Well, that took long enough. When you last visited your intrepid hero (that's me, asshole), he...er, I had just polished off Red Before Black. It was a record that left me ambivalent. While it proved that George and the gang still had combustible substances left in the tank, the actual songs showed a frustrating lack of forward momentum. I didn't sense any real progression. Was it possible that Cannibal Corpse had finally run out of impulses for new ideas? Nope! Okay, I suppose it was possible that they had exhausted their supply of meaty, distasteful riffs, but if Violence Unimagined proves anything, it's that Cannibal Corpse are neither cannibals nor corpses.
Story goes, longtime multi-tasker Erik Rutan joined CC's ranks on guitar in place of Pat O'Brien. I'm not going to dredge up the palaver on Pat's personal life, but it was clear that he wouldn't be able to fulfill his duties, at least as it relates to the studio. Rutan answered the distress signal (I imagine that it's similar to the bat-signal) and leapt into action. I admit, I wasn't expecting him to be such a natural fit. He did more than fit; he injected calcium into the hoary bones of an inveterate beast. Granted, that's a terrible metaphor, but it holds water. CC sounds younger on Violence. A Benjamin Button joke wouldn't be out of place. Should I? Nah, I still have my dignity.
This necrotic flamethrower kicks into gear with "Murderous Rampage." Normally, it's a harbinger of doom when the first cut is my favorite, but that's not an issue here. Fuck, these riffs impale the listener. Paul's work on the toms are key, as are the rhythm shifts that add intermittent bouts of density. "Inhumane Harvest" was released as a single, and when it breached my ear canal, a couple of things happened. A) I shit myself, on account of the weighty breakdown. B) And I was assured that these gentlemen meant business. "Condemnation Contagion" extends the hitting steak. It was penned by Erik the Blood Red, and you can tell. His leads force melody into the proceedings in a non-invasive manner. That note applies to every tune, by the way.
"Follow the Blood" is a lurching Spinosaurus that picks apart its prey with crossbow claws. Crossbow claws? Folks, I'm low on metaphors. There are only so many words that describe the brutality on display. And I haven't mentioned "Slowly Sawn" yet. It's fucking heavy, man. Understand? The production is tight across all numbers. Alex Webster's bottom end is never sacrificed for the sake of simple loudness. Honestly, I can't point to many missteps. I mean, I could argue that Violence Unimagined is frontloaded, but that's such a minor gaffe, it's hardly worth typing.
I leave you with a facile, unaffected plea: LISTEN TO CANNIBAL CORPSE. Please?
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