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Cannibal Corpse > Live Cannibalism > Reviews
Cannibal Corpse - Live Cannibalism

Live Cannibalism. - 92%

6CORPSE6GRINDER6, November 5th, 2012

Cannibal Corpse is one of those bands whose live sound totally surpasses their studio efforts. It’s not that they sound weak, but this variety of music is so intense and hard to capture on tape at the studio. Not to mention the ferocity of the band’s performance, that never lets emotion soil the accurate and precise fret-board digitization and string picking. The dexterity of the musicians totally stands out when you know that what you are hearing was recorded in one fucking take only. The production quality is superb, both recording and mixing were handled adequately. Each instrument can be fully heard individually; from the raging growls to the combat noise drums, giving a monolithic body to the band’s compositions. There’s one issue though; I feel that in some blast beating sections strings are kind of drown by the high volume of the cymbals, yet it doesn't ruin the flow of the songs.

Song selection is another aspect that must be applauded. Cannibal Corpse’s song menu is extensive but they did an excellent job taking into account every album and balancing the number they chose from each one; one song from their debut, 3 from their second effort, 2 from their seminal “Tomb of the Mutilated” and 3 from “The Bleeding”. 9 Barnes era songs followed by 9 Corpsegrinder era pieces: 2 from “Vile”, 3 from “Gallery of Suicide” (none of them is “From Skin to Liquid, though. I think this is the first song by Cannibal Corpse that includes awkward, syncopated riffing and genius songwriting skills, marking a turning point into the band’s career; now interested in pushing the envelopes of their technique further each time) and 4 from the tour album, “Bloodthirst”. All of them mixed form a killer set list, there’s not a single weak track between them. Fisher performs Barnes era songs honorably but he will never get as deep and resounding as him. However, Fisher’s mid ranged growling is still pretty damn solid and crackling. Not so guttural but pissed off and aggressive as fuck.

Guitars’ distortion is very sharp and heavy, the inclusion of 7 strings on “Vile” and the following albums also added a darker and colder edge to their sound. Equalized towards a solid rather than acidic and thin tone, bass and mids are preferred over trebles. Guitar tracks are mastered and equalized at the same volume as the bass track, which gives the latter a special prominence. Due to this, bass guitar finger picking attack can be heard in the front row. From the initial finger stroke to the clanky, metallic sound down-tuned strings produce when hitting the fret-board; and from there to the richly organic, acoustic tone of the low end. Drums' frantic attack is basic but effective. There aren't very creative drum patterns anywhere, just quick and vicious rhythmic pulses very fitting to death metal. The songs that feature more advanced songwriting skills (dramatic tempo changes, odd timings and so forth) are accompanied by a percussion that still keeps the beat over the strange metrics, just extending or shortening the beat according to the riff rather than playing exactly with the off beats and textures of the guitar lines. Mazurkiewicz’s repertoire include slow paced beats with double bass drums to give music a more intriguing feel, accelerated “tu pa-tu pa” thrash classic beats and relentless blast beats. This characteristic enriches Cannibal Corpse’s grinding attack I think, it lets the string work shine among rapid and frantic but effective beats.

The crowd interaction is not very important in death metal, there are no sing along epic and memorable choruses (except maybe the one from “Skull Full of Maggots”) or catchy lyrics. In between songs you can hear they are enthusiastic though. The band’s performance include one nice gimmick though, a sick ending to “Disposal of the Body” where they just let the guitars' feedback on for a minute or so. This album is in some way CC’s best compilation; it features a mature band with a strong set list and the gear and talent to deliver an astonishing performance. It was recorded on the tour of one of the best albums they released, probably their best with Corpsegrinder on vocals -“Torture” is a strong contender though- and it’s balanced and fair with every past stage of the band’s sound, who has been constantly evolving trough time.

Damn, that's refreshing... - 87%

IrishDeathgrip, February 21st, 2008

Live Cannibalism... a multi-layered release by a pretty well-known death metal band. Oh, how this live album was a blessing. You see, before this, we didn't know what to expect from Cannibal Corpse in a live setting. Oh sure, maybe you bought Monolith of Death, but that was a video full of bootleg footage sent in by fans. And, alright, maybe you saw them live.

But for those of us who didn't, and wanted something definitive, that captured every positive aspect of their live performance... well, hello Live Cannibalism.

We kick it off with a new twist on an old song... Staring Through the Eyes of the dead. I am always skeptical when Corpsegrinder is preparing to sing a Barnes classic, but lemme tell you... I was fairly impressed. He did this song much justice. Then we've got another high point directly behind this one... Blowtourch Slaughter... this is a brilliant song, and it was based on this alone that I bought the Bloodthirst album. Live, it is greatly rehashed with slightly more agression.

Then we have four more Barnes-era songs, most of which are done impressively, with the exception of Stripped, Raped and Strangled... not a favorite of mine, and definitely not on this recording. Two more songs off of Bloodthirst, each done in a great way. It sounds just live enough to remind you that it is a concert, but not so haphazardly performed to make you sure you're at a Battle of the Bands.

And then, the greatest back to back combo in the history of Cannibal Corpse... Gallery of Suicide/Meat-hook Sodomy. Oh jeez, these two together are the high point of this performance. There is a great juxtaposition, as Gallery of Suicide tends to be a slower song, with a few fast moments, and Meat-Hook Sodomy tends to be a faster song with a few slow moments... and both of them are downright creepy. Corpsegrinder does Meat Hook some real justice here, and I can honestly say that I enjoyed it nearly as much as the original.

The rest of the album is more of the same... some greatness, some less than greatness. Hammer Smashed Face is more or less the same song it' always been, and the vocals are the only real change (aside from the custom 'live bass' that Alex inserts on all performances of the song).

High points include - Blowtourch Slaughter, Gallery/Meat-Hook, Devoured by Vermin
Low points include - Skull Full of Maggots, Stripped Raped and Strangled, The Spine Splitter

Enter the gallery of awesome. - 88%

TheBigDizzle, September 25th, 2004

Cannibal Corpse sometimes don't get enough credit. Sure they aren't that technical or anything, and they are practically like a novelty. One thing they do though, and do well, is put on a concert. They always seem to give a 100% performance, and this album really shows it.

First off, the production of this live album is very well done, everything is heard loudly enough, and all the instruments and the vocals are mixed well, so you can hear everything with the same ease. Corpsegrinders vocals on this are absolutely killer, he growls and screams with the best of them, and in a live setting it seems all the more punishing. He also isn't always using the same type of growl, sometimes it will be more guttural and sometimes they will be fairly high pitched, so it is nice to hear is range, George really knows how to deliver.

Cannibal Corpse, like I said may not be very technical, but they also write fairly catchy riffs that are most of the time just plain fun to listen to, from 'Fucked with a knife' to 'Hammer smashed face' they just keep on giving it to you, one after another, heavy riff after heavy riff. On this album, they sound pretty close to how they do in the studio, it's a little more sloppy at times of course, but that doesn't matter because that is what comes with every live album, you just have to sit there, enjoy and bang your head like crazy. The same can be said for the bass, it's played well and always delivers.

The drumming on this album is of course very fast and sounds great, and also really provides the full sound that the band needs to be effective, there is a lot of different speed when it comes to the drumming, but most of the time it blazes ahead as fast as anything you have ever heard and the double bass sounds absolutely fantastic.

Song highlights are probably 'I cum blood' 'Gallery of suicide' and of course the Corpe classic 'Hammer smashed face' that song will always sound awesome no matter who is doing the vocals, and George of course punishes you with the song the way Chris would have in the old days. This is a great album for fans of CC to get, or people who want to get an idea of what they sound like, it's like a best of in a live setting.

RAAAAAWR! - 90%

purerockfury, October 10th, 2003

One would think that death metal would have a horrible live sound, this is wrong (so very wrong). Not many death metal bands have ventured into the live album world, but have released various live recordings here and there. Gore lords Cannibal Corpse have proved the ignorant world wrong.
Live Cannibalism is an hour long showcase of the bands finest work up until the Blood Thirst album. The album includes such classics as 'Staring through the eyes of the dead', 'Fucked with a knife', and the all too famous 'hammer smashed face'- which is probably the best proformance on the album (IMO the best song they've ever written). Live Cannibalism captures the bands raw energy along with a screaming Corpsegrinder growling his versions of old school tunes (which sound 100 times better than when Barnes sang it) which would make any corpse turn in their grave. The sound quaility is extremely crisp and clear so that the listener is able to hear every instrument to it fullest. The live atmosphere gives each song more power. This is definetally an unlikey album to come from the death metal underworld, but a great album indeed. RAAAAAWR!

ROAOOOR!!! - 80%

Snxke, June 14th, 2003

This live album is an interesting document of music from an interesting (and controversial) band. The one thing noticed is the amount of standout tracks and absolute filler (the worst filler being "Dead Human Collection" and "I Will Kill You"). The production is passably live (clear yet not idiotic editing done to "fix" any wrong notes or the like. The band play as if there is no tomorrow (though I still prefer Barnes silly croak this Corpsegrinders as was a bit easier to hear what he was saying) and the tone on the guitars is quite brutal.

The songs themselves are a mixed batch with "Stripped, Raped and Strangled" (great title guys :-/), "Hammer Smashed Face", "Gallery of Suicide", "Unleashing the Bloodthirsty", "Covered in Sores" and "Staring Through The Eyes of the Dead" all tear like nobodies business. Unfortunately songs like "Gutted" and "Blowtorch Slaughter" just have a sad similarity that kills a lot of the record...

...but if you are a hard-core fan you might just eat this up!

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