The public face of death metal — Cannibal Corpse are bigger than ever

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Cannibal Corpse with The Faceless & Obscura
MacEwan Hall
Monday, April 13 - Monday, April 13

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While recording their 11th studio album, Evisceration Plague, Cannibal Corpse vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher had some, er, issues. Discussing the process, he reveals that one track, “Scalding Hail,” was a particularly sharp thorn in his side.

“I don’t wanna hear that fuckin’ song for a long time,” he grunts. “The song was so fucking fast and it had tongue-twisters in it. It’s hard to sing that fast and be spot-on anyway, but when you start adding in those tongue-twisters... man, I was frustrated. It wasn’t the hardest thing in the world, but it pissed me off. Now that it’s done, I’m happy.

“To be honest, I’ve listened to it since and it doesn’t seem as fast as when I was I trying to lay it down,” he says after a moment’s reflection. “Now I wonder what my fuckin’ problem was. We’re gonna play it live, so I’m excited. If I listen to something too soon after it’s done, I can’t remove myself. The scar is still there.”

It’s almost ridiculous to think that after 20 years — 13 with Fisher as frontman — one of the world’s premier gore-death metal outfits could create something so obliteratingly fast and heavy that even their own vocalist has difficulty keeping up. However, as Evisceration Plague’s 13 tracks unfold, it reveals a vastly different side of the Corpse. Plague features the same lineup as 2006’s revered Kill, and both were recorded by Hate Eternal guitarist-vocalist Erik Rutan at his Mana Studios, but a shift in approach has had a resounding impact on album and band alike. While never a bunch of half-assers, Cannibal Corpse sounds vastly more powerful and direct here than on any of their previous outings. The muddiness that infiltrates most bands steeped in blast beats, overly distorted guitars and guttural bellowing is absent. Songs feel cohesive and pointed. What the fuck happened to Cannibal Corpse?

“We used a click track [a metronome to maintain steady pacing] for the first time,” Fisher reveals. “That’s a big difference, because it helped with the tightness of the record. I mean to me, it was still same old, same old. I just go in and belt it out. But when you hear the record, you can — or should be able to — tell that it’s a lot tighter. It’s not as loose as Kill was. That’s not a bad thing. The click track made it tighter; more compact. All in all though, it’s still just Cannibal Corpse. In time, we’ll see how it differentiates from other albums, but right now it’s too close.”

Regardless of Fisher’s sentiments, the band’s fans have already spoken. Loudly. Evisceration Plague reached Number 66 on the Billboard Top 100 within the first week of its early February release — a first for a death metal band. Not only that, but its popularity continued, sticking around for a second consecutive week, forging another milestone for band and genre alike.

“When we hit Number 66 on Billboard, we were like, ‘hell yeah,’” Fisher laughs. “That’s pretty crazy for a death metal band. When we stayed on for a second week, that’s unheard of. There were a few extra beers consumed that night. It was confirmation that we did a good job with Evisceration Plague no matter what. We all had to smile at it.

“We don’t smile for too long, though,” he says, stepping back into Corpsegrinder mode, “‘cause we gotta go out and kill people onstage. That’s when the smiling onstage has to be sinister.... ‘I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you, front row.’”