Cannibal Corpse – Chaos Horrific – 2023

I shouldn’t like Cannibal Corpse at all, I should like Chaos Horrific either. This music is really too extreme for me. It’s Death Metal where it’s impossible to hear a single word. It’s more a rule than an exception that I listen to such an album twice. But…I have come to learn to appreciate Cannibal Corpse. It’s brutal and Corpsegrinder has a vocalist style that makes it impossible for me to hear the lyrics. I should hate it, but I don’t. Because even if it’s brutal and kind of chaotic, it’s never messy.

There are loads of other bands out there who wish they could make albums like this. It’s easy to differentiate the instruments from each other so the production is really quite good. Now, I have only listened to this twice so far and I haven’t bothered to read the lyrics. But I know from experience that Cannibal Corpse lyrics can be really violent and, in search of a better word… “sick”. Just reading the song titles for Chaos Horrific doesn’t make me think these lyrics are so bad though.

I mean, some of the previous songs on the earlier albums have been almost laughable in their attempt to shock the audience. I almost think that that has been their goal. To make the lyrics as brutal as humanly possible just to get a rumor of being “dangerous”. Well, it’s just a theory of mine. I really don’t know. I find it funny to go to such lengths to create something revolting but maybe that’s just me.

In any case, I don’t find such titles here. Sure, there is violence associated with the titles but it’s not over the top in my mind. Pitchfork Impalement seems to be the “worst” title here. Among the “friendly” and “happy” titles are songs like Summoned for Sacrifice and Drain You Empty. Much less subtle than songs from previous albums like Stabbed In The Throat, Dismembered And Molested, or Mummified In Barbed Wire.

If you know me when I can’t hear the lyrics I tend to ignore them and just consider the vocals as another instrument. It suits the music well. It’s aggressive music, it should have aggressive vocals. And that’s exactly what Chaos Horrific has. I need to listen to it a few more times but I think I’ve come to a rating decision already. it is what it is, and either you like it or you don’t I guess.