Album Review: Cancer - Inverted World
Reviewed by Patrick O'Reilly
I was always aware of Cancer back in my youth, as a budding death metal fan they were on my radar, but I was never what you would call a true fan. That changed in 2022 when I attended London Death Fest and saw them put on a masterclass to a packed crowd. Something clicked and their old school death metal resonated with me like it didn’t before. Since then, I have been regularly spinning Cancer’s back catalogue and was excited to hear they had a new album on the way and here it is.
It’s my opinion that death metal lives or dies on the strength of its riffs, if that is the case then this album has nothing to fear. Riffs abound in all shapes and forms, from the downright technical to brutal and punishing.
The majority of the album is played at mid pace, the true refuge of the old schooler, and it chugs along with majesty and craft, occasionally becoming a bit more frantic but never into the realm of blast beats or any of that nonsense. Guitar's buzz and grind and the vocals are very Benediction/Bolt Thrower style, almost legible amongst the chaos but not quite.
Production is thick and meaty, just what you want from an album like this, and sounds great, each instrument given a chance to be heard in the mix.
Thematically the album has some interesting songs on it, from the thrashy vibes of ‘Test Site’ which deals with the good old subject of nuclear obliteration (another throwback to the 80s!!), Belgian colonialism in late 1800s Congo on track ‘Amputate’ and acid bath murder on classic track ‘Corrosive’ so you are learning whilst listening to this band!!
It will never win any awards for originality, but this album has a lot of heart, is well written, played and produced and is worthy of your time if you are into old school death metal or interesting themes explored in brutal music.
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