RECORDS OF THEIR YEARS:..with Gozu's Marc Gaffney

Few bands over the last 6 years have kicked my arse as much my Boston brethren Gozu, a badass American rock band with heavy riffs in tow and bang out tunes loud enough to piss off the neighbors. But Gozu is more than this. Gozu is a songwriting machine, one that is able to churn out loud, hard hitting compositions without sacrificing the meaning behind the songs or the band.  Gozu is gruff and dirty when it needs to but also sweet and soulful when the time is right.  On April 13 2018, Gozu released their new album “Equilibrium” via metal heavyweight Metal Blade Records.  With 2016′s ‘Revival‘ they took their sound in a somewhat new and more aggressive direction, and in doing so, dropped the most compulsive, exciting and downright badass release of their career – and ‘Equilibrium‘ has only raised the stakes. “We wanted these songs to hit a nerve, make people shake their ass and enjoy simply being alive,” says vocalist/guitarist Marc “Gaff” Gaffney, who founded the band with lead guitarist Doug Sherman. Much of the record’s strength stems from the unit growing since ‘Revival‘, the first full-length featuring drummer Mike Hubbard and bassist Joseph Grotto.

With the announcement that Gozuwill play selected shows with Goatwhore, The Causalities, Black Tusk & Great American Ghost, as part of the Metal Alliance Tour, kicking off in Kansas City on Nov 18, I  hooked up with Marc “Gaff” Gaffney to discuss some of his favourite records.  Welcome to “Records of their Years”, 

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album from the year you were born? 

 “Harvest”, Neil Young (1972).

In 1972 this beautiful piece of art came out and like myself, I am sure it moulded many minds, lyricist, guitar players and humans to what can be done with heartfelt music. “Out on the weekend” is one of my favorite songs. It hits me deep and makes me think about many different issues, especially the way the world is today. Neil is a treasure and pretty much anything he does I am a fan of.

THE SLUDGELORD: First record you bought with your own money?

“Back in Black”, AC/DC. (1980)

The older hoodlums in my neighbourhood were huge AC/DCfans. When playing basketball, football, whatever, they would always be playing music. I had my own money, my mom took me to the local record store in Watertown, NYand I was grinning ear to ear when I bought it. I remember coming home, throwing it on my record player and feeling like this was fascinating. It was 1980, I was 8 years old and hooked. “Let me put my love into you babe” has a different meaning when you are in second grade.

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite non metal / rock album?

“Voodoo”, D’Angelo. (2000)

This album is brilliant from start to finish. It combines Sly, Prince, James, George and Stevie in a bombastic groove fantasy. Also, Pino Palladino on bass and Questlove on drums, forget about it. Charlie Hunter destroying bass and guitar duties on a tune. If you are a fan of soul music and do not have this album, take 2 steps back and go fuck yourself. Then get it, listen to it, and thank me later. “Devils Pie”, puts such a nice dip in your hip. If this album doesn’t make you feel good and I mean good, then go directly to the hospital, turn and cough.

THE SLUDGELORD: Album that most disappointed you?

I have been disappointed by albums, but being older, I hear different things that now make sense. I am a bit of an impatient fuck so I either like or hate things quickly. Take a few of the Queens of the Stone Agealbums, I was far from in love with them, however, after hearing a few tunes live, I went back to listen to the albums and they moved me in a way that did not initially happen. I also feel I need to be in the correct head-space when listening to music that I am hitting for the maiden voyage. I am sure there are a few albums that have dealt me an awful auditory experience but they are probs kept right next to the Linda Ronstadt file in my mind.

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album of all time or if you prefer album (s) you’d run back into a burning building to rescue

Stevie Wonder, “Innervisions”   (1973)

Allman Brothers, “Live at the Fillmore East”

Beach Boys, “Pet Sounds” 

These three works are musical diamonds in my world. They for me, depict what is beautiful about music and why it is a necessity in everyday life. From the opening synth line in, “Too High” to the guitar hierarchy on “Don’t keep me wondering” and the delicious harmonies on every song on “Pet Sounds”, sparks an immense physical and emotional flame that has always burned. I could wax poetically about these albums but I think the best thing for people to do is to listen to them. If you dig it, wonderful, if not, go back to the stuff you love and that brings you joy, heartache, and triumph all in one sonic blast.

THE SLUDGELORD: Favourite album (s) of 2018?

Sleep, “The Sciences” (2018)

Holy fuck is this a beast of an album. The guitar tones alone make me want to arm bar someone. This triumvirate have put together a musical piece so tasty that it needs to be blared on stadium PA’s and out of car stereos while doing 95 in a 15 mph zone. The bass tone is so right on and deviant that it literally drove my car the other day. The low end, held the steering wheel and ushered me home, as if I was in a golden chariot, a la Ben Hur. Drums, oh mamma. The pocket laid out is so infectious and thus, this is why I so dig this album. Thus, you are immediately drawn to the one, your head bobs while others weave. Put the mix together and it is a perfect meal of fulfilling musicality. It tastes so good, it sounds like more.

THE SLUDGELORD:..And finally The last album you bought? 

Arctic Monkeys, “Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino” (2018)

I enjoy every song on this album as it is a very mature, concept based piece that embodies many influences in a proper way. It is well layered instrumentally and vocally possesses an infectious clarity and harmonious jaunt. It reminds me of an album that was tracked with candles on, bottles of merlot strung about the room and 3 footers strategically placed for the immediate purification of the air and dendrites. “Four out of Five” is my favorite track. The chorus is so…

Gozu’s new record “Equilibrium” is out now and available HERE

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Satan, "Cruel Magic"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 07/09/2018

Label: Metal Blade Records

Satan have produced another fantastic heavy metal album, packed full of riffs and great songs sung by a wonderful singer. This should come as no surprise to anyone, though- the devil always did have the best tunes.

“Cruel Magic” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Into The Mouth Of Eternity
2. Cruel Magic
3. The Doomsday Clock
4. Legions Hellbound
5. Ophidian
6. My Prophetic Soul
7. Death Knell For A King
8. Who Among Us
9. Ghosts Of Monongah
10. Mortality

The Review:

Satan are one of the more revered NWOBHM bands and also, unusually, have gone on to create fantastic albums since reforming. Both “Life Sentence” and “Atom By Atom” are heavy metal greatness in recorded form and the band are excellent live. They occupy a special place in heavy metal heaven, as they define the NWOBHM sound, in terms of what it should sound like when done absolutely right!

Brian Ross' vocals have always been a strong selling point of this Newcastle band and, for those unaware, the city has more metal to offer than Venom alone. This is their third full length in five years and their return has been welcomed by anyone who ever heard “Court In The Act” and loved it. Musically, then, the band sit firmly along the Angel Witch/Di'Anno Maiden era trajectory with hard rock tropes fitting nicely alongside the metal on offer throughout.

The initial fast pacing of “Into the Mouth of Eternity” sets the album roaring out of the gate and by the time a cowbell crops up in the title track, you know what you are getting: heavy metal. Resolutely old school heavy metal of the highest quality. It says a lot about the times we find ourselves in when I am surprised to not find doom-inflections in Satan's latest offering. This is not doom, or thrash or any other sub genre currently in favour. It is traditional heavy metal, that's it.

Most tracks are pacey, of course- “The Doomsday Clock” is rapid, but possessed of fleet-footedness a la Maiden's“Killers” album rather than the leaden foot of retro thrash. Elsewhere the riffs come fast, “Legions Hellbound” is heavy metal heaven for those listeners out there who either were at The Marquee in 1980 or wished they had been.

The weighty “Ophidian” is a change of pace and brings into focus the fact that the band have opted for the traditional ten track format here. That is absolutely the right move as all songs are focused and tight, devoid of filler and don't stretch beyond the six minute mark. That is not to say that they don't sound epic though, as they often do. Satanhave mirrored the trick that Maiden used to do so well, which is to pack in an entire theme into a relatively short space of time and capture the essence of the subject matter (for Maiden, think “The Trooper”). “My Prophetic Soul” sounds like an epic track with its anguish and multiple changes but it packs it all into only four and a half minutes.

Down the backstretch, the album is no less metal, no less accomplished and features material delivered with absolute conviction. “Death Knell For A King” is heavy metal writ large and classic- fantastic track. “Who Among Us” is larger in scale and quintessentially British in its metallic delivery. “Ghosts of Monongah” is another winner; Priest-esque chugging combines with Priest-esque guitar work in general. Excellent stuff.

By the time of closing epic “Mortality”there is no doubt that the band have done it again: Satan have produced another fantastic heavy metal album, packed full of riffs, leads, frenetic bass playing, drums that don't just consist of frantic double kicks and great songs sung by a wonderful singer. This should come as no surprise to anyone, though- the devil always did have the best tunes.

“Cruel Magic” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Primordial, "Exile Amongst the Ruins"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released:30/03/2018

Label:Metal Blade Records

‘Exile Amongst the Ruins’ CD//LP//DD track listing:

1. Nail Their Tongues

2. To Hell or the Hangman

3. Where Lie the Gods

4. Exile Amongst the Ruins

5. Upon Our Spiritual Deathbed

6. Stolen Years

7. Sunken Lungs

8. Last Call

The Review:

Given enough time, any and every band will stumble. Of course, there are degrees and scale to these things. Each fall will come from different heights and will last for different distances. After 25 years of growth and refinement, Primordial were long overdue for something like ‘Exile Amongst the Ruins’. The big picture issues have been covered in a number of places already, but they do ring true: the album is longer than it should be, and the overall feeling is that this was a really good EP stretched into a bloated, clunky full length.

A narrow example of this album’s larger problems lies in one of the album’s singles: “To Hell or the Hangman”. The song is built around a really great song idea. The driving groove that serves as the song’s backbone is a brilliant way for the band to avoid some of the rhythmic tropes the band have been working with over the last 10-15 years. The central guitar idea is every bit as good. It feels unmistakably like Primordial, but places that sound in a new context and it all comes together beautifully. The problem is that the band ride this great idea into the ground, going minutes longer than they should have. Heart’s “Barracuda” is an all-time classic, but nobody would listen to it if it were just slight variations of the opening riff, with no break or chorus, for seven-plus minutes. No idea is good enough to withstand that kind of repetition without diminishing returns.

One of the other nagging issues that hurts ‘Exile Amongst the Ruins’ in a general sense is Simon O'Laoghaire’s occasionally uneven performance. I have no idea what happened here. I don’t know if he ventured a tad too far outside his comfort zone, or if there were production issues, but there are specific moments over the course of the album where things just fall apart. It’s particularly noticeable thanks to the album’s natural-but-boxy drum sound. For a frame of reference, the drum sound might be described as a heavier, updated version of the sound on Satyricon’s ‘Nemesis Divina’, especially in the kick drums.

For the most part, O'Laoghaire sounds like his strong, feel-oriented self. But a specific example to illustrate where his performance becomes a problem would be “Sunken Lungs”. The song is difficult to get through because O'Laoghaire’s grove-shy and needlessly busy beat choice is made all the more unpalatable by the kick sound. It feels intentional, but it’s difficult to shed the feeling that he’s perpetually late coming in on the downbeat because he’s frantically shoving as many notes as he can into the counts prior to it. If it were a brief section or the intro, you could almost wave it off, but it’s used as the general rhythm structure for the whole song. I normally wouldn’t have spent so much time on this, but O'Laoghaire is usually a drummer I’m excited to hear more of, and some of the choices he’s made on this album are a complete mystery to me.

As I indicated earlier, the story of this album for me is similar to what you might have read elsewhere. There are a ton of good and great ideas here, but some of those ideas get lost in translation, and some are ridden for well past too long. Even when Primordial misfire, the end result is still a largely good album. That’s where the degrees and scale I mentioned earlier come in. When Primordial put out their worst album in more than a decade, it’s because they put out a good-but-not great album. This isn’t ‘Illud Divinum Insanus’ or ‘Cold Lake’. This is Primordial going through some growing pains as they try new things. I have no doubt they’ll get where they mean to go, but the start of this journey is a bit more rough than they might have planned.

‘Exile Amongst the Ruins’is available digitally copy here and on CD/LP here.

Band info: Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: The Crown, "Cobra Speed Venom"

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type:Full Length

Date Released:16/03/2018

Label:Metal Blade Records

After years of struggling to compete with their own legacy, The Crown are sounding inspired and in excellent form again on ‘Cobra Speed Venom’. The barely-contained frenetic energy of the band’s best work are here, and the riffs are, on the whole, more engaging than anything the band has come up with in the last 15 years.

‘Cobra Speed Venom’ CD//LP//DD track listing:

1. Destroyed By Madness

2. Iron Crown

3. In the Name of Death

4. We Avenge!

5. Cobra Speed Venom

6. World War Machine

7. Necrohammer

8. Rise In Blood

9. Where My Grave Shall Stand

10. The Sign of the Scythe

11. Nemesis Diamond (bonus track)

12. The Great Dying (bonus track)

The Review:

The path that has led The Crown to their new album ‘Cobra Speed Venom’ hasn’t been an easy one. After disbanding in 2004 following touring difficulties and frustrations following the previous year’s ‘Possessed 13’, the band’s members found themselves in an uphill battle to come up with an engaging sound in the years that followed. Several new bands, a renaming, and then return albums in 2010 and 2015 saw success to varying degrees, but nothing that quite captured the magic of the band at its peak. ‘Doomsday King’ and ‘Death Is Not Dead’were solid albums in and of themselves, but they understandably fell short of the tremendous standards set by the albums the band released from 1998 to 2002.

After years of struggling to compete with their own legacy, The Crown are sounding inspired and in excellent form again on ‘Cobra Speed Venom’. The barely-contained frenetic energy of the band’s best work are here, and the riffs are, on the whole, more engaging than anything the band has come up with in the last 15 years.

The album’s first single, “Iron Crown”, is the kind of quintessential stormer that was the band’s hallmark during their best years. The death metal on tap here has a lot of the same speed metal sensibility that fueled albums like ‘Hell is Here’ or ‘Crowned In Terror’. That sensibility is even more pronounced on “In The Name of Death”, and it’s a great joy to hear The Crown using that aspect of their sound so well after so many years. And that’s not even mentioning the tremendous guitar solo work as well. Those fiery solos have always been a part of what made The Crown so great, but it’s all the more meaningful when they’re the icing on the cake for songs that are this good.

New drummer Henrik Axelsson fits in remarkably well, considering how deeply rooted Janne Saarenpää’s style had been to The Crown’s musical identity. It essentially makes for a seamless transition, which felt like an impossibility from the outside looking in, back when Saarenpää announced his departure from the band back in 2014.

‘Cobra Speed Venom’ isn’t a perfect return to form, as some of the album’s slower moments still tend to be missing something, but the bulk of the album sees the band firing on all cylinders. It makes for a satisfying redemption story for a band that has struggled to regain their footing. At their best, there’s nothing quite like The Crown. They have a unique musical personality, and it’s wonderful to see that finally shining through again. ‘Cobra Speed Venom’ is an album that would have made me happy as a follow up to ‘Crowned in Terror’ nearly 15 years ago. It makes me even happier now.

‘Cobra Speed Venom’is available digitally here and on CD/LP copy here

Band info: Official Site || Facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Rivers of Nihil, “Where Owls Know My Name”

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 16/03/2018

Label: Metal Blade Records

“…devastating, melodic, labyrinthine and jam packed with ideas. “Where Owls Know My Name” will go down as a classic genre expanding album and one giant leap forward in  extreme metal

“Where Owls Know My Name” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Cancer/Moonspeak
2. The Silent Life
3. A Home
4. Old Nothing
5. Subtle Change
6. Terrestria III
7. Hollow
8. Death is Real
9. Where Owls Know My Name
10. Capricorn/Agoratopia

The Review:

Following 2015's “Monarchy” was always going to be a mammoth undertaking- as Rivers of Nihil's last record really was superb. They have managed it by taking not only a massive leap forward but also a sidestep of sorts. Think of the difference between “Master of Puppets” and “...And Justice For All” and you have an idea of the differences.

Indeed, this record can perhaps be accurately described as avant garde- in the same way that Celtic Frost's “Into The Pandemonium”was. After the atmospheric scene setting intro of “Cancer/Moonspeak” we are straight into “The Silent Life” which is devastating, melodic, labyrinthine and jam packed with ideas. To be fair, that track description could sum up the whole record. This is not really like anything else I have heard in the extreme metal genre. If “Monarchy” was largely identifiable as tech-death, this is something else entirely.

To be absolutely clear, the textures and sounds on this album are not to be found on many records at this end of the musical spectrum. Saxophone, clean guitars, synths, jazzy drums and noodling bass all combine to make this a fascinating listen. If Cannibal Corpse and Obituary represent two sides of the same death metal coin, then perhaps Rivers of Nihil are akin to something like Bitcoin.

As the record progresses, things get even more progressive; the breadth of sounds and arrangements here are quite dazzling and highly unusual. Picking tracks as highlights is almost impossible being as the record exists as a total piece. It is uniformly consistent in that it is experimental and progressive, it is not in any way samey or boring. The likes of “A Home and Old Nothing” are all of the epithets used so far. There are pulverising bass drums, there are blasting sections of ferocious speed. There are also jazz fusion type breakdowns and an otherworldly atmosphere throughout.

The sounds and approach of “Subtle Change (Including The Forest of Transition)” is a crazily good example of technical performance and forward thinking arrangements coupled with a state of the art production. I guess Mastodon (at their best) could be used as a reference point along with black metal like atmosphere and a harnessing of technology (both in production and instrumentation) that has not always been seen as a good thing in the world of metal.

“Terrestria III: Wither” could soundtrack a 2000AD/Judge Dredd film and contains not a trace of death metal in its sound or scope. The second half of the album pushes forward just as much as the first with “Hollow” or “Death Is Real” being great examples of the record's depth and overall approach (fantastic bass work on the latter) and the title track being an Opeth-like example of prog rock by a band who are absolutely expanding the boundaries of their own playing and also the genre(s) they are operating in.

By the time of “Capricorn/Agoratopia!, I was left wondering (on first listen) what to make of it all. It's hard to take it all in. There is so much going on that the record is very hard to assess on the first couple of listens. I have no idea how much I will listen to this album going forward- it may be all the time, it may be every once in a while. However, one thing is for sure: it will go down as a classic genre expanding album. It's like nothing else I have heard and will deserve the plaudits heaped upon it. One giant leap forward for extreme metal has occurred.

“Where Owls Know My Name” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Visigoth - "Conqueror's Oath"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 09/02/2018
Label: Metal Blade Records

Eight tracks, all absolute killers. Superb production, fantastic playing and performances all around. With “The Revenant King”, Visigoth delivered my favourite album of 2015. With “Conqueror's Oath” they have achieved heavy metal perfection.  . The best heavy metal album of 2018? Count on it.

“Conqueror's Oath” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Steel and Silver
2. Warrior Queen
3. Outlive Them All
4. Hammerforged
5. Traitor’s Gate
6. Salt City
7. Blades in the Night
8. The Conqueror’s Oath

The Review:

Salt Lake City's most metal export return here with a blazing follow up to their mighty opus “The Revenant King” of 2015. As I noted in that review: this is heavy metal. Proper heavy metal. Think of the sounds of Priest having a sword fight with Maidenwhile Grand Magus referees. In fact, words cannot express the utter heavy-metalness of it all. The band has delivered everything I hoped for with this sophomore full length. The galloping and majestic rhythms, the soaring lead breaks, the powerful and dramatic vocals- all are contained within the opening “Steel and Silver” and the album does not let up from there. It pleases me that there are still bands out there like this; bands that keep to the old gods. Bands that rejoice in the defeat of their enemies and laugh at the four winds from their mountain.

It is not often that there is nothing to fault, but I can't find anything here that is not just right. The mix and production is confident and muscular with every instrument clearly audible. Jake Rogers' vocals are even more self assured than on the debut and he delivers a master class here- a powerful singer in a fairly low register, his voice is perfect for this. The songs clip by at such a rate that the album is a focused and vicious raiding party even after repeated listens. “Warrior Queen”is catchy and joyful, propelled along by a very tight rhythm section and duelling guitars. It is five and a half minutes of heavy metal heaven- or should that be Valhalla?!

The band press the pedal to the metal with more regularity on this album; there were elements of doom to be found on “TRK”, but that has been superseded by the likes of the Highlander-themed “Outlive Them All” which is fast and furious, whilst being full of hooks. Naturally, the band are not flat out all of the time and there is plenty of room for acoustic elements, vocal harmonies and swinging grooves through “Hammerforged”. It also has a fantastic central refrain of the mightiest riffage.

“Traitor's Gate” acts as a centrepiece for the record as Rogersinvokes the spirit of Ronnie Dio in the melodrama and gravitas of his performance. It builds up slowly, but when it rolls in, triplets blazing, once again metal nirvana is reached. The whole band are playing out of their skins on this one; it's superb with all essential metallic elements present and correct.

The band's tribute to their home town follows- “Salt City” is pure heavy metal rock and roll, expertly delivered and anthemic in the extreme. It provides a burst of carefree enthusiasm with not a revenge plot in sight. There is also great lead playing, as there is throughout the album. “Blades in the Night” follows, with feet pressed to the floor and swords fully unsheathed. Again, it's hooky and powerful in equal measure.

The title track closes this remarkable album in majestic style. It is another slow burning epic with excellent two guitar work and themes that will make your battle jacket be filled with pride. Eight tracks, all absolute killers. Superb production, fantastic playing and performances all around. With “The Revenant King”, Visigoth delivered my favourite album of 2015. With “Conqueror's Oath”they have achieved heavy metal perfection. I have all but run out of superlatives to describe this fantastic record. Iron Maiden are on their way to retirement, Priestare readying themselves for  perhaps just one more foray, Manowarare bowing out and the world is just not as receptive to songs about valour and glory any more. Visigoth, though, keep the flame alive and burning brightly, ready to forge sounds of the purest steel- hopefully for years to come. The best heavy metal album of 2018? Count on it.

“Conqueror’s Oath” is available here

Band info: facebook || bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Sorcerer - "The Crowning of the Fire King"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Metal Blade Records

Fantastical, epic, dark, heavy and doomy are all words that describe the record appropriately. There are not too many doom bands ploughing this traditional furrow these days, but Sorcerer represent the very best of them. This is another excellent album by an excellent band

“The Crowning of The Fire King” CD//DD//LP track listing

01. Sirens
02. Ship Of Doom
03. Abandoned By The Gods
04. The Devils Incubus
05. Nattvaka
06. Crimson Cross
07. The Crowning Of The Fire King
08. Unbearable Sorrow

The Review:

Sweden's Sorcerer return, a mere two years after the excellent “In The Shadow Of The Inverted Cross”. In my review of that album, I noted the Dio-esque lyrical themes and stylings, the Sabbath weight and the epic nature of real doom. Well, I am able to report that all those elements are present and correct on “The Crowning...”

From the rolling drum intro, to the first riff, to the first vocal- everything you would want from a doom album is here. The sound is suitably epic, as are the song lengths. There is some excellent lead work in opener “Sirens” as well. With both the second and last track here clocking in at close to ten minutes, this is not a doom record for the casual doom fan- or the “doom” fan who thinks that sludge is doom. This is true doom for true doom heads- start with Sabbath, go to Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble, Candlemassand The Obsessed and then... Sorcerer would be a logical next step.

The album is dramatic, textured (acoustic guitars shimmer here and there, melodies are plentiful, riffs are massive) and as heavy as lead. The likes of “Abandoned By The Gods” feature riffs that you would swear were from the hands of Iommi himself. Indeed, the solo backed by rhythmical bass is straight out of the Tony Martin era. An acoustic instrumental bridges the record and the final three tracks are as strong as the first three; the band save the title track for next to last, showing that the record is not front loaded.

Fantastical, epic, dark, heavy and doomy are all words that describe the record appropriately. There are not too many doom bands ploughing this traditional furrow these days, but Sorcerer represent the very best of them. This is another excellent album by an excellent band. Doom on.

“The Crowning of the Fire King” is available here

Band info: bandcamp|| facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Cannibal Corpse - "Red Before Black"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 03/11/2017

Label: Metal Blade Records

Once again, Cannibal Corpse have crushed all in their wake and returned as conquering anti-heroes of the death metal genre.  Cannibal Corpse remain the death metal band by which many other death metal bands are judged and remain my go-to band of choice if I want to listen to something extreme, violent, uncompromising and also oddly, inexplicably, insanely listenable.

“Red Before Black” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Only One Will Die
2. Red Before Black
3. Code of the Slashers
4. Shedding My Human Skin
5. Remaimed
6. Firestorm Vengeance
7. Heads Shoveled Off
8. Corpus Delicti
9. Scavenger Consuming Death
10. In the Midst of Ruin
11. Destroyed Without a Trace
12. Hideous Ichor

The Review:

Erik Rutan returns to production duties for this, Cannibal Corpse'sfourteenth (!?) album. The production is thus a little more in keeping with their earlier work than the very modern sounding last outing “A Skeletal Domain”. Naturally, first things must come first: the album is brutally heavy. The production is reliably clear but also feral in just the right way- it sounds fantastic. There are plenty of catchy hooks and riffs here. Simply put, from the opening “Only One Will Die” onwards, this is a shredding whirlwind of a death metal album.

The title track comes second in the track list and is a high water mark for the album- thrashy leanings combine with the band's death metal fury (much like their earliest material) as George Corpsegriner Fisher growls with consummate authority. Cannibal Corpse has never made a bad album, to my knowledge, and they have not started here. Whilst I may be more familiar with some albums than others over the course of their career- which is now knocking on the door of thirty years in length!- when I get into their records, I really get into them.

Over the course of the last week, I have had this album on every day- all the way up until this weekend, when sadly the news of John Rossi of Pilgrimpassing away caused me to revisit that excellent doom band's albums. However, I am playing “Red Before Black” on my headphones as I write this and after a weekend of sloth like doom, it is as forceful and extreme as I recalled from my listens over the last week.

There are certainly stand outs here- “Code of The Slashers” is a modern Corpse classic- whilst the slower and gnarly “Shedding My Human Skin” recalls death metal of the old school vintage. Naturally, over the course of twelve tracks it would be forgiveable for the intensity to drop- but it does not. If there is any criticism to be made, it is that the record is slightly front loaded with the best material hitting the listener sooner rather than later. That said, “Remaimed”and “Firestorm Vengeance” are as ripping as the opening two tracks and when “Heads Shovelled Off” opens what would be side two of the vinyl, it does so with a blasting intensity. Sure, “Corpus Delicti” is not as memorable as the title track, but the band has made a fine job of keeping the motor running at high revs throughout.

Alex Webster's bass makes a very welcome appearance front and centre on “Scavenger Consuming Death”, which is a late album highlight for me. The final three tracks run the gamut from the more dynamic riffing of “In The Midst of Ruin” to the frenzied “Destroyed Without a Trace” to the more atmospheric closer “Hideous Ichor”. Once again, then, Cannibal Corpse have crushed all in their wake and returned as conquering anti-heroes of the death metal genre.

There is not a bad track here, no real criticism can be levelled at the production or the playing and overall, this is an old school throwback of a death metal record. Cannibal Corpse remain the death metal band by which many other death metal bands are judged and remain my go-to band of choice if I want to listen to something extreme, violent, uncompromising and also oddly, inexplicably, insanely listenable. Long may they reign.

“Red Before Black”is available here

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