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Cannibal Corpse

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Cannibal Corpse

Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band founded in 1988. The band has released ten studio albums, one boxed set, and one live album. Although Cannibal Corpse has had virtually no radio or television exposure, a cult following began to build behind the group with albums like 1991's Butchered at Birth and 1992's Tomb of the Mutilated. Cannibal Corpse reached over 1 million in record sales worldwide in 2003,[3] including 558,929 in the United States,[4] making them one of the highest selling death metal bands of all time.

Cannibal Corpse members draw influence from thrash metal bands, such as Slayer;[5] Kreator,[6] and other death metal bands like Death and Obituary.[5] With lyrical content inspired by horror fiction stories and films, the band has gained infamy around the world for their exceptionally violent subject matter, including lyrics and album art that depict gore, mutilation, murder, necrophilia, masochism, revenge, cannibalism, zombies, torture, and rape. As a result, the band has faced international censorship and bannings from playing live in numerous countries.[7]

Biography

Cannibal Corpse was made up of members from three earlier Buffalo-area death metal bands, Beyond Death (Webster, Owen), Leviathan (Barnes), and Tirant Sin (Barnes, Rusay, Mazurkiewicz). The band played their first show at Buffalo's River Rock Cafe in April 1989, shortly after recording a five-song demo tape Cannibal Corpse. Within a year of that first gig, the band was signed to Metal Blade Records and their full-length, debut album, Eaten Back to Life, was released in August 1990. "The main thing that helped us was sending the label a videotape of our live show. The crowd reaction and our energy helped."- Jack Owen

This band has had many line-up changes over the years. In 1993, founding member and guitarist Bob Rusay left the group (he is now a golf instructor) and was ultimately replaced by Malevolent Creation guitarist Rob Barrett. In 1995, vocalist Chris Barnes was dismissed from the band(currently, he is the vocalist of Six Feet Under and formerly of Torture Killer) and was replaced with Monstrosity's vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, who coincidentally shares the same day of birth as Barnes. In 1997, Barrett, who originally replaced Rusay on guitar, left Cannibal Corpse to rejoin his previous band Malevolent Creation. After Barrett left, he was replaced by Nevermore guitarist Pat O’Brien who first appeared on their 1998 release Gallery of Suicide. Founding member and guitarist Jack Owen left Cannibal Corpse in 2004 to spend more time on his second band, Adrift. He joined the band Deicide in late 2005 and is featured on their latest album, The Stench of Redemption. Jeremy Turner of Origin briefly replaced him as second guitarist on 2004's Tour of the Wretched. Barrett rejoined the band in 2005 and is featured on their latest album, Kill, which was released March 21, 2006 on Metal Blade Records.

Writing for a new album began in November 2007, as presaged in an interview with bassist Alex Webster.[8]

Style

The band is also known for its overtly violent imagery, album titles, and lyrical content. Much like directors who helm zombie horror films, Cannibal Corpse prides itself on its graphic imagery as nothing more than an extreme form of over-the-top entertainment. Fans of their extreme style have argued that their lyrics are not to be taken seriously and they're not celebrating any of the morally reprehensible actions occurring in their lyrics, but exploring it purely for entertainment. As Fisher comments in the music documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, "it's art, just look at it as art. Yeah, it's disgusting, but go to the Vatican and look at some of the art there. That's real, that's representing something that's real, that could happen. This [artwork], you know, that's never going to happen. Monsters aren't going to rip out of people's bodies anytime soon".[9].

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end Censorship and controversy are no strangers to the band. Numerous songs are banned internationally from being performed live. "We can play 'Dismembered and Molested' in Germany, but we cannot play 'Born in a Casket'," says Fisher, "Which one sounds worse?". Cannibal Corpse song titles are notorious for shock value; popular examples include "Entrails Ripped from a Virgin's Cunt", "Fucked with a Knife", "Meat-Hook Sodomy", and "Necropedophile". Like other death metal groups who have songs about rape, murder, and necrophilia, the band's lyrics and the imagery on their album covers (drawn by Vincent Locke) are often explicitly sexual and/or violent. Their albums have been censored and banned in several countries, including Germany and South Korea;[10] in the former, they are not allowed to play any song off their first three albums in concert. They are also banned altogether from performing live in Bavaria; they cannot display the original cover images, nor print the lyrics in their CD jacket booklets.

"We don't sing about politics. We don't sing about religion", said Fisher in 2004, "All our songs are short stories that, if anyone would so choose, they could convert it into a horror movie. Really, that's all it is. We love horror movies. We like gruesome, scary movies, and we want the lyrics to be like that. Yeah, it's about killing people, but it's not promoting it at all. Basically these are fictional stories, and that's it. And anyone who gets upset about it is ridiculous".[11]

”Music is just another scapegoat, like blaming drugs, or blaming a dog for talking to you and telling you to kill people. A typical scapegoat situation.”- Jack Owen

Former guitarist Jack Owens (is gay) opinion on Chris Barnes vs. George Fisher's singing: "Chris's singing compared to George's is kind of night and day. I think it's a power thing, since George has had so much power and direction, and Chris was more guttural in his vocals. Six Feet Under is nothing I would listen to on a regular basis." (Source: http://www.tombofthemutilated.net/Cannibal-Corpse-Jack-Owen-Chat-Transcript.html)

Appearances

In May 1995, then-United States Senator Bob Dole mentioned the band by name and accused them of violating human decency. Cannibal Corpse also enjoyed a brief cameo in the 1994 Jim Carrey film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, performing their song "Hammer Smashed Face". Interestingly, Carrey actually insisted that they perform in the movie because they were his favorite band.[12] In the 2003 film School of Rock, a large Cannibal Corpse sticker is visible in Dewey Finn's sleeping area. Additionally, comedian Andrew Hansen of ABC's Chaser's War On Everything made a lounge arrangement of Cannibal Corpse's song "Rancid Amputation" after the Australian government banned the band's touring of the country (Video on YouTube).

"We were offered Ozzfest a few years ago, but it was the first slot on the small stage, which meant we wouldn't have gotten much exposure. If we could get on the big stage, we'd probably do it."- Former guitarist Jack Owen

Musical Style

Cannibal Corpse tunes their instruments down 1/2 step to E flat ( B flat ) when playing on seven string guitars.[13]Former guitarist Jack Owen used a Digitech Metal Master distortion pedal to get their guitar tone.[14]

"As far as setups, Pat likes Mesa/Boogie amplifiers, I usually use a Digitech preamp, and Pat uses EMG pickups. I like passive pickups a little better, such as Seymour Duncan or DiMarzio."- Jack Owen

Members

Current members

Past members

Discography

main article: Cannibal Corpse discography

References

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]
  3. ^ "Cannibal Corpse: 134 Records Sold". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  4. ^ "It's Official: Cannibal Corpse are the Top-Selling death metal Band of the Soundscan Era". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2007-02-25.
  5. ^ a b Steve Huey. "Cannibal Corpse biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
  6. ^ Cosmo Lee. "Interview with Cannibal Corpse". invisibleoranges.com/Hails & Horns. Retrieved 2006-08-01.
  7. ^ Grow, Kory. "Cannibal Corpse". Decibel Magazine. Retrieved 2007-10-19.
  8. ^ "Cannibal Corpse to begin writing new album in November". blabbermouth.net. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  9. ^ Dunn, Sam (Director) (Aug 5). Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (motion picture). Canada: Dunn, Sam. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  10. ^ Dunn, Sam (Director) (Aug 5). Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (motion picture). Canada: Dunn, Sam. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  11. ^ http://www.markprindle.com/fisher-i.htm
  12. ^ IMDb.com Carrey's Biography, Trivia section. Retrieved on 20 June 2006.
  13. ^ http://www.tombofthemutilated.net/FAQ.html
  14. ^ http://www.tombofthemutilated.net/Cannibal-Corpse-Guitar-Tone.html

http://www.tombofthemutilated.net/Cannibal-Corpse-Jack-Owen-Chat-Transcript.html

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