Cannibal Corpse - Torture

Ok I have played the album now and I am happy to report that the two early songs released are easily the worst on the album. They are not bad CC songs but they don't represent the album as a whole. I think this album could be the most involved and technical album yet from Corpse. It's not so easy to get into straight away but as you are listening you can hear loads of little killer riffs and grooves here and there. It is also probably the most brutal sounding CC album yet. The Rutan production is monstrous and sounds like molten slabs of hot iron lacerating your ears.

Demented Aggression - A fast roaring start and a typical CC song. The groove riff in the middle makes the song with it's bouncy feel. 7/10

Sarcophagic Frenzy - Mid paced pounder that starts like Sentenced to Burn in pretty simple form however the song gets more involved and groovy and at 2.30 you have a great riff section for headbangers. The solo is very cool too. 8/10

Scourge Of Iron - My least fave song. Very slow and heavy with the odd fast time change here and there. The song might grow on me but at the moment it's boring. 5/10

Encased in Concrete - A frenetic and frantic corpse tune with fast double bass and amazingly fast vocals at time from Corpsegrinder. Nice killer time change sections as well that CC are experts at. The frenetic feel juxtaposed to the slower groove sections give the song good dynamism. 8/10

As Deep As The Knife Will Go - Fast hammering riffs again crash headlong into a great twisted slow riff before the slower groove riff takes over for the catchy chorus. Soon the faster blast section returns. Again the dynamics in this song are awesome. Not many death metal bands can master the mix between speed and mid pace as well as CC can. One of the catchiest songs on the album and a must for windmill headbangers. 8.5/10

Intestinal Crank - One of the most technical sounding songs on the album opens with a winding tech riff before a pneumatic drill type blast riff takes over. The technicality however remains. This is a song that tech heads need to try and listen closely to the twisted lines the guitars weave. Amazing stuff and the best riffs on the whole album when Corpsegrinder screams "Intestinal Crank!" The grooving tech feel remains to the songs conclusions as a madcap frenzied solos screams forth to bring the song to a manic end. 9.5/10

Followed Home Then Killed - A heavy and pretty sick song opens with a thunderous riff before a leap into a fast time change and a killer pattern and groove emerge with a twisted rampaging riffs. Corpsegrinder's vocals are very understandable in this song and you can tell a lot of though has gone into making the vocals fit into the riff patterns to make things catchy and interesting. The solo in this song is again very tasty, fast and chaotic. The groove is also completely head bangable, brutal and mean. 9/10

The Strangulation Chair - The killer song sequence with this track and it's sick mid paced groove with thumping sinewy riffage winding it's suffocating way around your neck. The song never picks up full pace and maintains it's slick groove till the last note with it's dark and evil tone. 8.5/10

Caged...Contorted - Again they refrain from playing too fast and settle on a thick mid paced groove with little peaks of vicious speed and double bass drum battery. I love the drums on this album by the way. Very snappy and tight with good feel and groove. Once again Caged...Contorted is a very dynamic and groovy song with good sway between fast and mid paced to keep the song flowing and back and forth. 8.5/10

Crucifier Avenged - Possibly the catchiest song on the whole album with it's superb mid paced riff rides and it's double timed drum patterns. This song actually reminds me of some Deicide song on Once Upon the Cross. The chorus on this by Corpsegrinder is spat out in a super catchy way and makes it the most rhythmic and memorable on the whole album. The song itself is not overly technical sounding but is played to perfection and tight as hell and provides a great bouncy ride. 9.5/10

Rabid - Possibly a contender close to the previous song as my fave. The song is perfectly named as Corpsegrinder sounds like a rabid dog chomping his way through the remains of his kill. The riffing in this song is even somewhat melodic and very catchy in general. The drums are simple and follow the songs pace but are very tightly played and with great groove. This song is a little technical than the last couple of songs, with the riff being a little more twisted and sicker. A great song indeed and I like the one word Rabiiiiiiid!! scream from Corpsegrinder and the awesome riffs in the background. 9/10

Torn Through - The album ends on a hyper manic and sonically vicious end with one of the most brutal songs which is riddled with double bass and brutal fast riffs that leave little room for breath. Not that the song doesn't have it's typical CC groove sections to allow the headbangers to windmill their plumage. It's not the best song on the album but it's still a killer tune in it's own right with good vocal patterns and a typically sweet demented solo. 8.5/10

So there we have the latest Cannibal Corpse CD and it's a good one alright. It has a couple of average tunes but is riddled with some ridiculously awesome grooves and shows that they are only getting better the older they get. Overall rating is 8.5/10