THE BLOODY MATTER BEHIND THE 9^TH PLATTER OF CANNIBALISTIC SPLATTER // PART 1

>>> On and on, inexorable and insatiable as it is, the viscera-driven bloodmobile rolls, leaving in its wake gargantuan scrapheaps of cranial chips and chunks, boulevards smeared with the choicest infant intestines and helter-skelter fetiches of side-splittingly misshapen torture victims. Nothing escapes its obsidian caterpillar treads and ever-masticating steel chops. No one lives to tell the gruesome tale of its systematic holocaust on every last hamlet of enfeebled earthlings. <<<

Wow, that was more than bad! Please forgive me. It seems that no future-in-gore fabrication is horrific enough, either thematically or semantically, to aptly introduce the splattertastic fivesome of George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, Pat O’Brien, Jeremy Turner, Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz, collectively and death-metally known as Cannibal Corpse.

Before I embarrass myself and the rest of the Evilution staff any further, here is part one of our online CC-feature: a rather ‘magpie-like’ interview with string-shredder Pat O’Brien from late January 2004.

# The Wretched Spawn – what the freaking hell is that?

“Well, it basically translates into ‘a disgusting offspring’. Alex wrote the lyrics and the song, which is about some girl who gets fucked by a demon and then the baby pretty much just bursts out of her! [laughs] Pretty gross album cover, really. Pretty killer. So the concept is really just like the rest of the Cannibal Corpse album: gore and violence. No major concept.”

# Let’s talk about the gorework then. Your back catalogue is adorned with blood-spattered illustrations of the most despicable kind: from mass infanticide on Butchered at Birth across metamorphosis gone awry on Bloodthirst to zombie pornography on Tomb of the Mutilated. How does the artwork on The Wretched Spawn compare to the afore-mentioned themes – and what does controversy mean for the band these days?

“Cannibal Corpse will always be Cannibal Corpse. It’s not going to change. If you bought the previous album, you pretty much know what to expect from this one. As far as the controversy goes, we have artwork rather than real pictures. There’s a lot of really fucked up shit out there these days, so I don’t know if it’s really shocking to people or not [Pat pauses for a second or two]. I don’t know, did that answer the question?! [laughs]”

# Well, pretty much... But I would also like to know whether it is more a question of sticking to a formula rather than creating shock waves among mainstream record-buyers?

“Yeah, I don’t even think that comes to our minds. It’s just Cannibal Corpse and we don’t reflect on being controversial. I think we are just so used to writing those kinds of songs and having that specific subject matter. In a kind of sick way it all just feels so normal to us. This is just what we do and the new album cover will probably not be considered offensive at all by our fans! [laughs] The songs are as brutal as always and the lyrics likewise.”

# Ever since the debut album Eaten Back to Life (1991) Cannibal Corpse has worked together with cover artist and zombiphiliac Vincent Locke. Is he in reality the sixth member of the band?

“That’s an interesting question because no one in Cannibal Corpse, even before I joined the band, has ever met Vincent Locke. No one even knows what he looks like. So, not really! [laughs] But he will always do the album covers. Paul has talked to him over the phone – but that’s it. Yeah, it’s pretty weird.”

# Right, let’s talk about how the new album compares to Gore Obsessed from 2002 in terms of musical progression. Which aspects have you tried to emphasise and further expand on with The Wretched Spawn?

“Well, I’ll just speak solely for myself in relation to this question. Basically, we went in to work with Neil Kernon once again. I think Gore Obsessed turned out really well but we wanted to top it sonically from a production standpoint. Personally, I wanted the guitars to be crunchier, punchier and just push the sound even farther. You know, just push it as far as it could get. We didn’t want to, say, leave out things or move away from a certain approach in fear of screwing up the mix. Fuck that! We took on the philosophy that ‘if something sounded killer at first, then why should it not sound killer in the end’? In other words, we wanted to go for the throat. And that is also what we’re intending to do on the next album: bring it even farther. Sure, there will always be a limit as to how far you can go. But then again, whenever you think there is a limit... boom! Someone goes out and breaks it down because they want to top something. I mean, when I first heard Ride the Lightning, my reaction was: ‘Jesus! This is the heaviest shit ever. It can get any heavier than this!’ And sure, it’s still heavy and still great, but it has been topped.”

# It is my impression that since the release of Gallery of Suicide it has been a motivation for Cannibal Corpse to make their songwriting more accessible and memorable for the listener. Has that been a conscious objective during the writing process of The Wretched Spawn?

“It’s definitely something we’re aware of, but not something that we do deliberately. We’re not taking out certain parts or abandoning riffs because we think that people will not be able to get it. However, we do take out parts that are just too much, because Cannibal Corpse are interested in writing songs and not technical pieces of music just for the sake of being ‘tech’. Some bands have got a million parts going into their songs and you can’t even remember if any of them are catchy. We just try to write the best – and heaviest – songs possible.”

# Cannibal Corpse have sold more than one million albums worldwide; the band has released nine records, two videos, a DVD, a live album, two MCD’s and a massive anniversary box set. What could possible be the next step in your recording career?

“Erhm... Just keep doing what we’re doing, you know. Just keep doing what we’re doing! [laughs] I remember hearing Cannibal Corpse for the first time at the time of the release of the Butchered at Birth album. Back then I would never have guessed that I would end up in the band – and I would definitely never have guessed that the band would have gone on for so long. But I have always liked the band and I have always thought that they had something. So the main thing, I believe, is just to continue and not pull bullshit tricks like the one Metallica pulled. You know, doing this sell-out crap and becoming a totally different band.”

# And then trying to reverse it...

“Yeah. I know that Cannibal Corpse will not change; and if anything we will only keep getting heavier. But if the songs keep on getting better, catcher or more memorable, perhaps, that doesn’t mean we will be trying to hit a different, more commercial audience. It just happens that our songwriting gets better.”

# How would you compare playing in Cannibal Corpse to your previous stint in Monstrosity; what are the main compositional and musical differences?

“Well, I basically played with Monstrosity for one tour for the promotion of the Millennium album, which we did together with Broken Hope [and Vader]. I’ll be perfectly honest with you: that shit was probably the hardest I ever had to play. Learning the stuff that their guitar player, Jason Morgan, had written just totally kicked my ass. I needed it at the time. It was very, very good. Very hard, very challenging. But when you’ve got something that is so hard and challenging, it gets hard to pull it off live. Plus I had to learn all their songs in a period of a month or something like that. And then when we went on tour, it was just... wow! With Cannibal Corpse we’ve still got technical parts in the songs, but it’s not that over-the-top technical where it’s impossible to play. So it’s much easier for me to go in and play the Cannibal songs. And I’m not even less into Monstrosity for that reason; it’s just a different thing. Monstrosity is a more technical band.”

# I remember reading an interview or a biography somewhere, where Jack Owen said that you brought a new level of technicality to Cannibal Corpse. Has playing in a band like Nevermore meant anything for your approach to death metal songwriting?

“Oh, absolutely. It made me a better guitar player playing with Nevermore and playing with Monstrosity. There’s no doubt about it. Even the band I was in before all that with Steve Tucker [from Morbid Angel] called Ceremony... I learned a lot from playing with that other guitar player [Greg Reed] in that band. Yeah, all those things add up and make me what I am today.”

# Cannibal Corpse have always been committed to endorsing the underground by touring with various obscure and not-so-obscure death metal bands. Is that still an important objective for the band?

“Oh yeah. That is why Vile are included on our upcoming tour [together with Hypocrisy and Exhumed]. There comes a certain point where we have to book a tour and put bands on that also sells albums as it helps the tour become bigger. We’ve done a mixture of tours in the states, for instance like the one we did with Dimmu Borgir. Bands that are different from absolute extreme death metal. And then we’ll put together a tour where there will only be straight death metal bands and thereby take out some smaller bands.”

# The first Cannibal Corpse track I ever heard was “Devoured by Vermin” off the 1996 album Vile, for what reason I was born and raised, so to speak, in ‘the Corpsegrinder era’. You chose to include the Created to Kill pre-recording sessions with ex-vocalist Chris Barnes on the recently released anniversary box-set, 15-Year Killing Spree. Is that a kind of validation towards the Barnes buffs out there?

“I think it is. Of course, I wasn’t on the Vile record, but the thing is that the entire Created to Kill thing was bootlegged anyway, which is why we decided to release it on CD-format.”

# Created to Kill was the single rarity on the box-set that I was looking forward to the most because of its gimmick value. Is it your impression that the official release of these recordings has created a greater understanding among the hardcore old-school Cannibal Corpse fans concerning the split with Chris Barnes?

“I would think. I would hope. But I believe there will always be fans out there that can’t get past Butchered at Birth, and consider that to be the best album no matter what. There’s really nothing we can do about that. A lot of people – and especially in metal – want to be the first to hear a band so it can sort of become ‘their’ band. As soon as the band starts getting more popular, it seems to lose that underground stature and special feeling with that fan. Like Metallica back in the days. They were really underground. But then as soon as they started getting bigger – of course, their music also started sucking too – it drew a lot of people away. I can honestly say that Cannibal Corpse has never sold out. It has always stayed heavy and true to the music. I can’t understand why some people would think that Butchered at Birth is a lot heavier than something we’re doing now. But that is what they will say. Let’s say, the new album has probably got the best production ever, and some people will still think that a shitty production is heavier because it’s more underground.”

# The lyrics on The Wretched Spawn seem to adhere quite loyally to the CC-formula that we all know. Is it ever difficult to be innovative-in-gore?

“[laughs] You’re talking about us singing of the same shit on all the albums? Well, it’s pretty funny, really. It’s pretty ridiculous. But we just write the lyrics that fit best with the music. There’s no point in coming out there and writing a song that protests about the war in Iraq, for example. We’re not into making any political statements or anything. Each of us in the band has our political viewpoints, but that is not for us to share with the fans. As far as running out of ideas goes... I thought we would have done that two albums ago! [laughs] But this stuff just keeps coming, I don’t know why.”

# I paid a quick visit to the unofficial Cannibal Corpse fan forum earlier today, and it seems that people had actually tried to guess at the song titles prior to the album release. Now, after the track list has been revealed, it seems that “Rotted Body Landslide” is pretty much a favourite among them. When you sit down to come up with these song titles, do you ever contemplate how it will be received among the fans?

“Oh yeah, sure. When we try to think of these song titles, we go for those that ‘make us happy’. Like “Rotted Body Landslide”... It’s a great song title! [laughs] I wouldn’t change that song title for anything. It’s great that we can still keep coming up with fresh new ideas that are in the same format.”

# Have you ever considered composing a full score for a horror movie?

“There was actually a guy who came up and asked us about that. He intended to do some kind of zombie flick or whatever, but it was never actualised. Hell, I’d love to do the music for that. That would be awesome. Hell yeah!”

# Throughout the years, Cannibal Corpse have done cover tracks of bands such as Black Sabbath, Possessed, Sacrifice, Metallica and so on and so forth. Is there a more audience-related objective to that?

“Yeah, well... It’s just basically about showing the fans what Cannibal Corpse grew up listening to, made the band what it is and what started it all. And then it’s a way of bringing back some of all those great old bands.”

# What is the most important motivation for Cannibal Corpse in relation to the future of death metal?

“Never selling out. Doing whatever the fuck we want to do. Music-wise we will keep trying to make the heaviest albums possible, which does not necessarily mean that we will try to make the fastest albums we can, because I don’t think that Cannibal Corpse has ever been all about speed. We want to keep sticking to the Cannibal Corpse sound, and so there will always be a mixture of some speed and some slow and medium-paced parts. Predicting how this album will do sales-wise... Well, you just never know.”

# Has Cannibal Corpse somehow over the years become synonymous with the what people understand by ‘traditional death metal’ due to the rising interest in mixing metal (and non-metal) genres?

“Yeah, I know what you’re saying. A lot of bands are listening to rap music, and then they suddenly feel that they have to mix that with the metal style. No, I think Cannibal Corpse will always be about straight death metal, and I think that Cannibal Corpse is indeed an original band. We want to stay the same and never put out a shitty product.”

# So if people look at Cannibal Corpse as standard-bearers of death metal, would that be acceptable for you as a musician?

“Absolutely. I mean, why stick keyboards on our albums? I didn’t grow up in a black neighbourhood. I don’t listen to rap. Why should I want to suddenly put rap music into Cannibal Corpse? I’m not saying that you have to be stuck in a rock and never grow as a musician. We can grow as Cannibal Corpse as well, and I think we have as far as the music goes. We can go to different areas in the music, but we want to make sure it is all in the right area.”

# Do you have any current projects at the moment to outlive some specific musical tendencies?

“Nah, not at the moment. There has simply not been enough time for it with the upcoming tour and everything. I’ve had some offers to do different things, but I merely have to wait and see when and if. I’ll have to wait and see how things fall into place with the tour and all that.”

# Metal Blade has taken some rather ineffective precautions with the marketing of the new Cannibal Corpse album so as to thwart internet piracy. The promo version of Gore Obsessed consisted of fade-out tracks, and The Wretched Spawn is infested with some extremely ear-friendly beeps. *ahem* What is your personal viewpoint on all the downloading hullabaloo and its impact on the music industry?

“Well, the promo versions are really annoying a lot of people! [laughs] They start to get into the songs and then everything is suddenly interrupted by this long beep. Maybe Metal Blade should just have released three full songs? As far as the downloading goes, I can definitely say that it’s not right. It’s simply hurting the music industry. I remember when Lars [Ulrich] came out and talked about it and everybody reacted by saying: ‘Oh, he’s an asshole.’ No, he has a point and I always thought he did have a point because it does affect us. It affects all musicians. I don’t want to stop breathing; I want to keep doing this. If everybody downloads the music for free, then I can’t afford to eat! [laughs]”

# What about the people that download the album a month before from Soulseek but still go out and buy the real product?

“That’s great. Those are the true Cannibal Corpse fans. I praise those people. Most people that get the chance to download the album months before will probably be sick of it when it comes out. I mean, if it’s been out on the internet for a month and a half and they’ve been listening to it every day in the car... But when the album comes out, it will have DVD in it that shows the making of the album. So that’s a little extra for the fans and another reason for them to go out and buy it.”

# I read an interview with King Diamond concerning his latest album The Puppet Master for which they deliberately made a DVD to moderate internet downloading. Do you consider it a nuisance to be sort of obligated to take such ‘safety measures’?

“Well, I wouldn’t really call it a nuisance, but making a DVD for the album was very distracting in a lot of ways. I don’t like doing that kind of stuff. I like playing music. I don’t really enjoy standing there and talking about myself! [laughs]. All right, I’m doing an interview but you know what I mean. As an extra feature on the CD it’s definitely all right, but I just don’t like the idea that it should have to be with every CD. I used to buy a lot of vinyl albums back in the days and sometimes there would be a poster or something with the album which was really cool. That was sort of lost with the CD because the format is so much smaller. They don’t have that same feature as the vinyl albums that could open up and all that, so I think that we somehow lost something in going from records to CD’s. So I believe you have to find something else to put in there instead – and this is a cool way to do it.”

Conducted and written by Misereion.

Pictures taken by Christian Iglesias. Kindly provided by Jorge Olate.