CANCER: DEATH SHALL RISE (2021 Peaceville 30th Anniversary Re-Release)
Cancer's legendary second album, Death Shall Rise is celebrating its 30th anniversary in brutal style with a long overdue re-release. Physical copies of the album have been rather difficult to get hold of over the years which is partly to blame for this slab of gory gold remaining a firmly underground classic. Cancer's lack of activity and the absence of any notable releases during the late 1990's and 2000's has also hindered this masterpiece from reaching the far wider acclaim that it deserves. Giving Death Shall Rise a fair chance 30 years on will hopefully draw attention to the album, not only to show how fantastic it is, but also just how brilliant and crucial it was to the rising and rotting scene that we now know as Old-School Death Metal.
It would be wrong to say that Death Shall Rise was ahead of it's time. In truth, this album is actually an embodiment of what was happening at the time. It is a fine reflection of the growing and evolving Death Metal scene which was sprouting from the limp and lifeless corpse of Thrash Metal, as bands and extreme music fans were pushing the boundaries and seeking heavier, faster and more aggressive audible delicacies. Produced by Scott Burns at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, the very cradle of the infant Death Metal scene, Death Shall Rise sounds fantastically heavy, dark and raw. In fact, it sounds better than some of Cancer's contemporaries releases that have since become highly coveted by fans of the early scene. Being produced in the same studio and having the same producer responsible for the pivotal releases of other genre titans, such as; Deicide, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse, it is hardly surprising that Death Shall Rise has a sound which shares more similarities with those American bands, rather than with the styles of their fellow British countrymen like; Bolt Thrower, Carcass and Benediction. Instead of staying close to home, Cancer, just like Napalm Death and numerous others, decided to take a trip across the Atlantic and opted for a sound made in the sun.
The combination of having a key Death Metal producer and a set of solidly constructed and well written material resulted in a barbaric beast of an album. The classic opening track "Hung, Drawn And Quartered", with a notable backing vocal contribution from Deicide's Glen Benton, oozes with that deliciously gritty Old-School sound, crushing skulls and shattering necks with savagely heavy riffs and monstrous vocals. Intricate, technical and super crunchy, "Tasteless Incest" weilds some exceptional guitar work, grinding blast beats, Obituary-esque slower sludgy riffing, and an awesome solo. John Walker shows his vocal talents well here, with a harsh yet clear growling style which is perhaps best described as a combination of Bolt Thrower's Karl Willetts and Six Feet Under's Chris Barnes. Ripping straight into "Burning Casket" which thrashes like early Sepultura and grinds like Napalm Death, you very quickly get the understandable impression that Death Shall Rise is a consistent and relentless machine of an album.
Title track and classic cut "Death Shall Rise" is a hammering horror story staying true to traditional Death Metal lyrical themes, packed with intense riffing, Thrashing brutality, clamourous drumming and all with a distinctly Carcass inspired sound. With a more European Death Metal vibe, "Back From The Dead" lumbers along with droning Death-Doom riffs that would not sound out of place on an Asphyx record and is as crunchy as a bag of old bones. Like a surge of intense energy, "Gruesome Tasks" is a furious and speedy Death Metal assault. The kind of towering walls of melodic riffs favoured by Bolt Thrower are merged with a Cannibal Corpse level of savagery, resulting in a myriad of rampaging riffs and pummelling drums.
Any vestige of intact spinal cord that has somehow remained intact until this point in the album is certain to now be severed by the absolute blast-beat barrages of the brutal Grindcore edged "Corpse Fire" and finishing blow "Internal Decay", the later of which mesmerises and intoxicates with Death-Doom weighty riffs and contrasting chaotic ballistic fury.
This 30th anniversary edition also includes a bonus concert recorded live at Wrexham Memorial Hall in Wales on 31/08/1990. Completionists and diehard fans of Cancer's early career will certainly appreciate this rough and raw recording of the band, as they tear through a savage set largely consisting of material from their debut To The Gory End, as well as punishing versions of Death Shall Rise numbers "Gruesome Tasks" and "Tasteless Incest". This additional content is by no means a clear and clean sounding live album, but the inclusion of the show makes for an enjoyable listen and is a fresh insight into the past, into the early career of Cancer and the infant underground Death Metal scene.
Overall, the 30th anniversary edition of Death Shall Rise is an essential purchase for any Old-School Death Metal fan. An album that deserves far greater recognition for the quality of its content and the impact that it could and should have had on the Death Metal scene, Death Shall Rise is a veritable feast of delicious Death Metal in its purest putrid form.
NO NONSENSE METAL RATING 8/10
For fans of; DEICIDE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, NAPALM DEATH
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Cancer's legendary second album, Death Shall Rise is celebrating its 30th anniversary in brutal style with a long overdue re-release. Physical copies of the album have been rather difficult to get hold of over the years which is partly to blame for this slab of gory gold remaining a firmly underground classic. Cancer's lack of activity and the absence of any notable releases during the late 1990's and 2000's has also hindered this masterpiece from reaching the far wider acclaim that it deserves. Giving Death Shall Rise a fair chance 30 years on will hopefully draw attention to the album, not only to show how fantastic it is, but also just how brilliant and crucial it was to the rising and rotting scene that we now know as Old-School Death Metal. It would be wrong to say that Death Shall Rise was ahead of it's time. In truth, this album is actually an embodiment of what was happening at the time. It is a fine reflection of the growing and evolving Death Metal scene which was sprouting from the limp and lifeless corpse of Thrash Metal, as bands and extreme music fans were pushing the boundaries and seeking heavier, faster and more aggressive audible delicacies. Produced by Scott Burns at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, the very cradle of the infant Death Metal scene, Death Shall Rise sounds fantastically heavy, dark and raw. In fact, it sounds better than some of Cancer's contemporaries releases that have since become highly coveted by fans of the early scene. Being produced in the same studio and having the same producer responsible for the pivotal releases of other genre titans, such as; Deicide, Obituary and Cannibal Corpse, it is hardly surprising that Death Shall Rise has a sound which shares more similarities with those American bands, rather than with the styles of their fellow British countrymen like; Bolt Thrower, Carcass and Benediction. Instead of staying close to home, Cancer, just like Napalm Death and numerous others, decided to take a trip across the Atlantic and opted for a sound made in the sun. The combination of having a key Death Metal producer and a set of solidly constructed and well written material resulted in a barbaric beast of an album. The classic opening track "Hung, Drawn And Quartered", with a notable backing vocal contribution from Deicide's Glen Benton, oozes with that deliciously gritty Old-School sound, crushing skulls and shattering necks with savagely heavy riffs and monstrous vocals. Intricate, technical and super crunchy, "Tasteless Incest" weilds some exceptional guitar work, grinding blast beats, Obituary-esque slower sludgy riffing, and an awesome solo. John Walker shows his vocal talents well here, with a harsh yet clear growling style which is perhaps best described as a combination of Bolt Thrower's Karl Willetts and Six Feet Under's Chris Barnes. Ripping straight into "Burning Casket" which thrashes like early Sepultura and grinds like Napalm Death, you very quickly get the understandable impression that Death Shall Rise is a consistent and relentless machine of an album. Title track and classic cut "Death Shall Rise" is a hammering horror story staying true to traditional Death Metal lyrical themes, packed with intense riffing, Thrashing brutality, clamourous drumming and all with a distinctly Carcass inspired sound. With a more European Death Metal vibe, "Back From The Dead" lumbers along with droning Death-Doom riffs that would not sound out of place on an Asphyx record and is as crunchy as a bag of old bones. Like a surge of intense energy, "Gruesome Tasks" is a furious and speedy Death Metal assault. The kind of towering walls of melodic riffs favoured by Bolt Thrower are merged with a Cannibal Corpse level of savagery, resulting in a myriad of rampaging riffs and pummelling drums. Any vestige of intact spinal cord that has somehow remained intact until this point in the album is certain to now be severed by the absolute blast-beat barrages of the brutal Grindcore edged "Corpse Fire" and finishing blow "Internal Decay", the later of which mesmerises and intoxicates with Death-Doom weighty riffs and contrasting chaotic ballistic fury. This 30th anniversary edition also includes a bonus concert recorded live at Wrexham Memorial Hall in Wales on 31/08/1990. Completionists and diehard fans of Cancer's early career will certainly appreciate this rough and raw recording of the band, as they tear through a savage set largely consisting of material from their debut To The Gory End, as well as punishing versions of Death Shall Rise numbers "Gruesome Tasks" and "Tasteless Incest". This additional content is by no means a clear and clean sounding live album, but the inclusion of the show makes for an enjoyable listen and is a fresh insight into the past, into the early career of Cancer and the infant underground Death Metal scene. Overall, the 30th anniversary edition of Death Shall Rise is an essential purchase for any Old-School Death Metal fan. An album that deserves far greater recognition for the quality of its content and the impact that it could and should have had on the Death Metal scene, Death Shall Rise is a veritable feast of delicious Death Metal in its purest putrid form.
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