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CANNIBAL CORPSE
Torture

Metal Blade (2012)
Rating: 7/10

So, Torture is the 12th battering ram of an opus my deathsters Cannibal Corpse. 12 gore-soaked tracks that, as expected, tear the flesh, puncture eyes, remove the innards, snap the bones and slurp up the remains.

Die-hard fans will find this release – which is well produced by Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal) – a welcome one, but for me it falls way short of being a death metal classic. In fact, whilst I might get hung, drawn and quartered for saying this, I don’t think Cannibal Corpse have ever released a classic record, but then again, I am one of those who expects a record to blow my face off in so many different ways.

Torture is certainly a brutal record, but that’s nothing new when it comes to these Buffalo, New York maniacs who’ve been churning out similar sounds of horror for a while now. Amazing to think that this opus sold more than 10,000 copies in its first week, but after several spins I find myself experiencing a record that quickly becomes tiresome.

Album opener ‘Demented Aggression’ is a full throttle brain pummeller, delivered at frenetic pace. Alex Webster’s bass really shakes the foundations, and as expected the gruelling guitar sound rakes the gut, but for me it’s when the band slow down that they become a more formidable proposition.

Second track, ‘Sarchophagic Frenzy’, changes pace constantly, from the hyper blasts to a grindier approach. But the guitars of Rob Barrett and Patrick O’Brien really make their unholy mark on the chugging ooze of ‘Scourge Of Iron’, a mostly slow, ominous deathly dirge that showcases the harsh snarl of George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. This is one of the best cuts on the album, a real pounding experience that features some incredible soloing and thunderous drums, as one would once again expect from skin -asher Paul Mazurkiewicz.

Maybe it’s because we know what’s coming that makes the album a rather bland affair at times. Even so, fourth track, ‘Encased In Concrete’, features some twisted guitar parts, and once again forces the listener to become flayed by the rattling pace, with Webster’s bass making itself known to staggering proportions halfway through.

There is no denying the ability and aggression of the band, this is what they do best, and I guess I’m missing the point when I expect more, but for Cannibal Corpse there’s either fast, or mid-tempo with pace and lashings of gore. It’s all no frills if you ask me, a mind mashing 43 minutes that does boast its fair share of sophisticated structures, but it all leads to the same brutal bloodbath.

My personal favourite has to be the catchy ‘As Deep As The Knife Will Go’, which showers the listener in a hail of grinding guitar and horrifying howls. The pace soon quickens for the beautifully titled ‘Intestinal Crank’ with its buzz-saw riffs and blast-beat drums, but the track only really becomes killer when it slows to that menacing plod, with the guitars really coming alive.

Cannibal Corpse fans are going to love this record, but those seeking something more unfamiliar may find Torture all too samey, particularly with the more frantic emotions such as ‘Rabid’ and ‘Torn Through’. While the band have upped the ante since the last record (2009’s Evisceration Plague), Torture does nothing more than what it says on the tin, so I guess for the frothing followers that’s quite enough. But not for me I’m afraid.

Neil Arnold

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