Cannibal Corpse – Torture (2012)

Bouncing back from the lackluster “Evisceration Plague”, Cannibal Corpse returns with 40 minutes of pure Death Metal that will catapult them back on top of the genre. Pummeling through 12 tracks, the band will surely surprise you with their renewed energy and crushing songs that will have you head banging in minutes.

Breaking the listener in with “Demented Aggression”, the guitar riffing is furious and well-paced, the drums are pretty solid and the growls/screams perfectly balanced. Immediately we noticed that the production is crystal clear and with a very balanced mix, everything clicks without anything being over powering. With “Sarcophagic Frenzy” the album speed pick up a bit more and the pounding bass guitar line begins to shine. The meaty hooks and chugging guitars make “Scourge of Iron” a very powerful song, nicely keeping the momentum going in this album.

The traditional catchiness of Cannibal Corpse is commandingly present on tracks like “As Deep as the Knife Will Go”, “Intestinal Crack” and “Followed Home Then Killed”. The melodic aspects of this last track make it one of the standouts of this album and showcase the bands abilities to not only make catchy songs, but rather well-crafted tracks that feature catchy sections. More double-kick and pounding bass destruction follow “The Strangulation Chair”, but the bass guitar wizardry is what makes this track our favorite of this release.

“Rabid”, “Crucifier Avenged” and “Cage Contorted” keep delivers powerful Death Metal without falling in the typical super repetitive and dull limbo that most DM bands can’t seem to avoid. This only showcases the maturity and experience that Cannibal Corpse has in the genre and the fact that they can now mix it up with plenty of melodic sections in-between the brutal parts. Closing with the very brutal (and with great solos) “Torn Through”, this release has reinstated our fate in the band.

Overall, we have to say that “Torture” is one the band’s best records since “Bloodthirst”. The band’s maturity is unquestionable and the fact that they can still sound like themselves after all these years and not be boring it is amazing. If you are looking for a solid DM release, don’t waste your money in any other album and go straight to buy “Torture”, we can guarantee that you won’t be disappointed.

Release: March 13thh, 2012

Country: USA