Friday, October 31, 2008

Cannibal Corpse - Gallery of Suicide (1998)

I'm in the minority when it comes to Cannibal Corpse. I find many of their earlier albums passable, occasionally even enjoyable, but I don't think they really hit their stride until they added George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher to the lineup. Not only do I prefer his vocals to Chris Barnes, but the band seemed to have stepped it up musically, to create not only more complex songs, but more memorable, evil riffs. Vile was a step in the right direction, but aside from The Bleeding, I consider this the first truly 'great' Corpse album, and still remains one of their best.

There are 14 tracks here, each is an exercise in both brutality and a passion for roots death metal riffing with a focus on evil. "I Will Kill You" starts us off with a rather profound truth, because that is just what this record is going to do. "Disposal of the Body" features a classic Corpse 'trill' riff but is also fast. "Sentenced to Burn" is a brutal thrasher. The title track is perhaps the most memorable here with its eerie intro riff, alternating in a kickass old school death metal verse worthy of old Death. This is but a taste, of course, all the songs are worthy.

Alex Webster's busy bass is a real anchor for the riff orgy being unleashed, and the album is the perfect setup for its successor, Bloodthirst, which in my opinion their masterpiece. But this is the first Cannibal album I would find myself listening through completely, and then pressing repeat. Though they were already massively popular by this point, this is where I first felt the musical output lived up to the hype.

Verdict: Win [8.5/10] (the taste of death must consciously be savored)

http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/

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