Cancer

Criminal could be seen as Chile's Sepultura. Both bands sound fairly similar, although there are clear differences. Criminal never had a stupid nu-metal phase, and they pulled off the whole groove thing better than "Chaos A.D." Criminal also implemented the mid-paced blueprints with their thrash/death metal bloodline intact, whereas Sepultura embraced the nu-metal/alternative direction and abandoned their roots for their "Roots." They have mostly stuck to a style that holds up well considering the general ineptitude of most groove metal, although it isn't perfect. "Cancer" is a fantastic example of their routine experience—imagine a concoction of Pantera, Sepultura that was never concussed multiple times, and traditional thrash/death metal.

I'm not implying this is anywhere near stellar. "Cancer" has flaws that are essentially intrinsic when subscribing to a sound as such. The riffs and songs are bouncy and fun and all that jazz, but the limitations they present are self-evident. The songs move at a medial tempo, obviously, and they begin to come off as boring and trite once the initial flash wears off. There are only so many of those mid-paced riffs and simple plods one can tolerate before the act starts to grow stale. The album's finest moments occur when Criminal drifts away from their usual state. ''Play God" shifts the tempo to a fast beating with thrash/death metal influence running the show, and other moments when the pulse is kicked up sting like a nest of pissed off hornets.

"Cancer" still operates well, just on an inconsistent basis when it rotates on its usual axis. Big, nasty grooves are plentiful, conjuring images of something not too far from a quintessential model for this type of thing. The faster sections show clear similarities to Pentagram, and what love letters they are to that then-defunct group. Death metal influence drips from the harsh vocals, a slew of riffs use their incisors, and thundering drum sections inch toward blasts when they appear. A lifeline for the record arrives in the production, which is a masterful representation of how an output as such should sound. Every part from the guitar tone to the vocals has an organic, raw bite to it that adds a hint of voltage. This would sound like total ass if it were compressed beyond recognition, or too glossy.

The last batch of anthems is much more frenzied and violent, and those tracks alone almost make "Cancer" hold firm. Criminal struggles to gain momentum until things are wrapping up, and although this is overall fine, it is nowhere close to the hemisphere of a masterpiece. Sound quality and the accelerated moments are the saving graces, standing on the podium high and tall with the fifty percent or so of groove riffs that hold things together sharing the bronze. Still, this is like winning the lottery compared to most of the crap that follows the same avenue. At least the record knows how to navigate itself, the systemic hazards notwithstanding.