eric’s work, capable of handling atonal solos that seem "out of place" and closely resemble those of the master of the genre Trey Azagthoth (I find myself naming Morbid Angel for the second time).

It’s superfluous to analyze the tracks; I only mention the two and a half minutes of Overtorture. Listen to believe...

For now, album of 2021; it will be difficult for anyone to come close.

Diabolos Rising 666.