Cannibal Corpse: Lyrics, History, Ideology.

Cannibal Corpse is one of the most famous and brutal bands nowadays. Being not very popular with critics, Cannibal Corpse can still shock and excite the audience by their brutal lyrics and wild sound. The history of Cannibal Corpse, however, is worth looking at in detail.

The brutal band appeared in a little town of Buffalo, New York. The guys who formed Cannibal Corpse were not beginners. Cannibal Corpse appeared in 1988 from the ashes of two bands: "Tirant Sun" and "Beyond Death". The line-up was formed by Bob Russey and Jack Owen (guitar), Alex Webster (bass-guitar), Paul Mazurkevich (drums) and Chris Barnes (vocals). Having based their music on "Slayer" and "Death", the guys decided to do something unusual of their own. Their music was characterized by horrible gloomy sound. Cannibal Corpse's lyrics are worth discussing separately. Barnes decided to outgo his idols and began writing texts which made one's hair stand on end. In 1989 Cannibal Corpse recorded their first demo. After that in some record collections one could notice a CD with a group of guys against a pale background and two sprawling inscriptions - "Cannibal Corpse" and a horrible title - "A Skull Full Of Maggots". Later on, the lyrics were used for their future album, but at that moment the recording represented a mixture noise/grind/death. The vocal did not resemble "growling" as yet, and the lyrics consisted of several phrases which Chris Barnes repeatedly cried out.

Cannibal Corpse was noticed by "Metal Blade" and they immediately signed a contract. Both parties regarded it seriously - the guys signed a contract for seven albums! The first full-length album of Cannibal Corpse was released in 1990. It was a classical brutal death metal with disgusting lyrics and growling vocals. The cover showed a corpse gnawing round his own bones against the background representing a cemetery sown with mutilated human bodies. The debut album was entitled "Eaten back to life"; on the back side of the disk there is a warning that it contains foul language and cruel lyrics. The first album of Cannibal Corpse turned out to be very unusual and innovative. As a result, Cannibal Corpse got a strong position in the world of extreme music.

"Shredded Humans" is the intro to the album. The lyrics tell about a psychopath who killed the whole family, children and parents. Moreover, the lyrics depict this terrible picture of maimed victims as something that brings him satisfaction.

"Edible Autopsy" - the lyrics deal with terrible surgical experiments on the insane.

"Put Them To Death" - the lyrics deal with the cruelty of executioners who bring their victims to the final point of their lives - the electric chair.

"Born In A Casket" - the lyrics are really disgusting. Cannibal Corpse's lyrics tell about a crazy pervert copulating with corpses. But Chris Barnes's imagination went further: the baby born in the corpse is devouring his own mother.

"The Undead Will Feast" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics are written in the name of a revolted dead man. He wakes up hungry. His food is human meat.

"A Skull Full Of Maggots" is one of the main hits of the album. The lyrics depict the maggots devouring corpses.

The tracks "A Skull Full Of Maggots" and "Mangled" were recorded with back vocalists Francis H. Howard (Incubus) and Glen Benton (Deicide). Cannibal Corpse achieved their object - they distinguished themselves with their lyrics and music. As it usually happens, Chris Barnes was immediately called mad, though he only laughed at it. The other Cannibal Corpse members said that their lyrics should not be taken seriously. After that Cannibal Corpse continued being a success. The second album of Cannibal Corpse was entitled "Butchered at birth". This time the disk's cover represented even more horrible and disgusting picture - two dead surgeons disemboweling a body of a mother and her baby. Naturally, this shocking album was censored, and firstly the disk was sold unofficially. The members of Cannibal Corpse admitted that it was recorded under the influence of the album of Suffocation "Human Waste". The album appeared to be different; Chris Barnes' vocal became much better, it was a real "growling". There was an impression that cannibal corpse really returned to life and was growling even more terrible lyrics.

"Meat Hook Sodomy" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics represent a new variant of madness. A maniac is raving surrounded by corpses hanging on the wall. Murdering brings him real satisfaction.

"Living Dissection" - the lyrics introduce the idea of crazy surgery that brings corpses to life.

"Under The Rotted Flesh" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics are written the name of a person who consumes corpses and their cold blood.

"Vomit The Soul" - lyrics are written in the name of the Devil's son who is murdering the human race.

"Butchered At Birth" is the main song of the album. The cruel lyrics of Cannibal Corpse deal with murdering and evisceration of a pregnant woman and her baby.

"Rancid Amputation" is one more nightmare by Cannibal Corpse. The lyrics deal with a maniac amputating his victims' extremities.

After the album had been released, critics began to curse Cannibal Corpse again. But despite various difficulties after the release of "Butchered at birth" Cannibal Corpse went on a world tour. Cannibal Corpse were in Europe, America and even in Russia. Later on, "Metal Blade" studio would release the recording of their Moscow concert. While touring Cannibal Corpse presented several new songs.

In June, 1992 Cannibal Corpse went to the studio to record their next album. The album "Tomb of Mutilated" turned out to bee more like their first recordings. It is 100% death metal, growling like a wounded animal. The horrible atmosphere and energy that appear with the very first song don't fade till the last guitar riff. The lyrics remained "bloody", but changed a little. Cannibal Corpse devoted this album to sexual maniacs. The lyrics of Cannibal Corpse deal with perverted sex with corpses, sexual perversions and also cannibalism - the main topic for the band.

"Hammer Smashed Face" - one of the hits of Cannibal Corpse. The lyrics describe the young girl's murder. The murderer smashed her face with a hammer.

"Addicted To Vaginal Skin" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics tell the story of a person, who is bewitched by a warlock. He is to kill virgins and to cut out their perineum to continue living. And he does not stop it even when he is freed.

"Necropedophile" - the lyrics deal with an insane man who has sex with dead children.

"Entrails Ripped From A Virgin's Cunt" - the lyrics tell about a maniac also killing virgins. The peculiarity of his murders is evisceration of corpses.

After the release of "Tomb of Mutilated" Cannibal Corpse were again censored. Even Lisa Wells, the representative of "Music for Nation" who had previously worked with many extreme bands refused to work with Cannibal Corpse. Due to some conflicts the line-up of the band changed. Bob Russey left the group, and Rob Barret (Malevolent Creation) was invited to replace him. Rob fitted the band perfectly; moreover, he was a professional musician, and the guys wanted to introducer something new into their next album. Then Cannibal Corpse made a successful attempt to promote their band. They starred in a film "Ace Ventura". There appeared a lot of fans of Cannibal Corpse all over the world. "Metal Blade" also reacted to the band's growing popularity and released a minion Cannibal Corpse "Hammer Smashed Face" that in addition to the three main hits contained covers on the songs of the bands Possessed and Black Sabbath. Then Cannibal Corpse released their best (according to the opinions of their fans and critics) album "Bleeding". The guys managed to create a real masterpiece of brutal death metal. The famous extreme music producer Scott Berns took part in the recording. First of all, Cannibal Corpse proved to everyone that music, however brutal and extreme it may be, should remain music and not a mere set of sounds, which numerous followers of the band tried to create hoping to distinguish themselves that way. The album came out rather melodious if it is possible in death metal, and the lyrics resembled the first works of the band.

"Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead" - the first song of the album. The lyrics is non-typical - Chris Barnes is looking at the world through the eyes of the dead.

"Fucked With A Knife" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics resemble the lyrics of the first albums. One more horrible murder of a girl.

"Stripped, Raped, And Strangled" - the lyrics also tell about a murder of a girl. But this time the corpses are not buried, they are left to insects.

"The Pix - Axe Murders" - the lyrics are about a wild zombie who smashed his victims' heads with a pix-axe.

"She Was Asking For It" - interesting mystic lyrics. Cannibal Corpse tell about a man who killed his beloved. And now she is calling for him every night.

"The Bleeding" - one of the most successful tracks of the album. The lyrics are typical of Cannibal Corpse.

Right after the release the album was called one of the best death metal albums and received rave reviews from critics and fans. Cannibal Corpse got the status of death metal veterans. However, the rapidly growing popularity of the band did not stop the musicians; in 1995 Cannibal Corpse began recording their next full-length album. The guys chose the title "Created to kill" for the new album. When Cannibal Corpse had already set to work, Chris Barnes suddenly began to miss repetitions and started behaving himself as if the band was of no importance for him. As a result after numerous conflicts with other band members Chris left the group. Having left Cannibal Corpse, Chris began working at his project Six Feet Under, where he is engaged to the present day together with famous death metal musicians from Obituary and Death. At the same time Cannibal Corpse faced a difficult task - to find a new vocalist. It was a problem to find a vocalist capable of live growling; moreover, Chris was a real front man of the band. But soon George Fisher(ex-Monstrosity) replaced him. From this point began the new period for the band. Vincent Lock, the painter introced a new logo, and the title "Created to kill" was changed to "Vile". The lyrics had some fresh ideas, but there were no essential changes in it.

"Devoured By Vermin" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics present another horrible scene: maggots and rats are devouring a man that is still alive.

"Mummified In Barbed Wire" - the lyrics describe a man being suffocated in barbed wire. He is dead of the air deficit and avulsed wounds on his neck.

"Perverse Suffering" - Cannibal Corpse's lyrics tell about a maniac who can't live without seeing the blood pouring. When he does not have a chance to kill somebody, he is injuring himself.

"Bloodlands" - the album-s hit. The lyrics present another bloody scene.

"Eaten From Inside" - the lyrics describe a horrible scene of a man falling to pieces. This man is being killed by his own evil. The lyrics present the evil as something material inside a man...

Cannibal Corpse were satisfied with their new work, but at first the album was not accepted the way they wanted because of the new front man. But gradually everything was settled, and the fans got accustomed to the new vocalist George Fisher. Later on, to present the new vocalist to the old fans of the group Cannibal Corpse released a concert video "Monolith of death" that contained the majority of their old and new hits. Having sung the old hits of Cannibal Corpse, George Fisher became a full member of the band. In a short while Jack Owen left the band. He was replaced by another Monstrocity member - Pat O'Brien. Together with George Fisher they contributed to the development of Cannibal Corpse. A little bit later Alex Webster said in an interview that the next album of Cannibal Corpse would be great, perhaps even the coolest album in their history. It's up to the listener to decide whether he was right or not. There is no doubt, however, that the musicians are not going to stop and constantly experimenting with the techniques and various topics of the lyrics. In particular, the new album of Cannibal Corpse contained parts of five stringed bass-guitar and seven stringed guitar. The lyrics got several new topics, but were still written in the manner of the previous albums. In spring 1998 the album entitled "Gallery of Suicide" was released.

"Disposal Of The Body" - the lyrics present real study aids on hiding and doing away with corpses.

"Sentenced To Burn" - the lyrics represent a variant of Apocalypses by Cannibal Corpse.

"Blood Drenched Execution" - the lyrics are written in the name of some kind of executioner.

"Gallery Of Suicide" - the song is indeed experimental. Heavy low guitar tune is perfectly combined with the lyrics. This track is a 100% hit.

"Dismembered And Molested" - horrible lyrics deal with desecration of human body.

"Unite The Dead" - morbid imagination of Cannibal Corpse. The lyrics tell about reproduction of corpses. Their aim is to extirpate the alive.

"Headless" - the lyrics are about a maniac who is going to behead a woman, but in the end it happens vice versa.

Having strengthened their success by this album, Cannibal Corpse were touring and getting more and more fans. The popularity of the band was growing and Cannibal Corpse are put on a level with such monsters of extreme music as Obituary and Morbid Angel. The next recording of Cannibal Corpse appeared in 1999. Its cover showed rivers of blood, stumps of bodies and a legless monster on the foreground. The title of the album corresponds to the picture on its cover - "Bloodthrist". The lyrics shock with its cruel atmosphere, growling music and vocals penetrate into every cell of the brain. On the whole, it is typical of Cannibal Corpse.

"Pounded Into Dust" - the lyrics describe the scene of a bloody war. Cannibal Corpse managed to convey all the horrors of war in their lyrics and music.

"Unleashing The Bloodthirsty" - one of the hits of the album that Cannibal Corpse still sing at the concerts. The lyrics tell about the dead returning to life.

"The Spine Splitter" - the lyrics are about a maniac who split his victims with an axe.

"Ecstacy In Decay" - another crazy fantasy of Cannibal Corpse. The lyrics describe the world full of rot, bones and remains of dead bodies.

"Condemned To Agony" - one more gloomy story. The lyrics deal a maniac suffering in his grave. After his death he is being tormented be those whom he killed.

Cannibal Corpse toured intensively to promote the album. In 2000 Cannibal Corpse released the official video "Live Cannibalism" that entered the discography of the band. The video was released on all possible mediums. The recording contains very famous hits of Cannibal Corpse, including their first songs. Right after numerous performances during their tour, Cannibal Corpse began recording their next studio album entitled "Gore Obsessed". Cannibal Corpse continued going their way; wild guitar riffs and crazy lyrics create the atmosphere of absolute evil.

"Savage Butchery" - the first track of the album. Classical lyrics and music of Cannibal Corpse.

"Hatchet To The Head" - wild bloody lyrics began with the first verse. In short, hatchet to the head.

"Dormant Bodies Bursting" - the lyrics describe a bloody scene of torn dead bodies.

"Hung And Bled" - the lyrics tell about a maniac who hangs his victims by the heels. When the body stops bleeding, he replaces him with a new body.

"Mutation Of The Cadaver" - the lyrics deal with a corpse on a surgical table. After coroner finished his work, the corpse began mutating.

The tour that followed to promote the album helped Cannibal Corpse to get more fans. Inspired by their success, in 2003 Cannibal Corpse released the minion "Worm Infested". The recording contained several new songs and a little surprise - the cover on Metallica's "No remorse" that Cannibal Corpse sang perfectly. One may even say Cannibal Corpse gave new life to the old thrash hit.

In 2004 the new album of Cannibal Corpse "The Wretched Spawn" was released. The style of music and lyrics has not changed at all. The same wild sound and bloody lyrics. The brutal death began with the first track "Severed Head Stoning", followed by the bloody "Psychotic Precision". The album contained more moderate tracks - "Slain", "The Wretched Spawn". In the end there are two violent tracks in a typical of Cannibal Corpse style. Right after the release of the album Cannibal Corpse went on a world tour...

In 2006 Cannibal Corpse released their new album with a laconic title "Kill" that would be appreciated by the old fans of the group and all brutal death metal lovers...