The Sins of Mankind

A moment after the release of "Death Shall Rise", Cancer decided to return to their homeland, and thus parted ways with James Murphy for distance reasons. This separation, however, did not stop John Walker's group from further action. In a really short time a successor was found - Barry Savage, after which Cancer started creating and composing a third full-length. We didn't have to wait long for this album, "The Sins Of Mankind", because it was released on the edge of the death metal boom, i.e. in 1993. And exactly, this ending era is clearly visible on the third album of Cancer.

However, it's not about the progressive/technical/jazzy direction that bands like Pestilence, Cynic, Death or Atheist took at that time. On "The Sins Of Mankind" is felt the desire to...play differently, less in death metal style. They didn't quite succeed, because on "The Sins..." death metal elements still prevail over the rest, although much more often than before thrash metal riffs or simple rhythms (often very trivial - which is not is an accusation) come to the fore, but also clearly more climate and melodic care in the terms of the guitars. Reducing the heaviness and changing the feeling is also emphasized by the rather raw production of Simon Efemey, which is not as massive as those from Scott Burns, but it adds a nice aggressiveness to the music. Anyway, it's a really good album. Despite the aforementioned novelties, songs such as "Patchwork Destiny", "Suffer For Our Sins", "Cloak Of Darkness" or "Electro-Convulsive Therapy" have the right power (which is also dominated by John's vocals much more expressive than the previous time), inventiveness and catchiness. A slight drop in tone can be felt only in fragments with acoustic guitars, which are a bit out of rhythm against the background of death/thrash brutality. Besides, it's really good, even if the general level of extremes and solos (which are far too few and they are not as virtuosic as Murphy's) does not surpass that of the previous album.

So, on their third album, Cancer took a step back, but what's most interesting, it didn't come into a dramatic reduction of the high level. Because although after "The Sins Of Mankind" release more was expected, it has a lot of good songs, it's memorable and - just like on the debut - it has interesting use of thrash influences for death metal style. It was also, until the second reactivation (?), Cancer's last longplay, which kept the high level.

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

What we got here is one of this metalhead's favourite albums. I bought it back in 1993 when visiting London with a good friend. These thing do not make it a fave of mine, no. The main reason for that is that this third Cancer full-lengther simply is such a fantastic album music-wise, but one reason is that I didn't hear the previous album, 1991s 'Death Shall Rise', prior this.

'The Sins of Mankind' continues in almost similar style, but without the lead guitar presence of James Murphy (this US guitarist had by in Death and Obituary before his stint in Cancer; he pursued his own vision with Disincarnate after Cancer). Cancer's trajectory is somewhat similar to Death's: Both bands got quite a bit more technical, step by step, with each early album. So, 'The Sins...' ain't just about hack 'n' slash, and it's okay, since it was done to death before. Do not get me wrong, I'm very much fine with more simplistic stuff, and this really isn't too far from earlier primitiveness, which actually isn't very total in Cancer's case, like 3 chord songs and 2 beats etc. No, the band was pretty mature already on their debut album. But back to sinning now...

This album didn't get me immediately. Really, there was no that London trip magic flowing in the air when I got home and was able to really blast it loud; this and the trip did not get mingled in my brain. Cancer was one of more barbaric bands I'd heard up to 1993, and they still nailed it here, but there was evident step toward maturity, in songwriting and lyrical topics. Was that a good step? Well, my brain eventually, back in mid-1990s, cemented this as my favourite Cancer album...

...And it is a real goddamn riff-fest! Many of the songs feature more parts than older material. And the riffs are from good to superb, and totally hooking. One'll hear intense sawing, hummable slower riffing and nimble-fingered acrobatics. This time around the lead guitars were provided by Barry Savage. He and the original member, guitarist/vocalist John Walker, handle lead parts which vary from memorable and melodic to warped and weird. Probably in vein of Pestilence's fantastic 'Testimony of the Ancients' than anything else. Acoustic guitar and synthesizer intros and interludes had became a quintessential element of death metal albums, and brought in some eerie acoustic guitar work for the title track, as well as a beautiful intro piece 'Pasture of Delights', but no synthesizers.

Thankfully tempo changes, style shifts and all sound very fluid, but it got some time to get used to more morphous compositions; they definitely aren't most predictable, and still they work very, very well, without breaking a song. That certain Florida vibe was gone (no Morrisound nor Mr. Murphy anymore). The band getting back home and getting back to fish 'n' chips diet proved to be a correct choice. Drummer Carl Stokes really brushed up for this album, proving rather characteristic rolls, and tempos from frenzied blasting to double kick drum mangling, and loads more to bang your fists to.

Yes, them vocals, then. Not unlike Carcass' Jeff Walker, if not that raspy, growl is utilised. It also reminds of Benediction's Dave Ingram, even though isn't that deep. It is another characteristic of Cancer. It's easy to comprehend the words. The lyrics deal with gore, demons, warring and other social issues, being surprisingly mature at times. Painting titled 'Armageddon' by Joseph Paul Pettit perfectly fits in...

Generally, the album has enough variety and simply powerful demeanor all way through. It is filled with explosive energy. Get ready for a motherload of riffs and beats!

The Simon Efemey production made the album sound more thrash metal, in a way, even though it is still death fucking metal, period! The sound spectrum is more wide than it previously was. It feels like the band were able to breathe better. This does not mean this lacks of grittiness; no, the guitars are lethal with their sharp tone, the bass (by Ian Buchanan) is thumping and easy to hear, and the drums are snappy and commanding. The clear porduction allows details to be heard. I have the original CD, and haven't heard the vinyl edition of the album, and the CD sound like more bass would have been welcome, to tell the truth.

Two years later in 1995, weird turn happened... and basically killed the band almost for a decade. The band's major label debut 'Black Faith' came out and was very different compared to what everybody was used to hear from Cancer. But more on that later...

In final note I can recommend this album to fans of early death metal, and especially those who enjoy English essence of it. Generally, Cancer sound like English death metal of late 1980s / early 1990s, but Cancer sound like Cancer, too; there was no oversupply back in the day, plus pioneering bands had more spectrum to play on. An awesome, eternal classic!!!

(Originally written for ArchaicMetallurgy.com)

Cancer started with a primitive debut and the second album still revealed a rather simple approach. Both works had its charm, but only for those who like to eat their daily portion of meat raw. The third full-length of the quartet marked a new climax of their discography - and I think it will remain their masterpiece for eternity. I enjoy the tasteful cover which does not look as stupid as those of their previous albums. The opener confirms the good impression. “Cloak of Darkness” follows a halfway melodious approach while creating an intense atmosphere, especially during its fantastic bridge. But the hymnal chorus is the icing on the cake. Without exaggeration, this tune represents one of the band's most stirring compositions.

And it gets even better: the opener can be seen as a blueprint for the remaining songs. This does not mean that they all sound the same. But the interested listener will discover plenty of outstanding riffs as well as superb melodies. Of course, I am speaking of melodies of the harshest kind. Although a few songs deliver a slightly weaker compositional level, the album is more or less fully convincing. From my point of view, it's one of these transition works like "Under the Sign of the Black Mark" or "Expurse of Sodomy". Both marked the ending of a pretty foolish (yet fascinating) period and opened the door to a new dimension. Too bad that both Bathory and Cancer were not able to find their way in this previously unknown space (I know that this statement is highly debatable in the case of Bathory, but what can I do - I never liked their Viking stuff very much.) However, "The Sins of Mankind" combines the rawness of the early days with first signs of maturity.

Of course, the production plays an essential role, too. It is flawless on the remastered re-issue – but it has also been faultless on the original album from 1993. The sound generates an adequate pressure and the slightly more technical appearance has nothing to do with a lifeless mix. Well, to call the contribution of the bass guitar omnipresent would be a nefarious deception, but the overall impression gives no reason to lament.

The most aggressive track is called “Tribal Bloodshed Part I - The Conquest”. Cancer dish up a short outburst with blastbeat-like drumming, rasping leads during the mid-paced part and a compact guitar solo. But the direct neighbours of this track also leave their footprints. "Pasture of Delights / At the End" connects a calm and atmospheric intro with thundering riffs that lead to a catchy yet brutal chorus whose lines seem to herald Armageddon. Its dramatic undertone puts the finishing touches on the song. Finally, the mid-paced and fatalistic "Tribal Bloodshed Part II - Under the Flag" can be blamed for a certain repetitiveness, but its riffs are simply too strong to send it to Coventry. And that's it. Without frills, without any form of technical ecstasy and without trace elements of bombast, everything is said and done in less than 35 minutes. It's no milestone, but even 26 years after the release, "The Sins of Mankind" still makes my day every now and then, because its material uncovers absolutely no unforgivable sins.

The tides of change in the metal world were washing over the old guard in a series of violent waves by the time 1993 rolled in, and along for the carnage was the double-edged executioner's sword under the guise of a choice between innovation or stagnation. Although this time period was marked by the absolute decimation of thrash metal as a commercially viable expression, there was a lag of a couple years when dealing with the darker death/thrash subset of said sub-genre and particularly those located outside the United States. The U.K. based Cancer, often seen as Britain's answer to Sepultura and Obituary (in no small part to being graced with the same iconic engineer in Scott Burns during the same time period), opted to take a road ironically similar to the NRA by sticking to their guns and maintaining the same early 90s brand of brutal thrashing along the lines of Beneath The Remains and Cause Of Death that typified their last two studio LPs. As the old adage goes, don't mess with perfection, and whatever The Sins Of Mankind may lack in modern quirks or stylistic trailblazing it more than makes up for with riff-happy thrashing goodness that was far scarcer than it had been just a year prior.

Naturally this isn't quite the same caliber of insane fury that made Death Shall Rise an unsung classic of early 90s death metal, but it isn't for any want of trying. The lack of Scott Burns' handiwork on this outing has done little to deter the highly percussive character of this band's sound, and it appears as though Pete Coleman, who had also picked up where Burns left off following Napalm Death's seminal death metal offering Harmony Corruption by lending his expertise to the nearly as potent Utopia Banished, took some notes on his predecessors approach to mixing a death metal album and all but perfectly emulates his signature sound here. On the other hand, the loss of James Murphy's signature lead shredding does see a less flashy presentation compared to the previous album, though newly recruited Barry Savage does an admirable job in attempting to bring a similar sense of energy to a few of these songs. His solo sections on "Electro-Convulsion Therapy" and "Suffer For Our Sins" display a competent technical flair that is reminiscent of several exchanges that Chuck Schuldiner and Rick Rozz perpetuated on Leprosy, but not quite up to the same level as the highly expressive brilliance that only James Murphy could imbue upon a death metal offering.

But for all the little points of intrigue going on at the fringes, what ultimately makes The Sins Of Mankind a compelling swansong for a scene and a sound that would either fade away or turn into something else in the next couple years is powerful songwriting and neck-destroying riff work. At times during the more mid-paced segments of moderate length killers like "Cloak Of Darkness" and "Meat Train" take on sort of a grooving manner with a technical edge that is somewhat similar to the sort of stylistic noodling that graced Death's Individual Thought Patterns, and even the shorter length cruiser "Patchwork Destiny" mixes in some tech. thrashing elements, indicating that while still largely in conservative territory, Cancer was not wholly oblivious of the evolution taking place in the Florida scene that they were so heavily influenced by. Likewise, the hauntingly dark acoustic prelude that kicks off Pasture of Delights/At the End and a few similar interludes that are interspersed among the second half of the album, have some affinity with the sort of occasional atmospheric tinkering that Sepultura would engage in from time to time. Overall, however, this is largely a speed-based, hammer to the face thrasher that isn't too far removed from where the style was in 1989.

For old school fans of death metal, this was essentially the last thing of note that Cancer ever did, and their recent and second reformation has been defined solely by a desire to continue promoting that sound that was on full display up until this point. Generally Death Shall Rise is regarded as their magnum opus, and for very good reason, but amid their seminal trifecta of death/thrash offerings, The Sins Of Mankind holds a slight edge over the debut To The Gory End, if only for the reason that it shows this band in a more mature and calculated light, being able to balance the largely one-dimensional impact-oriented approach of their adopted style with a more nuanced songwriting approach that allows for some peripheral variation. It's not quite as astounding as the widely lauded contemporary classics in Napalm Death's Harmony Corruption, Bolt Thrower's The IVth Crusade or the somewhat lesser classic in Benediction's Transcending The Rubicon, but it is a highly competent, apocalyptic cacophony of hard-hitting aggression that should share a place alongside them for any trustee of early 90s death metal.

This is not an album you're going to find for very cheap, and considering how middling it is, it honestly would not be worth your money. Though It may be worth a download if you can't have enough old school death metal, because Cancer has prepared a few decent riffs for your consumption this time around. Very thrashy ones actually, and they are pretty memorable. They just didn't really deliver anything else, so this meal is a little lacking on many levels.

But the protein is definitely a good cut of death/thrash goodness. Let's start with the good and work our way backwards. The main riff of the track closer is the best one here, and one listen will permanently ingrain it into your memory. Scattered across the rest of the songs are plenty of great riffs too, with every track having at least a decent slab of good riff work. Surprisingly, the pace tends to stay lower then you would expect. Lingering mostly in the mid-paced realm, which is really a positive for the album as it helps separate this from a lot of the other death metal records in my collection.

That's not to say that EVERY riff is slower, as there are a number of harder hitters like on Cloak of Darkness, Patchwork Destiny, Electro-Convulsive Therapy, and Tribal Bloodshed 1. The rapid muted rhythms are worth some head banging, but the slower riffs are preferred on numbers like Meat Train and Tribal Bloodshed 2. Although every song has at least some significant portions that slow down a bit. The most memorable moments are when the vocal 'melodies' follow the rhythm of the riffs, adding a bit more force to the music.

Though the reason it needs that extra punch is the really weak production. The guitars and drums are so freaking clicky and processed sounding that any chance at atmosphere or forceful concussive riffing is completely taken away. The bass is slightly audible, but it just kind of meanders under the guitar without giving the guitars that low end xeroxing it needs. Think a really clicky And Justice for All... sound and you're in the right ballpark. The clean breaks on Pasture of Delights and the beginning of Tribal Bloodshed 2 actually sound pretty good, albeit the music is very derived and unoriginal.

And that’s the real issue at hand here. I can handle a poor production job. But it is perfectly clear here that little thought was put into song arrangement and structure. Other then riffs, little effort seems to have been put into anything really. The bass follows the guitar with no exception that I hear. The drumming has a couple fills that are noticeable though immediately forgotten, and the vocals have no fire behind them at all.

Worse, those riffs are just kind of splattered across the album with little regard as to how the songs will flow. Plus the lyrics tend to be so mindless (Meat Train. Oh yeah, that's haunting) that you don't really care of what he's half-assedly grunting. So each song might as well be called Riff Compilation 1-8. There is even a sever lack of memorable leads. Only a couple of solos on the whole record, and none that particularly hit you.

In summation, I've had this album for a year and a half as of now, and I never feel compelled to take it out except to 'give it another shot' as it were. And I'm done giving it chances. It is pretty sub-par, and as I mentioned, is only really worth a download if you can't get enough of this sound, because this is third rate death metal. 2 out of 5
Highlights:
Tribal Bloodshed 2
Some scattered decent riffs

Cancer had a good run in the early 90’s with a string of three killer albums, this being the last one before Black Faith (which, admittedly, I haven’t heard).

Cancer played a style of old-school mid-paced death metal which was generally benefited from good production and solid musicianship, which clearly shines on The Sins of Mankind.

The guitar work isn’t stunning, but it’s effective and keeps the listener’s attention with some good (sometimes great) riffs and leads which sound like they were actually planned out (more Morbid Angel and less Deicide, if you can follow this example). The drums and bass are very tightly wound, with a lot of good tempo changes, which adds to the overall quality. And the vocals are more pronounced and stand out from other death metal vocalists; not the generic “swallow the microphone and belch” method that a lot of the demo bands from this era employed (in my opinion, over-used).

There are some flourishes of creativity here: as I mentioned, most of the leads are thought out and actually fit into the songs (Suffer for Our Sins, Electro-Convulsive Therapy), and there are other little odd moments thrown in here and there (acoustic guitars mingling with electric (once again, Suffer for Our Sins, Pasture of Delights / At the End) before a lot of bands tried doing this. It’s highly effective in the context of the songs.

Lyrically, the standard topics are present and accounted for (criticism of organized religion in Cloak of Darkness and Patchwork Destiny; death and gore in Meat Train) and sometimes veer into some not-so-standard topics (a two part war song in Tribal Bloodshed I & II; criticism of the mental health system and medication in Electro-Convulsive Therapy). It’s not written out as an English major might like, but it is effective for a death metal album.

Overall, The Sins of Mankind is a great album if you like your death metal to be old-school, with a few flourishes of thrash, and to be different from the hordes of bands that would flood the shelves in the mid-90’s, and combined some hints of thrash (some of the tempo changes) before a lot of bands started even knowing what death-thrash was. This isn’t quite “classic”, but it’s pretty damned close. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for something new that might have gone unheard the first time around.

This is without a doubt the best Cancer release, why? Because it will make your head bang! Previous Cancer releases were all true classics, but this one stands out for plenty of reasons. Sure, it still has plenty of death metal qualities in this album...which is what this band is known for. Compared to past Cancer albums this one seems to have more riffs and the vocals seem to have better rhythm. Very easily this album could be mistaken for a 1986 release, thrash metal up your ass! Sure like I said the death metal qualities let you know just who they really are, but Cancer take it to a whole new level. The greatest factor in this album is the constant speed to it...there are not many breaks in this album with long and drawn out riffs that get tiresome. A prime example is the track "Patchwork Destiny", it is just relentless and brutal. If you are a fan of Cancer or mainly just love great thrash metal, this one is for you. Did I mention it would make your head bang? Well it will! Cancer are an underrated death metal band that have proved it can have more than just have one sound. Cancer have made a classic here and it should be embraced by all who love metal music.