Cannibal Corpse has gained a reputation of being the AC/DC of death metal due to the fact that they put out quality albums, yet they really haven't shown much interest in exploring new artistic avenues. The band's new album, The Wretched Spawn, will do little to change that reputation. On their ninth studio album, the band sticks to the fast, brutal death metal they're known for. There aren't many surprises, but then again, Cannibal Corpse is not a band known for pulling surprises out of their hats.
There's a song on The Wretched Spawn entitled "Nothing Left to Mutilate", which may be a sign that the band is running out of ideas for ways of killing people. Nevertheless, they've come up with 13 new odes to slaughter for this album. Is there anything about songs like "Blunt Force Castration", "Frantic Disembowelment", or "Rotted Body Landslide" that's different from anything they've done before? Not particularly. The band's playing is a spirited as ever, but let's face it, they could have recorded this album in their sleep.
The only thing unexpected about The Wretched Spawn is that the cover art, which features a woman being eaten alive by her demonic offspring, is a bit more explicit than some of their other recent albums. Otherwise, it’s the same old same old. But I don't think the band would have it any other way. They've never shown much interest in doing anything beyond giving their fans what they want. And their fans are really just looking for basic, no-frills death metal. At this point Cannibal Corpse is pretty much critic proof. You either buy each album they put out without fail, or you have no interest in them. It's safe to say that if you liked the past few Cannibal Corpse albums, you will like this one as well.
Article comments
1 - Mutilated1
Funny you should mention Cannibal Corpse as being the AC/DC of death metal. I've always thought that comparison was right on the money. As one of the people who buys every Cannibal Corpse album without fail, I think your review was honest, accurate, and right on the money.
2 - Luke
This review is bullshit, if you don't listen to death metal or course this is going to sound like every other death metal album that ever came out, but as someone who actually listens to the stuff, this is far from being exactly like all their other albums, the glaringly obvious difference is that on this album they've tried to cross over more into technical death metal, which favours the wanky "lets play stuff thats hard to play for the sake that it's hard, and it'll prove how great we are" over just pure brutallity. My point is, yes you can tell this is cannibal corpse when you listen to it, but even still, this album is least like all their other albums, so give them credit where credit is due, they're trying to switch to a heavier emphasis on technicallity rather than simply the brutalness, you haven't even acknoledged that, and you probably never knew that such a thing as technical death metal ever existed.
3 - Eddy
fuck off they aren't coming up with new stuff, take a look at every artist out there they all follow the same shit because it is THEIR sound cannibal corpse and fucking unreal and they are top blokes too everyone should show these guys 110% of their respect