What makes Cannibal Corpse worth listening to, nine albums into their career, is that they continue to evolve their sound within the admittedly conservative framework which they have imposed on themselves -- the results of which have proven to be quite excellent. Small touches indicate how they have grown as songwriters over the course of a career that spans more than fifteen years: the doomy intro to "Festering in the Crypt", the dark melodic break halfway through "Frantic Disembowelment". In the meantime, they continue to excel as one of the most technical bands in death metal. Say what you will about their ability to come up with fresh ideas, but there are precious few guitarists that will outdo the quite frankly sick staccato riffage of "Psychotic Precision". Of course, it may just be that what Cannibal Corpse brings to the table just isn't enough for some, a view that boils down to a simple matter of opinion. But as Alex Webster states on the record's accompanying DVD documentary, the band's primary objective has always been to "deliver the death metal"; and in the case of _The Wretched Spawn_, the group definitely deserve infinite kudos for a job exceptionally done.