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We Talked to Cannibal Corpse About What It’s Like To Be One of The Oldest Death Metal Bands Around
Since Cannibal Corpse relocated to the warmer regions of Tampa, Florida and joined up with vocalist George Fisher in the mid ‘90s, the trajectory for the death metal quintet has been nothing but upward. Arguably the most successful and longest-running band in the now-crowded genre, this gore-obsessed group have garnered the kind of following and reputation that any other act would kill for (let’s hope figuratively, not literally).
Since starting their self-imposed obsession with all things bloodied, defiled, smashed, or violently coerced, the group — Alex Webster bass guitar), Paul Mazurkiewicz (drums), Rob Barrett (rhythm guitar), George Fisher (lead vocals), Patrick O’Brien (lead guitar) — have helped countless other smaller, like-minded death metal acts by either endorsing them publicly or bringing some on tour as support. Unlike the many bands now embracing the death metal aesthetic, their sound was created in 1988 and continues to be fresh and vital, in addition to nauseating and thoroughly disgusting.
[jump] For those who’ve never heard of the band, the group gained notoriety after a brush with Senator Bob Dole in 1995 who accused them, in addition to artists like Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew, of undermining the national character of the United States.
After intensive touring and hammering the United States’ club scene, the quintet have achieved well over 2 million sales of their entire catalog and now draw one of the biggest death metal crowds in the United States.
SF Weekly caught up with a quite cheerful George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher just before the band’s show in Salt Lake City, Utah. The stocky singer, best described as the equivalent to Nathan Explosion’s character on the Adult Swim show, Metalocalypse, was unexpectedly garrulous.
Everyone must be exhausted. The band’s road regimen is in full-swing and you’re still touring to support A Skeletal Domain (2014) release. How are things?
Pretty damn good. We’ve done about 18 or so shows so far. The crowds have been crazy and so have our fans. We’re really looking forward to playing San Francisco again, as well. You know, we’ve been around so long, we know how to get along on the road and stay there. It’s like we always know when we’ve gone too far. Of course, we still like to break each others’ balls now and then, and love to push buttons once in awhile, but we always stop before shit happens.
You replaced Chris Barnes (the original lead singer) in 1995 and delivered a slam-dunk album called Vile in 1996. Fans were instantly on-board even with a new singer. Were you expecting that?
Not really. It was pretty cool to see the reaction, though. When Vile came out, nobody really knew who I was. Of course, my former band Monstrosity was known in the underground, but the rest had no idea who I was. We had to come out punching our listeners in the head. From the moment the album launched into the first song (“Devoured By Vermin”) with four drum hits, the album really just took off.
The band has released 13 records to date. You could practically play just these records and extended plays from here to eternity and never hear the same set twice. Why do you feel a new album is important every couple of years?
Honestly, we like to record and put out records. We’re not one of those bands who sits down and says, ‘We don’t need to do anything else.’ That’s not our style. We do tour a lot more than other bands, so it ends up taking longer, but that’s what our fans expect, as well. We don’t have a working title for a new album and have anything special planned yet, but we will get to it. We’re gonna take some time off soon, but we don’t really have a time table for this stuff.
Corpse’s lyrical content has spawned thousands of imitators, but it seems like you’ve got a great bunch of twisted minds helping you with your lyrics.
I’ve written a few here and there myself. It doesn’t really interest me to write lyrics anymore, though. Alex, Paul and even Rob now do all the writing and it works out great. When they send me stuff for vocals, I tweak ’em and offer my own input to help bring my own influence to a song. That works great for now. If I feel like writing again, which I don’t right now, I may do later down the road.
Does it strike you as odd to be blurting out lyrics to songs with titles such as “Fucked With A Knife” or “Icepick Lobotomy” at the age of 46?
I don’t really think of it that way. This is what I do. Also, these are just words I’m singing and they only help to tell a story. We have a bunch of songs that are really challenging to sing live. “Make Them Suffer” (from 2006’s Kill ) is pretty hard and is probably one of the most difficult to get right. Some of the songs are just really fast which is also a pain. Once we’re a few shows into a tour, I feel like I can do anything in the set.
What do you do with yourself when you’re at home and not on tour screaming and grunting out lyrics about being buried in cement ?
When I get home and I have two weeks, I just want to hang with my kids and my wife. I love playing World of Warcraft a lot. I am also crazy about Target. There are times when my wife and I don’t even need anything and we’ll just go there to hang out and walk around. Honestly, and I am not shitting you, it’s really just a happy place for us. I’m not trying to be a spokesman for them or anything and I know it sounds weird and shit, but I just love Target.
Metal Blade has been the band’s label since 1990. Are you looking elsewhere?
No way. We have a great relationship with Metal Blade. Brian Slagel (label honcho) has treated us awesome from the beginning and it’s been a super run. We plan to keep on going until we stop. In this day and age, it’s true most bands like us and smaller bands as well make their real money from merchandise and tours. Everyone knows record sales have really hit the shit. Even when it was at its worst, we never lost the support from Metal Blade. We’re really just happy to still be doing it this long when so many have stopped. Everybody has sacrificed a lot of stuff to be out here and we’ll continue to do so. I will say it’s not getting easier, but in the end, we’re always gonna be very easy and approachable to our fans who made us who were are. I’m always down to say hello and take a picture. And we’re living our dream making a living doing what we love.
Cannibal Corpse play at 7:30 p.m., Monday, March 7, at The Fillmore. $25.
(SF Weekly)
Venue upsets
For sale: The Palms Playhouse, a longtime staple of the local singer-songwriter community, is up for sale. That means the Winters venue’s calendar is empty for the first time in years.
Earlier this month, the Palms posted a brief update to its Facebook page: “We haven’t felt right confirming shows not knowing if a possible sale would happen. While there is nothing currently listed … we do have some shows waiting in the wings if our current space remains available to us, and are exploring a number of options as we move forward.”
Talent buyer Dave Fleming could not be reached for comment.
Dave Alvin was purportedly the venue’s last show on Saturday, February 20, but keep checking www.facebook.com/The.Palms.in.Winters.CA for more updates.
(SN&R)
Eight Gigs: Kimock
Sun., Mar. 6, 8 p.m., Center For The Arts, $27-$32
Fans of the Grateful Dead and its many side projects already know guitarist Steve Kimock for his work with the Other Ones, Bob Weir’s RatDog, and his own group Zero. This particular show pairs him with his son John Morgan Kimock, an equally thought-provoking drummer and composer. They’ll play selections from his latest, Last Danger of Frost, joined by Bobby Vega on bass in addition to guest vocalist Leslie Mendelson. Expect a night of heady musical fare that showcases Steve Kimock’s love for defying the laws of musical tradition. 314 West Main Street in Grass Valley, www.kimock.com.
(SN&R)
DEAD KENNEDYS AT ACE OF SPADES
Though Jello Biafra hasn’t fronted the band for 30 years, three-quarters of the Dead Kennedys’ most relevant members—East Bay Ray (guitar), Klaus Flouride (bass) and D.H. Peligro (drums)—are still carrying the flag along with newest member and singer Ron “Skip” Greer, who has manned his position since 2008. Although the band is anything but prolific, that hasn’t stopped them from drawing sizable crowds to their frenetic live show. Thankfully, fans of the band who only want to hear “the early shit” will be happy to know they’ll get an earful including much of the band’s catalog. From Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980) to Plastic Surgery Disasters (1982), Frankenchrist (1985) to Bedtime for Democracy (1986), nothing is off limits. This show also features New York’s Reagan Youth, Alameda’s Screaming Bloody Marys and Sacramento’s own The Secretions. Secure your tickets ($22 in advance) at Aceofspadessac.com
(Submerge)
Eight Gigs: David Lindley
Fri., Feb. 26, 5:30 p.m., Harlow’s Restaurant & Nightclub, $25
Although 71-year-old David Lindley has been playing music longer than he’d readily admit, it’s safe to say he and his fine catalog have aged rather nicely. Lindley’s first foray into live music started in 1966 with his band Kaleidoscope. However, longtime Lindley fans will all agree his 1981 debut studio record, El Rayo-X, really got the ball rolling for his solo career. And while the multi-instrumentalist has worked with Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, Bob Dylan, Ry Cooder, Dolly Parton and James Taylor (to name but a few), his live shows are where it’s at. 2708 J Street, www.davidlindley.com.
(SN&R)
Eight Gigs: Children of Bodom
Tues., Mar. 1, 7 p.m., Ace Of Spades, $20
Although the band is currently supporting Megadeth and Suicidal Tendencies on a full-fledged national tour, Finland’s Children of Bodom will headline a special one-off show with Colorado’s Havok and Sacramento’s own Graveshadow. Led by guitarist-vocalist Alex Laiho, CoB will have lots of material to choose from, dating back to their formative years as well as the newest release, I Worship Chaos, which came out in October of last year on Nuclear Blast records. Fans of melodic death metal with heaps of guitar and keyboard prowess would be wise to check this one out. 1417 R Street, Sacramento, www.cobhc.com.
(SN&R)
INDIAN COOKING AT SACRAMENTO NATURAL FOODS CO-OP
Looking to bolster your kitchen skills? Been eating Indian food out more than you should, and it’s finally breaking your bank? Meera Klein, author of My Mother’s Kitchen, will be teaching a special class highlighting Indian cuisine and its inherent flavors. Not only will she talk about the fine art of preparing said dishes, those in attendance will be treated to generous samples including Aviyal stew-vegetable coconut stew, sweet potato casserole, milk fudge and some hearty chickpea snacks. Additionally, she’ll tell stories of her childhood and read excerpts from her book, which give some insight into her upbringing. “It’s not a cookbook; it’s more like vivid food writing. I describe the lemon rice—how tangy, how fragrant, the process of how it’s made. At the end of the chapter, there’s a recipe. There are 25 recipes in the book. There are several rice dishes, stews, many favorites, all vegetarian,” said Meera Klein in an interview with the Sacramento Bee (in 2015). Folks who don’t own a co-op membership should buy their card in advance to take advantage of a discount on the class and, of course, discounts on all groceries for the calendar year. Admission is $45 for members and $35 for non-members. More info at Sacfoodcoop.com
(Submerge)
