That familiar, demented roar from George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, the nimble, intricate bass work of Alex Webster, crushing, complex guitar riffery courtesy of the dynamic duo Pat O'Brien & Rob Barrett, and the whirlwind drumming of Paul Mazurkiewicz...yep, we've got another new release from perhaps the most well known death metal act of the last two decades, Cannibal Corpse. A Skeletal Domain is their latest collection of gore/horror soaked abominations for Metal Blade Records, and also happens to be their thirteenth studio release overall. Opting to move on from producer Erik Rutan this time around in favor of Mark Lewis (The Black Dahlia Murder, DevilDriver) at Audio Hammer Studios, the results are still an inferno of brutal, technical death metal that sounds great but pushes all the right extreme buttons.
As with any Cannibal Corpse album, this one busts right out of the gate with the killer "High Velocity Impact Spatter" and does not let up from there. 'Fire up the chainsaw' and revel in the crushing, complex sounds of "Kill or Become", a truly monstrous tune that sees Fisher spewing his violent attack over churning riffs and blasting rhythms, while the title track hammers you from the start with Mazurkiewicz' intense drumming and a non-stop cavalcade of brutal riffs. "The Murderer's Pact" is sure to get blood pressure levels to the max within the mosh pit if the band chooses to unleash this song in a live setting, as will the absolutely decimating "Icepick Lobotomy", a tune that has some of the heaviest riffs on the album to go along with Webster's jaw dropping bass grooves. The band hit early Slayer intensity on the rampaging "Bloodstained Cement", but dial back the speed for the grinding crusher "Vector Of Cruelty". Throughout the band constantly mix up the pace & tempo from song to song, and while they are not necessarily re-writing the death metal playbook here (or their own for that matter) the familiar feel to A Skeletal Domain will be more than welcome to any fan.
In the end, that's what most followers of the mighty Cannibal Corpse come to expect from this band; brutal & technical death metal, well produced, and containing some of the most inventive, gory lyrics in the genre. Well, they'e delivered another winner yet again with all these elements, so get ready to feast on this collection of delicious bloody entrails & smashed brain matter.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
1. High Velocity Impact Spatter
2. Sadistic Embodiment
3. Kill Or Become
4. A Skeletal Domain
5. Headlong Into Carnage
6. The Murderer's Pact
7. Funeral Cremation
8. Icepick Lobotomy
9. Vector Of Cruelty
10. Bloodstained Cement
11. Asphyxiate To Resuscitate
12. Hollowed Bodies
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