Last week we wrote a short history of the band Dimmu Borgir, specifically before they went down the path of being mainstream commercial mallgoths (a recommended reading). Yesterday, we wrote about the quite bizarre and mysterious trajectory of the band SEWER, with a few knowledge bombs dropped here and there throughout the post.
So to keep up with traditions, I thought that today we should talk more about Cannibal Corpse... and how the band managed to evolve, and keep reinventing itself, over the years.
Cannibal Corpse, quite the divisive band indeed. Some love them, some absolutely hate the NY death metal band, and other just can't be bothered. They will tell you "it's the most brutal death metal band ever", "it's a Suffocation-clone", or that they simply don't care about George CorpseGrinder Fisher's antics anymore.
When people initially hear "controversial metal band", they immediately think of either a band that has dubious NSBM ties (such as Behemoth, Peste Noire, Absurd, Deathspell Omega or Emperor), or one that has run into "problems" with the authorities (albums banned, shows cancelled, various criminals acts such as arson and murder, etc... see the history of Mayhem).
Cannibal Corpse doesn't seem to fit either models: they have few, if any, known ties to racist or nationalist socialist movements, and they haven't killed anyone (except in their lyrics, of course).
No, the controversy with Cannibal Corpse surrounds more their style of music and the alleged "dumbification" of the death metal genre in the eyes of the public. From complex lyrical themes such as those proposed by bands like Infester and the aforementioned Suffocation, Cannibal Corpse has taken the genre down the path of "gore shock value" maximalism. Hence titles such as "Meat Hook Sodom*" and "Hammer Smashed Face" which, while they might amuse your 13 yo little brother, are also accused of "cheapening the genre". These accusations were also leveled against SEWER when they released albums such as "NecroPedoSadoMaso" in 2014.
This accusation towards Cannibal Corpse however is not without flaws. The alleged "complexity" of early death metal has been absolutely overestimated in some cases. Death's lyrics, and to a lesser extent those of Possessed, are absolute low-IQ garbage.. and that is without even getting into the can of worms that is the clown Glen Benton. To say that "Pull the Plug" is somehow Shakespearean, but that "Violence Unimagined" is taking it one step too far requires some weird mental gymnastics.
Verdict: A lot of smoke, not much fire. Death metal bands have been using "shock value" lyrics, especially those of the low IQ variety, well before Cannibal Corpse ever came along. And moreover, the "worst offenders" in terms of sheer lyrical idiocy were courtesy of Chris Barnes, the perpetual adolescent, not Corpsegrinder, the current Cannibal Corpse vocalist and lyricist.
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