Cannibal Corpse
Worm Infested

THE REVIEW

I wonder what I can tell you, as a fan of the genre, after listening to this 22-minute long MCD by Cannibal Corpse: it contains 3 unreleased tracks and 3 covers. A bit too little for my taste, but that's how it is. I question the point of it all, and I answer myself: commercial operation, period. We are light years away from the compactness of "Butchered At Birth", the disturbing sounds of "Tomb Of The Mutilated", and the "accessibility" of "Vile": here we have great songs, but paradoxically, it's their ensemble that doesn't hold together.

Let's skip over some "axe-cut" time changes (you may like them or not), the (unwarranted) chaos that the 5 Californians often generate, and let's focus on the individual tracks. The sonic devastation begins with "Systematic Elimination", ferocious and marked by a double bass so predictable it makes you yawn. The end of the track is sudden, and definitely unexpected: the only positive note. "Worm Infested" is a good mid-tempo, obsessive and "doom", characterized by the usual alternation between fast and slow parts: everything is always meticulously studied, never random. However, the feeling is of music made by the numbers. I quite appreciated the track "Confessions" (Possessed), obviously of primordial thrash-metal nature, not much "The Undead Will Feast", which I don’t understand why it’s here (since it’s from the first album). The peculiarity of this record lies in primarily demanding the listener’s instinctiveness, but also a minimum of attention from them. Attention directed to HOW the pieces are conceived, with guitars acting as a "sonic wall", blazing and technical solos (less than usual), dissonant rhythms, and the usual maximalism that characterizes the band’s sound. Probably the compositional skill of the O'Brien/Owen duo is higher than shown here, but credit must be given for their ability to decently play tracks like "Demon's Night" (originally by Accept) and especially "No Remorse" by Metallica, at times better than the original(!), if it weren't for Fisher's growling which will make many frown.

The lyrics: as you know, they are merely the classic detailed description of the worst conceivable atrocities, and I don't consider them noteworthy, except for a probable "cathartic" (?) effect on the more critical listener. All of this is not enough, from my point of view, to rate "Worm Infested" more than 2/5: especially considering that even their more recent production is 1000 times superior to this MCD. Not horrible, mind you, but certainly avoidable. Line-up: George Fisher - VocalsAlex Webster - BassPat O'Brien - GuitarsJack Owen - GuitarsPaul Mazurkiewicz - Drums