Not Reviewed

The Cannibal Corpse legacy contiues, with these Florida deathsters releasing yet another 14 tracks of metal intensity. Seriously, these guys are an institution, producing opus after blood soaked opus of unrelenting grind. To my tainted ears, however, Gallery of Suicide sounds fresher and feistier than the last few, no small part due to the insane delivery of Der Corpsemeister himself, George Fisher. Also up a notch or two is the flyin' finger guitar attack, aided and abetted by new addition Pat O'Brien (proving himself no slouch while in Nevermore), who just rips through this material as if born for the task. Cannibal here also manage to create memorable riffs, one aspect of "grindcore" which keeps me at bay. Sterling Morrisound production highlights the cold, mechanical delivery, only emotion expressed being hate. This is best evidenced in tracks such as: I Will Kill You, and Gallery of Suicide, which incorporates a truly kick ass waltzy guitar intro; somthing that makes me throw this back in the player over say, Deicide. If you know their past works (as most due, Cannibal being one of the most notorious acts around) then you'll get the same old Cannibal, albeit a little tighter and snazzier to my ears, and for you neophytes, a nice intro to one of the tightest, sickest bands on the planet. A guitarist's showcase, extremely technical and mechanical, held together by Mazurkiewicz's fast but seemingly stable percussion and Webster's Kornish bass. Not bad, not bad at all, especially to someone who never got into their previous works.
8 out of 10

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.
9 out of 10