Worm Infested

About a year and a half after the release of the thrashy Gore Obsessed comes this little ditty by the name of Worm Infested. On the surface, it’s a filler release to tide us over until The Wretched Spawn would grace us with its presence – though stylistically, this EP does show off what that album would have in store for us, as it kicks off by hitting us with a hardier version of what they had put out on Bloodthirst. That manic, somewhat technical style of death metal that they were working on for that album, albeit with an additional layer of urgency that was highly present on the last album. There’s a bit more thrash, but it stays firmly entrenched in a more outright death metal sound with a more technical layering.

Gonna level with you guys here – the two original songs on Worm Infested have “sampler” written all over them. “Systemic Elimination” showcases a particularly bludgeoning quality with its rapid-fire high-impact composition, while “Worm Infested” leans further on a groovier, more technical edge. “Worm Infested” is particularly interesting at a basic compositional level as it slowly builds up to a few different grooves with a few more moving pieces than you’d expect from Cannibal Corpse. They’re not exactly becoming the American Cryptopsy here, but it does contrast nicely with the more straightforward “Systemic Elimination”. That being said, while “Systemic Elimination” certainly has the energy of a tip top Cannibal Corpse opener, it’s no “Pounded into Dust” or “Savage Butchery” in terms of quality as it does blend more into a blur of rapid-fire riffs, rather than something with a truly discernible rhythm to really latch onto. Also, I like what they’re going for with “Worm Infested”, but it’s a layer of polish away from really raising the roof. It finds itself a bit more meandering in its delivery than it could’ve been, like the riffs do genuinely build up to bigger compositions, but they drag on a bit and come across a touch underdeveloped. In short, the ideas are there and both songs are fairly good at what they do, but they lack those finer touches that make Cannibal Corpse songs really pop!

Ah, but what is this EP without its covers? Cannibal Corpse takes “Demon’s Night” from the near-masterpiece that is Restless and Wild, and turns it into their own with thrashier variants of the original song’s riffs and faster overall pace. If nothing else, it’s certainly the best song Paths of Possession would’ve written. The next two covers… are admirable enough, but don’t really add much to the original songs, apart from Corpsegrinder’s signature style, and even that errs a bit more towards Jeff Becerra’s more sort of hoarse shouting style during the Possessed cover. Good to listen to on their own, but they don’t do that much with those songs either. Really, the true value of Worm Infested is their masterful cover of Metallica’s “No Remorse”, which really takes this pioneering speed/thrash metal song and amps up the aggression to the point that they made it into their own. How the Jack/Pat duo play the riffs harder than James and Kirk did, combined with the thick production and Corpsegrinder’s hardy, sometimes gurgly growls, all make this cover both a faithful rendition and not that far off sounding like an actual Cannibal Corpse song. This is easily the best thing about the EP, though the fact that it’s on digipaks and limited editions of Gore Obsessed does lower the overall value of Worm Infested.

So yeah, the question of whether it’s truly a filler release or not has a rather simple answer – sure. It’s fine. Two fairly good original tunes, mostly good covers, and a fantastic cover. The “No Remorse” cover is worth the price of admission and the “Demon’s Night” cover is also quite good. The original songs would probably have been cooler 20 years ago as it was like more Bloodthirst but even more intense; as they stand in 2023, they’re like what would appear on The Wretched Spawn but not as well-developed or well put together. So yeah… it’s fine.

If you're going to record and offer an EP or single release to fans to pad your sales between full length albums, the least you can do is offer material that they don't already own in one form or the other. And with Worm Infested, the first Cannibal Corpse EP since the now useless Hammer Smashed Face 10 years prior, they have done exactly this. At over 22 minutes of music, Worm Infested offers two new studio tracks, three decent cover tunes, and a re-recording of "The Undead Will Feast" from the debut Eaten Back to Life, with Corpsegrinder's vocals in place of Barnes.

"Systematic Elimination" is the only track here to be redundant with the 15-Year Killing Spree boxed set to release later in the same year, but it's a competent bludgeon that capitalizes on the high velocity catapulting rhythms inherent on the last full-length album Gore Obsessed. Of special note are the brutal rhythm guitars beneath the wildly flailing leads. "Worm Infested" itself is not quite as good, but there's a lengthy scale pattern that weaves through the track, giving it a feel of Middle Eastern mystique ala Nile. Next is a cover of "Demon's Night" ala Accept, from the Restless and Wild album, and as usual, they do a good job transforming into something of their own which wouldn't sound completely out of place in a set list among their more brutal originals.

"The Undead Will Feast" isn't a far cry greater than the original version with Barnes' vocals, but I do prefer Fisher in the end and the mix feels more brutal and up to date with the 21st century Cannibal repertoire. "Confessions" is the band's 2nd Possessed cover, having done "The Exorcist" a decade past on their Hammer Smashed Face EP. It seems Fisher attempts to make the vocals too close to Becera's original, I might have preferred his grunting tone here, but otherwise it sounds exciting and solid. The last track on the EP is a cover of Metallica's "No Remorse", which rocks as hard as it ought, and like the Accept tune, they again make it their own.

Worm Infested was a decent tide-over until The Wretched Spawn released in 2004, and not a bad listen, confirming that 2003 was the year of the Cannibal Corpse cover (the 3 covers at the end of Disc 3 of 15-Year Killing Spree were also that release's strong point). As for the originals, "Systematic Elimination" is quite good and very similar to the material for the next album. The Accept and Metallica covers are also worth hearing, but the overall value of this release is simply not in league with the previous albums like Bloodthirst or Gore Obsessed.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

Ah, Cannibal’s infamous Worm Infested EP. For those of you out there still thinking about picking this up, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find it’s worth keeping around for more than just its cover art. Just not that much more.

Opener “Systematic Elimination” is of little interest, being little more than another vanilla Gore Obsessed leftover. But after its brief run, the awesome title track kicks in. Besides sporting the best lyrics on the album, it features a dizzying riff set the likes of which Cannibal Corpse rarely offer. This track is worth most of the CD price and is probably the reason you’d want to pick this up.

But wait, there’s more. Covers that is, no new originals. Firstly, “Demon’s Night” is an Accept cover that sounds little like its original counterpart. The Cannibal arrangement isn’t bad though, so fans might dig it. Then there’s the rerecording of “The Undead Will Feast,” which is the most puzzling track on here. Of all the tracks from Eaten Back To Life that they could have resurrected, they certainly picked the last one I’d want to hear. What about “Buried in the Backyard?” “Edible Autopsy?” Any of those other tracks? Whatever, this version is more insipid than the original. On to a surprisingly solid Possessed cover, “Confessions.” It’s even more spot on then when they covered “The Exorcist” back on the Hammer Smashed EP, partly because Corpsegrinder alters his vocal style to sound closer to the original, which is cool. Finally, a very brutal rendition of Metallica’s “No Remorse,” which despite sounding like a ton of bricks, is fairly faithful to the original. Easily one of the other standout tracks.

If one solid original and a pair of decent covers is enough to warrant purchase, then by all means, purchase away.

...but this is pretty fucking sweet!

Well, before Cannibal Corpse came out with their 2004 full length release, this cool little EP came as quite a surprise. Hell, I don’t even remember it getting announced! All I can recall is myself walking through the music store and spotting an album with some naked chick on the front cover, spreading her legs, and allowing a stream of green worms to spew forth from her cunt as they surrounded her entire body. I looked in the upper corner of the album, and sure enough, there was that blood red logo…CANNIBAL COPRSE! After checking the song titles in the back, I realized that his was only an EP. I was honestly hoping for it to be a full length album, but that would only come out a short while later. To be honest, I was still stunned with that cover art. It’s their best album art since Tomb Of The Mutilated!! Vile was okay, and so was Gallery Of Suicide, as far as album covers go, despite the latter coming off as a little too cartoonish. That’s been the problem with the band’s album covers since Gallery Of Suicide. After changing artists, the pictures had been coming out FAR too cartoonish to be considered brutal or shocking.

Okay, so Gallery Of Suicide passes, but don’t even get me started on the Bloodthirst cover. I mean, really, what the hell is that thing supposed to be anyway?? The album cover to Gore Obsessed was a little too cartoonish as well, and…well, it just seemed rather lame. Nothing special. Now, the band must have changed artists again or gotten their old one back, because this album cover rules, and there’s not even any blood on it!

Alright, well that's just the cover art, but what about the music?? Could this mean an improvement in the music as well after the let-down of Gore Obsessed? To be honest, the album was a disappointment to me, but luckily...this short, little EP was not!

1. Systematic Elimination - Okay, so here we have your typical, brutal, savage CC tune. But for some reason, this appeals much more to me than anything recorded on Gore Obsessed. I can easily compare this song to…let’s say…Pounded Into Dust? Or perhaps even Disposal Of The Body. So yeah, it’s not one of those complex Death Metal tunes that Cannibal Corpse has been doing in recent years. No catchy riffs or mid-paced crushing passages in this one. This is just pure, skull crushing Death Metal. I mean, just look at the title! The savage music fits the lyrics quite well, considering the song’s about these so called “leaders” of our modern society realizing that technology has become more advanced than the average working human being. So, you know what they do about it? They kill every single worthless person…with their own damn technology! One by one until no one is left alive. A prophecy perhaps?
Oh, and too all of you morons out there who accuse CC of being a mindless gore band, then this song will prove you wrong!

2. Worm Infested - Whoa, MUCH better song! The slow beginning is simply crushing, but the rest of the song is blazing fast Metal with Fisher’s vocals being spat out at 200+ mph! Just check out that chorus “Worm infested! Worm infested! Worm infested!”….sounds more like “Wormawatwataworm infested!!”. And don’t think that this song is completely full of blast beats either, because it’s not. It’s one of those infamous CC pace changers….it goes from slow, crushing riffs, to through the wall thrashing, and then to another mid-paced, skull crushing riff fest. So yes, this rules anything that’s on Gore Obsessed! By far!

3. Demon’s Night - Yup, you guessed it! This is an Accept cover, originally from their 1982 Restless & Wild album. Although not nearly as good as the original version, the CC version is damn good in its own way. Great job guys at turning this song into your own! This band has this band has covered many Heavy Metal classics. Hmm, let’s see…Black Sabbath - Zero The Hero, Possessed - The Exorcist, Metallica - No Remorse…and yes, Accept - Demon’s Night. Of course, the main difference here are the vocals. Besides screaming and screeching the lines “Demon’s night!” or “We’ve got your number!” like Udo does, Fisher growls them pretty deep. Regardless, they sound great when done either way. Some songs sound like shit when they’re growled, but not this one. As for the music, well…the guitar is more distorted, that’s pretty much it. Otherwise, there’s hardly a musical difference.

4. The Undead Will Feast - If you wanna know more about what I think of this song, go read my review of Eaten Back To Life, because this is just a rerecorded version of that song. Why did they choose this one out of any other Barnes-era song? I have no fucking clue. But really, the only difference is that the production job is better and George Fisher…well, if you don’t know the difference between his vocals and Chris Barnes’ by now, then you shouldn’t even be reading this review.

5. Confessions - Ah yes, another cover from Possessed. They covered The Exorcist back on the Hammer Smashed Face EP and did a decent job at it, but as far as this cover goes…it sounds nearly identical. If you’re unfamiliar with the band Possessed (which you shouldn’t be if you’re a Death Metal fan reading a Cannibal Corpse review), they were a Death Metal band hailing from San Francisco in the mid 80s. Unlike The Exorcist though, the cover here sounds too damn identical for me to really appreciate it. I loved the original version, so there’s no reason why I shouldn’t like this one. Also, you can clearly understand what Jeff Becerra from Possessed is saying when this song is played, but…since when the hell can anyone clearly understand George Fisher? The vocal department should have made all the difference in this song, but Mr. Corpsegrinder Fisher chose to keep it the same here. Yes, the vocals are still harsh, but really easy to understand. And actually, this kind of foreshadows what kind of vocal technique will be used on the next album…

6. No Remorse - If you’ve read my review for Gore Obsessed, then you already know what I think of this song. I still have no idea why it was put on here if it was already released before…but anyway, just incase you’re a lazy-ass and don’t want to go back and read it, I’ll recap a few things: Well let me just say this…Metallica has been owned with their own damn song!

Note: I know I stated at the end of my ‘Gore Obsessed’ review that the band would return with a vengeance on their next release….well, this isn’t the release I had in mind, it‘s just an EP. The real deal is the full length album that comes after this…

This enjoyable little EP is a well produced slam of super-fast and super-mindless death metal that stands a cut above most of what Cannibal Corpse has been releasing since George Fischer has joined the band. The production is tight as a drum and the band sands as good as I've hever heard them. The mix is rather beefy and gives this EP the feeling that someone put a little more time into mixing that some of the previous Cannibal Corpse works. This is hardly "The Bleeding" artistically, but it far surpasses most of what the band has in iterms of recorded sonics.

The two new originals here work quite well compared to many of the tracks released with Corpsegrinder in recent times. "Systematic Elimination" and "Worm Infested" both have strange hooks and riffs that catch the ear and pummel like mad. While it may not be catchy as anything from the Barnes years, it's certainly a step forward. The death metal cover of Accepts "Demon Night" sounds nothing like the original and sounds rather like an original catchy death metal song that is a little too for Cannibal Corpse to have written. The same goes with "The Undead Will Feast" which is a Barnes bonus from the old days with George singing. "Confessions" is strong and "No Remorse" sucks like crazy as the song just sounds idiotic wtih these vocals. The songcraft and selection here isn't brilliant...but it works in the concept of fun.

"Worm Infested" is the king of limited release that you slap on when you're in the need for something quick, brutal and to the point. Cannibal Corpse have done nothing here to seperate themselves from most of the bands they've created other than getting slightly more melodic again. I enjoy this for it's gutteral fun, but it's utterly disposable in the long run.

Interesting and momentary...

I got this in the Wretched Spawn Box set, which was the price of a regular CD, which means this EP was essentially free. Which is a good thing, 'cause I probably wouldn't want to pay for this. Don't get me wrong, I love Cannibal Corpse, but this mighty mite of an EP falls short.

On the two new songs: Cannibal Corpse get too fucking fast and crazy for their own good on "Systematic Elimination". The song is almost completely incoherent. The intro has some weird riff that could best be described as "warbly". The verse riffs sound like Gore Obsessed leftovers. At least the arrangement is interesting. The song just kind of charges through, rarely returning to a previous part. At least Alex Webster's hell on 5-strings bass playing comes through loud and clear. The fucker plays with his fingers and keeps pace with the breakneck guitar riffs just fine.

The title track slows it down at first. It's that kind of tortured, insane kind of slow. Then the drums and vocals get really fast, and the guitars sort of play the same riff. Lots of tempo and mood changes. Kind of cool, better than the previous track. Too bad the guitars are a little too distorted, there isn't a lot of clarity.

I feel the original version of "The Undead Will Feast" (from CC's debut) sounds the most like modern Corpse, so I think it's interesting that they chose this song to re-record. I think they kind of botched it. The production on the original was a lot more crisp and defined, as opposed to this muddy mess. Boo.

For two of the covers, I don't really have much of a base of reference. I've never heard the originals. George's vocals aren't as deep and low on Confessions, and I really think they're cool. All the covers sound gnarly, and I like Cannibal Corpse's version of No Remorse better than Metallica's.
This release is way overshadowed by The Wretched Spawn, but it's a nice little bonus. Otherwise, it's probably better if only hardcore Cannibal Corpse fans picked it up.