Kez Whelan
, April 21st, 2021 07:52
April is the cruelest month. unless you like gore-fixated death metal, weed infused doom and heavy as all hell avant rock, says Kez Whelan
Big Brave
With an end to lockdown seemingly in sight, things are feeling slightly less bleak this month. Whilst live music is still a little way off (judging by how many of the big June/ July festivals have already opted to postpone for another year), Roadburn has certainly helped ease the pain with their Roadburn Redux, offering a wealth of live streams, documentaries and exclusively recorded sets you can enjoy from the comfort of your own couch.
Unkillable death metal final bosses Cannibal Corpse stay vicious on album number 15.
Words: Nick Ruskell
Realistically, there is surely no type of violence left unimagined by Cannibal Corpse. So grossed out were the guardians of decency in Germany by the content of the band’s gore-drenched first three albums that said albums were banned there, to the point that even playing tracks from them live decades after the fact remained a no-no. There’s been excessive surgery, zombies, decapitations, torture with blowtorches, stabbings, ejaculating blood, being eaten alive by rats, and having a butcher’s hook shoved up your arse. Sometimes it’s bordered on genius (Hammer Smashed Face is the most bluntly perfect death metal title ever), sometimes it’s been plain unnecessary (even if it exists solely for the sake of saying something unambiguously awful for shock, the world has never wanted for a song called Fucked With A Knife). And still, on their 15