Cannibal Corpse has never been a band known for musical innovation, but they've always been a solid, dependable band. Listening to Cannibal Corpse's eighth studio album is like slipping into a pair of old, comfortable slippers. Or in this case, one of those designer coffins with the uilt-in air conditioning.

Cannibal Corpse is on of America's most prolific death metal bands, and one of the best known. They appeared in the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and have been attacked by name by politicians like Joe Leiberman for their gory lyrics. Their album Vile even made it into the lower regions of Billboard charts, no mean feat for album whose only video was entitled "Devoured by Vermin". For many heavy metal fans, Cannibal Corpse is often the band that introduces them to death metal.

The band has shown little interest in trying new things musically, which means that when you buy a Cannibal Corpse album, you pretty much know what to expect. It's a little sad that Cannibal Corpse will probably never do anything as truly groundbreaking as say, Cynic's Focus or Carcass' Necroticsm:Descanting the Insalubrious, because the band seems pretty content to write fairly basic death metal music with very few surprises. Then again, heavy metal is littered with bands who made changes to their sound often with horrible results (Morgoth, Desultory, Pyogenesis, Paradise Lost,etc), so perhaps the band should be applauded for sticking to their guns. Cannibal Corpse may not be challenging music, but I've never felt ripped off by buying one of their albums.

Gore Obsessed is a typical Cannibal Corpse album, although some tracks deserve special mention. "Pit of Zombies" is one of the best songs they've ever written, and in a perfect world, it would be a hit single. Other strong tracks include "Hatchet to the Head', "Sanded Faceless", and "Dormant Bodies Bursting". I especially liked the track "When Death Replaces Life", as its slower pace is a real rarity for a Cannibal Corpse album. Otherwise, it's all speed and growling, with an occasional guitar solo thrown in The band finishes up with an excellent cover of Metallica's "No Remorse". This won't change naysayers' opinion of the band, but their devoted fans will eat this up. If you've ever wanted to find out what all the fuss is about Cannibal Corpse, this album is as good a place as any to find out.