UMUR "The Wretched Spawn" is the 9th full-length studio album by US death metal act Cannibal Corpse. The album was released through Metal Blade Records in February 2002. "The Wretched Spawn" features the same lineup who recorded the three previous studio albums. At this point the most stable lineup in the band´s career. It was however the last Cannibal Corpse album to feature founding member/guitarist Jack Owen (who after a short break in activities would join Deicide). "The Wretched Spawn" was recorded at Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas with producer Neil Kernon.

"The Wretched Spawn" pretty much continues down the same gore themed brutal death metal path as the path tread on "Gore Obsessed (2002)". Sharp precision playing, tempo changes, brutal growling yet intelligible vocals (and occassional higher pitched screams) and an emphasis on brutality that has always been a trademark of Cannibal Corpse.

The material are generally well written and tracks like "Severed Head Stoning" and "Blunt Force Castration" are incredibly powerful but there are one particular track on the album which needs a special mention. "Frantic Disembowelment" is a technical beast of a track, which all members of the band also comment on during the "Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years (2008)" DVD. It´s a Pat O'Brien penned track, and his tracks are usually in the more demanding end of the Cannibal Corpse spectrum. This one is positively insane though. Ultra fast technical riffs, blast beats, and fast rhythmic vocal lines. But as Alex Webster exlains on the documentary, Cannibal Corpse never deliberately wrote technically demanding music, but if technical riffing helps make a track more brutal and punishing, they have no problem including them.

"The Wretched Spawn" features a powerful professional sound production, which suits the music well. A bit more grit probably wouldn´t have hurt, but that´s always an aquired taste and objectively seen it´s a strong production. Overall "The Wretched Spawn" is another strong death metal release by Cannibal Corpse. Some tracks could have been more memorable, and as a result of the band focusing as much on brutality as they do, their music has a tendency to become a bit one-dimensional over the course of a full album, but a 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.

arcane-beautiful I think this is my third time listening to this album, and it’s weird…it has to be one of the best death metal albums I have ever heard.

It’s weird, out of the 3 Cannibal Corpse albums I have, this is the only one where I can go, “wow, every song is memorable and classic Corpse songs”

I think death metal fans will agree, that this album just is everything that you could want with death metal, theirs great vocals, catchy hooks, fast songs, short songs, longish songs doomy elements and some experimentation with the genre.

This is also their last album to feature a graphic cover, and it’s a shame, cause they really are eye catching, and horror movie fans like myself always like to see gore in new fashionable ways.

1. Severed Head Stoning – Great intro. Quick and brutal. 10/10

2. Psychotic Precision – Great main riff with harmonics. Short & sweet. 10/10

3. Decency Defied – Great chorus and pounding riffs. 10/10

4. Frantic Disembowelment – I guess the title gives it away, this song is pretty fast. 10/10

5. The Wretched Spawn – Sick riffs. Am I the only one who thinks that when Corpsegrinder says, “beats of hate”, it sounds like “pieces of 8”, which confused me, cause I didn’t know these guys where pirate metal. 10/10

6. Cyanide Assassin – Love the fast moments. Great arrangement. 10/10

7. Festering In The Crypt – Reminds me of early Autopsy. Doomy elements, with some amazing vocals. 10/10

8. Nothing Left To Mutilate – One of the best songs on the album. Great arrangement. 10/10

9. Blunt Force Castration – Killer riffs and interesting lyrics. 9/10

10. Rotted Body Landslide – Pretty heavy riffs. Interesting topic for a song. 9/10

11. Slain – Great lyrics and amazing chorus. I like songs with stories. 10/10

12. Bent Backwards & Broken – Great arrangement. Some killer riffs. 9/10

13. They Deserve To Die – Simple yet effective chorus. Great ending to in my opinion a classic album. 10/10

CONCLUSION: If you don’t have this album and you’re a death metal fan, get it now, you need it. If you were looking to get into death metal, this album is kind of like a packaged holiday deal for new timers.

aiylyn Br00tal,

I can't pretend to be an old-school Cannibal Corpse fan who's followed the band loyally for over ten years. Sure, I've known about them since that movie, but never really checked out their music until just now, even though I was getting into other bands like Cryptopsy and Vader through the intervening years. Well, we all make mistakes, right? I have this incredible urge to go back in time and "discover" this band for myself sooner. Because, as many have found out, Cannibal Corpse delivers on all levels. Most notable and obvious would be the artwork. Their traditional vicious pictures may be disturbing to some but a closer examination reveals that no hack could draw these - they are quite good. The music is exactly what you would expect - fast, heavy, punishing. George Fisher turns in a fantastic performance. I'm not sure if I like it as much as Peter from Vader, but he's a close second at least. The string section turns in some truly amazing sequences, particularly in the title track, though impressive riffs and leads abound throughout the album. Corpse employ advanced musical techniques without straying into the technical-for-it's-own-sake territory that bands like Cryptopsy comfortably inhabit. They are masters of rhythmic intricacy, but they leave it to the listener to realize over several listens. The drums are a little high-end heavy; the kick drums are clear but a little thin. I won't complain too much about that because it's a breath of fresh air from the usual trigger-off-the-radar kick sound that is death metal's trademark. And of course, as has been mentioned in many reviews already, the songwriting is solid; and in some places, an almost-hummable (or, growl-able) hook presents itself.

To cap off my long-winded rave, Cannibal Corpse is a band that I wish I had discovered much earlier, but as they say, better late than never. I bought. I listened. I believe.