Cannibal Corpse - Bloodthirst

To try and explain how much I like this album, let me just say that it was one of the first albums that I received to review for this issue, and it's one of the last to get reviewed. Why? Well, honestly, I didn't want to review it until I felt that I had absorbed everything that it had to offer, and finally I just came to the conlusion that I never will. There are many reasons why this could be considered "the" new era Cannibal album, if not their best to date. For one, Colin Richardson just gave this thing the production from hell, everything sounds crystal clear and heavy as can be. Pat O'Brien is now a permanent fixture in the band, and the songs are more intricate than anything I've heard before. I believe that the change in studios gave the band new life as well, as all performances are fast and furious. The songs, like the album, are short and to the point, yet the running times seem perfect. Get in, decimate, get out, that was the main objective here, and it works. Fisher's multi-platform vocals are in fine form as well, everything just coalescing into in molten ball of metal. The first Cannibal album that demanded repeat listens for me, and if I had a list going, this would be on the top ten for 1999, easy. A safe bet for any death metal fan, forget the past and what you think Cannibal Corpse is all about, otherwise, you'll be missing one of the best death metal releases to come around in a while.