The early nineties was a good time for death metal and producer Scott Burns whose schedule must have been booked beyond solid as he produced the majority of the shit that came out. U.K. death metal band Cancer hit the scene with their debut To the Gory End which received a positive response. With this sophomore album, Cancer really let the monster loose and made Death Shall Rise, possibly their best material in their career. Their first 3 albums are recommended if you're into solid old school thrash/death.

The band name alone is probably the most sinister that comes to mind -- the disease is probably one of the most rampant and relentless diseases to ever infect mankind, with no signs of slowing down, so there is brutality in simplicity. Think of something sick -- think of Cancer. The musicianship on this one melds that old school death/thrash vibe, with very chugging mid-paced arrangements with some clever and memorable breakdowns. We never get any break neck speed blast beats but the sound is thunderous and technical. Sometimes its nice to stop and smell the blood splattered roses. The songs are thick, meaty and have nice long running times too. They take their time and get into it. It's not all at break neck fuck you and down your throat speed in under a minute.

This brings back memories of the days I would buy CDs at a Sam the Record Man or before the days of HMV, the internet and downloading hadn't become quite as hot as it is today, as most average people had shitty dial-up internet which tied up your phone line. You'd go into a music store and look at the CDs, but they were about $30 a pop -- especially the imports -- so lets just say I spent a lot of money on CD's. I also remember some of the CDs having these big long cardboard slip cases similar to those old school big box VHS tapes you'd find around. Roadrunner Records were big at this time and had a slew of great releases. Metal Blade and Earache Records, those were the true days of death metal. I think Cancer got a bit lost in the shuffle, due to the inability to find themselves and maintain an original sound. The vocals were very high and thrashy, similar to Obituary and Death, while the music is a hybrid of Cannibal Corpse (who were releasing Butchered at Birth the same year) and old Death.

The opener, Hung, Drawn and Quartered is definitely one of the most memorable Cancer songs because of the chorus and breakdown on the song. It has me singing along with the chorus and the intro of the song features the classic death bell tolling. Tasteless Incest also has a great song structure and memorable chorus with "Keep it in the family, human disgrace!" Probably the best structure, and if possible, toe tapping tune on the album is Burning Casket. I would even call it funky, the way it goes up and down. It has a very memorable breakdown and delivery. Internal Decay is also another memorable track, and amongst the best on here, but the entire Death Shall Rise release definitely deserves a listen from start to finish.

Another big mention with this one is that James Murphy did guitar duty on it. If you're not familiar with Murphy, he has played with the who's who in the old school death metal circle with the likes of Obituary, Death, Testament and many more. Even his own one album death metal project during the nineties known as Disincarnate were kick ass. It was said Murphy never wanted to be put on this album as a regular member, he was just helping with Death Shall Rise but he was credited as a regular member regardless.

Cancer are currently active. They released a couple more albums, such as Black Faith and Spirit In Flames, but never recaptured that old school feeling or revival of their earlier works. In 2014 they re-formed to tour in support of the re-release of To the Gory End, Death Shall Rise and The Sins of Mankind. Death Shall Rise is a seminal '90s death metal release not to be taken lightly or forgotten. It's up there as one of the best.