“A lot of people get turned off this band, for whatever reason, before they know us,” Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O’Brien said before the band hit the stage at Metropolis, as part of Hatebreed’s Decimation of the Nation Tour. “But when you go out and see what the band can do live, it’s a different story.” Thursday, Cannibal Corpse’s performance demonstrated exactly why the band deserves their legendary status.
Cannibal Corpse was formed in 1988, and came out swinging with their Metal Blade debut, Eaten Back to Life in 1990. The album featured gory cover art of a zombie eating itself, explicitly violent lyrics, and a brutal, growling death metal sound. (Oh yeah the music, did I almost forget to mention that? A lot of folks seem to leave that part out.) Not surprisingly, the band immediately gained rabid fans and detractors. But where were they to go from there? How does one top song titles like “A Skull Full of Maggots” and “Edible Autopsy”? Okay, so they did up the ante on Butchered at Birth, with “Meat Hook Sodomy,” but then what?
Fast forward to 2009. More than two decades into the band’s existence, Cannibal Corpse has not only endured, but prevailed as one of the most important death metal bands of all time. They have never reinvented themselves; their latest album, 2009’s Evisceration Plague, still has all the Cannibal trademarks: gruesome song titles like “Skewered From Ear to Eye,” zombies on the cover, and of course, brutal and unrelenting death metal. Still, the evolution of their sound is undeniable.
“Our style hasn’t changed,” O’Brien explains, “but the musicianship has gotten better. We learn things with every record.” Evisceration Plague, along with 2006’s Kill, represent musical high points in the band’s strong career, reflecting the culmination of years of experience. “There’s always a constant push to make every album better than the last. I still think our best work is ahead of us,” says O’Brien.
They their set with the title track from Evisceration Plague, one of the (relatively) slower numbers from the record. As drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz blasted the beats from the back, the other four members took their wide legged stances at the front of the stage and banged their heads in unison. They rarely moved from their spots, yet their command of the audience was impeccable.
Supporting acts Hate Eternal, Born of Osiris and Unearth all put on their own stellar performances, and following Cannibal Corpse were the official headliners, Hatebreed. Now, ignoring the Walmart special release and the clothing line, and even putting aside their horrid album of punk covers, Hatebreed still cheeses me out; their choruses sound too much like cheerleader chants for me to take them seriously as a hardcore band. That being said, the constant barrage of these choruses, combined with lead singer Jamey Jasta’s Jane Fonda style dancing, and the band driving with the force of a freight train, whipped the whole floor area of Metropolis into one big circle pit, and it’s hard to argue with that.
And even Hatebreed gave the proper respect to the band they’d “always dreamed of touring with – the legendary, influential, one and only Cannibal Corpse.” Cannibal’s music is reaching across generations, as evidenced by not only the bands they influenced, but also the number of kids at the show singing along to songs written before they were born. When asked why their music can do this, O’Brien answers: “Because we do exactly what we want to do, and it’s honest. Death metal is a very authentic form of music.”
For a taste of Cannibal Corpse’s gruesomely invigorating lyrics and videos and why they’ve been banned in several countries, check them out on YouTube.
