Cancer – Inverted World Review
By Steel Druhm
No one lists Cancer as their favorite death metal band. That’s because even in their heyday, they were pretty average. Early 90s platters like To the Gory End and Death Shall Rise were mildly enjoyable for their primitive, meatheaded approach, sitting at the crossroads of thrash and primordial death along with other bands of that era like Morbid Saint, Protector, and Incubus. 1993s The Sins of Mankind had a more proggy bent that cribbed notes from what Death was doing on Spiritual Healing and Human, and it had its moments. Yet none of these releases were formative or “Must Hear” records either then or now. After that, Cancer dubiously dabbled in nu-metal and groove, thereby alienating their fanbase. After 13 years in limbo, they started a second career redemption arc with 2018s Shadow Gripped, returning to their original death metal sound. Six years later, we get seventh album, Inverted World. Only vocalist/guitarist John Walker remains from the early days, and he brought in a whole new crew for this outing. The sound is basically what Cancer did on Shadow Gripped, offering proto-death with thrash influences. After a long, patchy history, can Cancer metastasize into a higher form?
The short answer is nope. Inverted World is the same kind of stuff Cancer spat out in the old days, ignoring everything that’s happened musically over the last few decades. This kind of evolutionary resistance works for some (all caveman death and Sodom), but it doesn’t do any favors for Cancer. Opener “Enter the Gate” is mid-paced OSDM spiced with modest breakdowns and slight traces of prog. It has the basic Cancer sound, but it’s a very watered-down version of it, and John Walker’s vocals sound weak and uninspired. There are some interesting riffs and guitar bits, but it’s not enough to stick. This sets the stage for issues that plague the whole album. There are inspired moments, but few songs that thrill from start to finish. The title track is exceptionally dull, plodding along in a brain-numbing mid-paced slog, and the follow-up “39 Bodies” keeps it going for another painstaking 5 minutes. A few riffs sound like they came from Death’s Spiritual Healing, but that’s not enough to save things. Lead single “Amputate” is like a drunken Jungle Rot trying to do Leprosy-era Death, and it’s a lunkheaded clunker. It’s so painfully dull, actual amputation might be preferable.
There’s not much on Inverted World that truly grabs the listener, but “Test Site” is a thrashy foray into Coroner-esque riffs that twist and corkscrew in interesting ways, and there are interesting hints of Voivod in the song structure. They even add a touch of dissonance to acknowledge the modern age. It’s still only decent, but at least it’s got some spunk. “When Killing Isn’t Murder” has flashes of lively guitar interplay and harmonies, but it’s still underwhelming. At 44 minutes, Inverted World feels longer due to the over-reliance on mid-paced tempos. Production-wise, the guitar tone is way too weak and non-confrontational to have any real impact. It also doesn’t help that Walker’s flat, monotone vocals are mixed so prominently. Especially since he’s barely even doing death vocals at this point.
The modern Cancer sound revolves around riffs, and John Walker and new lead guitarist Robert Navajas are certainly talented six-stringers. There are minor flashes of inspiration dotting the album, but they only latch onto decent riffs on half the songs, creating a paucity of truly killer riffs. The writing is a huge letdown too, with nearly every song limping along in a mid-tempo fog. John Walker was never an A-list death metal vocalist, but he sounds washed out here, entirely lacking in gravitas and intensity. He sounds bored most of the time, which I can certainly relate to by album’s end. It’s drummer Gabriel Valcázar (Wormed) who comes off best here. He’s a punchy dynamo on the backline, providing a thunderous performance. He can only do so much, though, considering the album’s commitment to pedestrian pacing.
Inverted World is better than the nu-groove stuff Cancer was churning out in the mid-90s, but it still doesn’t have much to offer the average death fiend. It’s too flat and static to inspire repeat listens, and its only appeal is to those who may have overly fond memories of Cancer’s early days. Go back to The Sins of Mankind if you bother to drill down into Cancer’s discography at all. This is a sleepy miss.
Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Peaceville
Websites: facebook.com/goryend | instagram.com/cancerofficialband
Releases Worldwide: April 25th, 2025
#20 #2025 #Apr25 #Cancer #Coroner #Death #DeathMetal #Incubus #InvertedWorld #MorbidSaint #PeacevilleRecords #Protector #Review #Reviews #UKMetal
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