It’s been a couple years since we last heard from Cannibal Corpse, and subsequently, a couple years since I gave a thorough listen to their 15th studio effort, Violence Unimagined. Like many other veteran acts, I’ll be the first to admit that I too often get wrapped up in playing the classics on repeat. In the case of Cannibal Corpse, that means the Chris Barnes era, but especially Eaten Back to Life (1990). Upon revisiting Violence Unimagined, I still stand by my statement that it was their strongest outing since Evisceration Plague (2009)…at least I did until Chaos Horrific dropped like a two ton anvil from the sky.
With a few years to ease into the personnel change that was Hate Eternal mastermind Erik Rutan replacing longtime guitarist Pat O’Brien, the biggest band in death metal history has managed to strike with an album that’s even stronger than its predecessor. I don’t say this lightly. Violence Unimagined did a phenomenal job at capturing the thrashiness of Eaten, brutality of Butchered at Birth (1991), and all-around knuckle-dragging riff mania that is the bulk of their catalog, especially since Corpsegrinder. Chaos Horrific does this as well, but with more compelling songs, sharper musicianship, and stronger confidence.
Being that Eaten is my favorite CC release, it’s no surprise that the opening one-two punch of “Overlords of Violence” and “Frenzied Feeding” immediately caught my attention. These rabid displays of neck snapping speed are absolutely explosive, coming off like a pair of lost death metal ragers circa ’89-’90. There’s part of me that selfishly wished the entire album could’ve followed in this template. Granted, there does manage to be thrashy outbursts scattered throughout the rest of this affair (i.e. “Pestilential Rictus” in all its d-beat crazed glory). Nevertheless, CC manages to be equally as compelling even when they aren’t thrashing.
Cuts like “Summoned for Sacrifice” and the title cut have a groovy, anthemic vibe to them, reminiscent of past “hits” “Evisceration Plague” and “Make Them Suffer”. The same can be said for the chug-laden “Blood Blind”. Considering acts like Sanguisugabogg and Undeath are all the rage today, it’s no wonder Metal Blade put this braindead banger out as the album’s first single. The latter half of Chaos falls largely into the early brutal death vein of Butchered and Tomb of the Mutilated (1992), exemplified on “Fracture and Refracture” and “Pitchfork Impalement”. However, it’s safe to say CC saved the heaviest for last, unleashing one final blow to the cranium with the monolithic “Drain You Empty”: The closest to death/doom you’ll hear these veterans get.
Chaos Horrific is yet another fine addition to the Cannibal Corpse catalog, honoring past musical traditions and subsequently forming new ones. Unlike the genre they play or the lyrical content that helps paint their grim pictures, Cannibal Corpse refuses to die. They are the zombified bastards who you can attack with every weapon imaginable: gun, knife, hatchet, pitchfork, and so forth. And in the end, it’s you who will meet your demise. That, my friends, is truly Chaos Horrific.
7 out of 10
Label: Metal Blade Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Deicide, Suffocation, Undeath