Band:	Cannibal Corpse
Album:	Chaos Horrific
Style:	Death metal
Release date:	September 2023

01. Overlords Of Violence
02. Frenzied Feeding
03. Summoned For Sacrifice
04. Blood Blind
05. Vengeful Invasion
06. Chaos Horrific
07. Fracture And Refracture
08. Pitchfork Impalement
09. Pestilential Rictus
10. Drain You Empty

Resuscitation of the Corpse.

Ever since Venom sounded the starting gun back in 1981 with Welcome To Hell, many bands have tried to lay claim to the title of "world's heaviest band", with Cannibal Corpse being one of those bands with the most legitimate claims to said title. 2023's new release Chaos Horrific adds more weight to that claim as another weapon is added to the serial killer's arsenal.

Cannibal Corpse, thanks to the notoriety and quality of their output, have long found themselves as the de facto gateway band for would-be metalheads who wish to explore the more extreme paths in the realms of metal. This has served as a double-edged sword for the band. With their earlier output hailed as classics of the genre, it has been hard for the band to continually meet or exceed these lofty expectations thirty-five years into their careers. Hot on the heels of their last album in both quality and the release date, Chaos Horrific breathes life into the corpse once more.

Kicking off in familiar style are the brutal tandem of "Overlords Of Violence" and "Frenzied Feeding", with the roaring Corpsegrinder ushering listeners into another batch of the grim and grotesque. Cannibal Corpse pour yet more fuel on the trail they have long blazed over the past thirty-five years, before changing tack slightly with the zombie-lumbering quality of prerelease teaser "Summoned For Sacrifice". At this point, you will notice the band are on fine form, showing no hint of wariness or age as they continue to horrify and entertain in equal measure. Webster and Mazurkiewicz have written more odes to the dark side of humanity and beyond, yet still manage to put out high quality cuts like "Vengeful Invasion" and the title track, which ditches any pretence and goes straight for the jugular.

The call is coming from inside the house when it comes to production, with Rutan working the desk as well as one of the six strings. Rutan nails the mix between old and new school. For example, the likes of "Pitchfork Impalement" reap the benefit of Rutan's ability to balance retro sounds with the advantages of modern production and sonics. It is no surprise that the guitars are the strongest element on the album as a result, with the production of Rutan and Barrett carving out spaces for the chunky, down-tuned riffs and exciting lead lines that fit snugly in the mix.

What has often been the downfall for Cannibal Corpse for much of their latter-day career is that the lack of originality in terms of approach is compounded by the inability to match their classic work — which, at this point, is a whole fifteen albums ago. The omnipresent nature of the band's music in the genre, becoming a byword for extremity in music, means that the band are repeating the same formula and becoming desensitised to it. Chaos Horrific may not try to avoid this issue, instead loading up on quality songs (with "Pestilential Rictus" at the forefront) and brute forcing their way through any doubts — smashing such criticisms to insignificant bits.

It is almost predictable that Chaos Horrific will rank highly on any list of the best death metal albums of the year due to the name of the band splattered upon its cover; but that sells both the band and the album short. Chaos Horrific merits any inclusion on any "best of" end of the year list and will likely rank high in the grand scheme of the band's discography.