Cannibal Corpse
The Wretched Spawn
Metal Blade
What’s left to say about this band that hasn’t been said already? With the band being around almost 15 years, surviving a few member changes, being involved at the center of controversy over lyrical content, having separate CD covers for “Censored” and “Uncensored” versions, and having certain songs being banned from being played in Germany, you would think you’ve seen and heard it all about this band. Surely, they’ve settled into the quagmire of playing generic death metal with silly lyrics.
Not the case. Being one of the originators of the scene, they never cease to surprise me. Songs like “Severed Head Stoning” are delivered at such a breakneck speed, I don’t see how vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher does it. They still do the midpaced double-bass stuff with sickening precision, and “Decency Defied” proves that one. I also like the little drum fill in that one that leads into some good headbanging material. The big changeup for me on this one is the inclusion of what I believe to be the first
Cannibal Corpse doom metal song, “Festering in the Crypt”. There’s nothing like a happy tune about the rotting process after burial to brighten your day. And in the keeping with their tradition of writing songs about violence against women, they deliver with “Nothing Left to Mutilate”. However, they are equal opportunity offenders so they also have a song called, “Blunt Force Castration”. Gee, guess what that one’s about. Just reading the lyrics makes my balls hurt.
There isn’t a filler song on the disc. The quick picking duo of Jack Owen and Pat O’Brien are always a treat, and their solos leave you speechless. The rhythm section of Alex Webster, the unofficial “Bass God of Death Metal”, and Paul Mazurkiewicz on drums keeps your hand banging right on time. Go buy this disc. I picked mine up at a recent show, and was surprised at the extra “Making of The Wretched Spawn” DVD that came with the digipak. Nice bonus!
