Burning Spirit
To the initiated, Cancer are one of the few veteran acts of the British Death Metal Scene and even once boasted the nomadic guitar wizard Mike Amott amongst their ranks.
Opening with the driving 'Insides Out' which sports a galloping Maiden-esque intro, you instantly get a flavour of what Cancer are about. It is perhaps safe to say that Cancer have more similarities with the scene of Gothenburg than somewhere like Florida. For one the Cookie Monster-style vocals are non-existent in favour of more clean-cut thrashy vocals akin to Slayer and Megadeth. Ironically Cancer have toured in the past with Obituary and Deicide. However there aren't any keyboards on this album. The guitars riffs from John Walker and David Leitch have the breakneck qualities of the early thrash metals bands like Slayer. For a death metal band they don't seem be as in your face as someone like Cannibal Corpse or Obituary but then again Cancer are a tad more listenable then some other death metal bands.
As much as a solid effort this is, 'Spirit In Flames' does trundle on a bit and the vocals are almost overshadowed by the impressive guitar playing which is a shame. It's a welcome return from these veterans musicians but not quite the sound you will normally expect from a supposed death metal band.