If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. That’s essentially the moniker that Cannibal Corpse had been living up to, that is until 2012’s Torture, where there was small evidence as minute as it may have been that the reigning death metal kings are evolving. When you have been around for as long as Cannibal Corpse and you have a reputation as fierce as theirs not to mention the fans, there is little that you can do wrong, now on their thirteenth album the death metal elites return with A Skeletal Domain.
After the brooding opening of first track “High Velocity Impact Spatter” were launched into the fury of lead single “Sadistic Embodiment” that can only be a musical metaphor for the lacerations that our nameless victims suffer, with riffs coming in thick and fast and a scintillating solo from Pat O’ Brien. The material that A Skeletal Domain presents is exactly what you would expect from a Cannibal Corpse record. The unrelenting pace and determination to make this the most extreme listen for any fan has always been a staple point of Cannibal Corpse.
With often over the top lyrical theme’s predominantly in their earlier works, it seems that as the years have gone by the writing style of the band is becoming more and more reserved. With a less in your face approach not necessarily detailing the horrific acts the band speaks of but giving the listener a chilling context makes the lyrics all the more horrifying in my opinion. The same can be said for the music itself, arguably the most mature release to date. Gone are the monotonous passages of expected drum fills and indistinguishable guitar work. Now we welcome the groove oriented chorus of “Kill Or Become” which I’m sure will have Corpsegrinder commanding legions of fans to “Fire Up The Chainsaw!“.
Speaking of Corpsegrinder, its worth mentioning that this is possibly the best the singer has ever sounded. Instead of sounding prosaic as per usual there’s a level of variety in the singer’s delivery, as well as sounding more organic than ever before. The same goes for guitarist extraordinaire Pat O’Brien although you could argue that the structure of having a solo two thirds of the way through each song as predictable when it’s executed with as much class as Cannibal Corpse it moves seemlessly, the albums title track is an excellent example. A Skeletal Domain is overall a very eerie album, with each track having a sinister cloak around it, where their last release was focused more on the battering of the listener A Skeletal Domain is a slower more brooding ordeal, although the album has some brilliant headbangers “The Murderers Pact” has got one of the best verse’s the band have written where riffs come thick and fast but never lose that inimitable groove.
This is definitely, in my opinion, the most mature that Cannibal Corpse have ever sounded. With the fantastic production from Mark Lewis giving them a fresh yet organic style and making Webster’s bass sound and Marzukiewicz ride cymbals sing. But what steals the show is simply the song writing, each song has its own identity able to work perfectly in the context of the album and yet be independent of its own accord. Cannibal Corpse have single handedly delivered the death metal album of the year, combining mature song writing more refined lyrics and absolutely exceptional musicality, the elders of death metal sit atop their blood soaked throne and are immovable. Fire up the chainsaw.
