A Skeletal Domain is the thirteenth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Released on September 16, 2014 by Metal Blade Records, the album was produced at Audiohammer Studios by Mark Lewis.
| A Skeletal Domain | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 16, 2014[1] | |||
| Recorded | February–May 2014 | |||
| Studio | Audiohammer Studios, Sanford, FL | |||
| Genre | Death metal | |||
| Length | 43:52 | |||
| Label | Metal Blade | |||
| Producer | Mark Lewis | |||
| Cannibal Corpse chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| Exclaim! | 8/10[3] |
| The Guardian | [4] |
| Metal Forces | 8/10[5] |
| Metal Hammer | neutral[6] |
| Metal Storm | 7.9/10[7] |
| Revolver | 4/5[8] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.0/5[9] |
The album entered the US Billboard 200 at number 32,[10] making it Cannibal Corpse's highest charting album on the Billboard 200 to date. 8,825 copies were sold in its first week.[11]
Background
Bassist Alex Webster said, "I think it's turning out to be kind of a dark-sounding album. Which, you know, it's a death metal album, so, of course, it should be kind of dark and eerie sounding anyway, but I think this one a little more than normal. That was kind of the direction the songwriting went in."[12]
About the direction of the material he also stated, "I think our fans appreciate our consistency. That said, I think we have some material on this album that sounds a bit different from what we've done before."[13]
Release and promotion
"Sadistic Embodiment" was officially released on the YouTube channel of Metal Blade Records on July 1, 2014. "The Murderer's Pact" was streamed via Loudwire.com on September 8, 2014.
A music video for the song "Kill or Become" was released on September 24, 2014.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "High Velocity Impact Spatter" | Paul Mazurkiewicz | Pat O'Brien | 4:06 |
| 2. | "Sadistic Embodiment" | Mazurkiewicz | O'Brien | 3:17 |
| 3. | "Kill or Become" | Rob Barrett | Barrett | 3:50 |
| 4. | "A Skeletal Domain" | Mazurkiewicz | O'Brien | 3:38 |
| 5. | "Headlong into Carnage" | Webster | Webster | 3:01 |
| 6. | "The Murderer's Pact" | Webster | Webster | 5:05 |
| 7. | "Funeral Cremation" | Mazurkiewicz | O'Brien | 3:41 |
| 8. | "Icepick Lobotomy" | Barrett | Barrett | 3:16 |
| 9. | "Vector of Cruelty" | Webster | Webster | 3:25 |
| 10. | "Bloodstained Cement" | Webster | Webster | 3:41 |
| 11. | "Asphyxiate to Resuscitate" | Mazurkiewicz | Barrett, Mazurkiewicz | 3:47 |
| 12. | "Hollowed Bodies" | Mazurkiewicz | O'Brien | 3:05 |
| Total length: | 43:52 | |||
"Icepick Lobotomy" is labelled as "Ice-Pick Lobotomy" in the album's liner notes.
Credits
Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[14]
Personnel
Cannibal Corpse
- George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher – vocals
- Pat O'Brien – lead guitar
- Rob Barrett – rhythm guitar
- Alex Webster – bass
- Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums
Charts
| Chart (2014) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[15] | 28 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[16] | 128 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[17] | 26 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[18] | 127 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] | 21 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] | 129 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[21] | 50 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[22] | 165 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[23] | 26 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[24] | 6 |
| US Billboard 200[10] | 32 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] | 5 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[26] | 3 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[27] | 7 |
| US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[28] | 7 |