Bleeding - Cannibal Corpse > Reviews > I wish it had more staying power

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Mediocre
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money

Advantages:	Stellar musicianship, good songwriting
Disadvantages:	Lyrics are trite .  Album has very short shelf life .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I had this cassette years ago, yet I lost it for a few years and didn't buy the CD until recently. Hearing it again, it's still musically superior to most death metal, but Barnes's vocals got on my nerves. The experimenting the band does on this album is a vast improvement over previous albums. The vocal experimenting falls flat though... the higher pitched rasping bits sound forced, although it IS commendable that Barnes tried something new here. You can ignore the vocals and concentrate on the incredible musicianship for about 75% of "The Bleeding", but some tracks sound like mush and gets a bit annoying before it's over. There is some mighty fine guitar playing on display here, and the bass is jaw-dropping perfection. I didn't know Cannibal Corpse had this much talent before "The Bleeding" came out; previous stuff is super-brutal yet does little to impress the listener with the band's musical talent. Lyrics are silly but they never claimed to be Shakespeare. Overall, I don't see myself listening to this too often unless I shuffle in the songs with several other CDs. I'm still giving it a 4 star rating since it IS a fine example of very well-played death metal.