{"id":23825,"date":"2014-09-16T00:00:19","date_gmt":"2014-09-16T00:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/?p=23825"},"modified":"2015-02-11T01:46:00","modified_gmt":"2015-02-11T01:46:00","slug":"feature-cannibal-corpse-09-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/feature-cannibal-corpse-09-14\/","title":{"rendered":"CANNIBAL CORPSE – Sadistic Embodiment (September 2014) | Features \/ Interviews @ Metal Forces Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

CANNIBAL CORPSE – Sadistic Embodiment<\/strong><\/span>
\nAnthony Morgan<\/span>
\nSeptember 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

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Cannibal Corpse (l-r): Alex Webster, Patrick O\u2019Brien, George \u2018Corpsegrinder\u2019 Fisher, Rob Barrett and Paul Mazurkiewicz<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/div>\n<\/td>\n
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\nWriting sessions for September 2014\u2019s A Skeletal Domain<\/em><\/a> \u2013 the 13th studio full-length album from Tampa, Florida-based death metal outfit Cannibal Corpse \u2013 began during September 2013, the quintet convening in the studio in February 2014. These aforementioned songwriting sessions generally mirrored past writing sessions, composers taking it upon themselves to author numbers.<\/p>\n

\u201cPat (O\u2019Brien, lead guitars) wrote five for this record, Alex (Webster, bass) wrote four songs, Rob (Barrett, rhythm guitars) wrote two songs, and me and Rob collaborated on one,\u201d lists Paul Mazurkiewicz, drummer for Cannibal Corpse. \u201cLike you said though, we started in September basically, and just was really working hard, fine-tuning these songs up until we went into the studio in February. Not really much changed in the way we went about the writing. Like I said, we seem to be writing in more of an individual way these years with each guy just writing his own songs. Then of course we all get together and make more of a proper Cannibal song as a whole band, but that\u2019s pretty much how this session was done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Penning compositions while travelling from live commitment to live commitment is \u201cvery difficult\u201d for the quintet. \u201cMaybe they collect some ideas \u2013 like Pat, Rob, Alex or what have you \u2013 but it\u2019s just so hard doing your daily thing on the road,\u201d the rhythmist stresses. \u201cIt\u2019s very hard to find time to actually be able to create, so most of the writing is done when we are at home and off tour, and are in the mode of knowing that we have to get some songs together. Like I said though, sometimes there are a few ideas, and you take it from there, and maybe you can get a song together a little bit quicker when you are at home. Yeah though, most of the time, it\u2019s all done at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lone A Skeletal Domain<\/em> collaboration in question happened to be the co-authorship of \u2018Asphyxiate To Resuscitate\u2019, as Paul referenced. \u201cIf we\u2019re lucky, we seem to maybe have one per record these days where there\u2019s maybe some sort of a collaboration,\u201d he observes. \u201cThe way that song came about was mostly myself coming up with a rhythm and some ideas in my head basically, which was a different way for me to create a song. I\u2019d written two songs for Cannibal in recent years, those being \u2018Submerged In Boiling Flesh\u2019 (from March 2006\u2019s Kill<\/em>) and \u2018Carrion Sculpted Entity\u2019 (from February 2009\u2019s Evisceration Plague<\/em><\/a>). Those were written in the traditional way, though. I sat down with a guitar, and came up with the riffs and all of the arrangements and all that. For this one, I had this idea. I had the rhythms in my head and I had a good idea of the song structures as well, but it was a matter of getting together with Rob so I could relay all of these ideas for him to fill in the blanks with the actual guitar playing. <\/p>\n

\u201cI would describe it as a very different track maybe for Cannibal Corpse, because of the way it was put together and the fact that it was mostly me writing. I have a different style and a different way of writing than the other guys, so when I do have some ideas and they\u2019re mainly mine, the song is gonna be way different than Rob\u2019s, Alex\u2019s, or Pat\u2019s I believe. It might just stand out a little bit more because I rarely do this kind of thing, but I think it\u2019s a good track. It\u2019s a different track, and it\u2019s meant to be the way it is. It\u2019s just kind of plodding along, and having the repetition because of the song being called \u2018Asphyxiate To Resuscitate\u2019. When you read the lyrics, it\u2019s about somebody killing through that method, and reviving, and keeping on going \u2013 keeping on doing it. I wanted the song to sound repetitive in that way, as well. That\u2019s basically that song right there, \u2018Asphyxiate To Resuscitate\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Certain motifs perhaps denote the percussionist\u2019s writing style. \u201cYeah, I think,\u201d he muses. \u201cMaybe, maybe a little bit. It\u2019d be interesting to see what people think. It\u2019s gonna be a little bit different, but it\u2019s still Cannibal Corpse I believe. Yeah though, I write a little bit differently than those guys, but I think it\u2019s still Cannibal Corpse. We\u2019ll see what happens, but people seem to like the songs that I write. I\u2019ve always heard good things about \u2018Carrion Sculpted Entity\u2019 and \u2018Submerged In Boiling Flesh\u2019 and all that, and I\u2019ve heard a couple of good things about \u2018Asphyxiate To Resuscitate\u2019 already, so it\u2019s a good thing. It just makes the band more diverse and just gives it a different element, a different flavour, albeit maybe only one song on the record. It keeps it interesting, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all, Paul is responsible for half of A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s lyrical content. \u201cI wrote half of the album lyrically since Pat wrote five of the songs, and I obviously wrote \u2018Asphyxiate To Resuscitate\u2019,\u201d he cites. \u201cWe could\u2019ve went either way with that one lyrically, with myself and Rob writing the lyrics, but I ended up writing the lyrics for that as well. I wrote six of the songs on the record, lyrically. It\u2019s just the typical way I go about writing and doing things; it didn\u2019t really change much from how I lyrically wrote for the songs that I did for the last few records. I just delve into my imagination, and come up with some cool song titles that we start with. The way I write, I want to have a song title and just kind of have a direction that I\u2019m going in. Then I just delve into my imagination and pull all of these stories out of my head, and that\u2019s what I did on this record. <\/p>\n

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\u201cI didn\u2019t use any source of reference \u2013 I haven\u2019t done in years. Like I said, I just use my own imagination, using things I guess I\u2019ve absorbed over the years. I really try to keep it more simplistic in grammar these days; I don\u2019t use a dictionary, I don\u2019t sit with a thesaurus. I\u2019ve written lyrics in the past that way many a time, but these days I want my lyrics to be more organic and just more from words that I would use, and not words that I might not use in an everyday conversation. That\u2019s how I went about writing the lyrics for this record. I\u2019m really proud of them, and I hope the fans enjoy them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018High Velocity Impact Spatter\u2019 inaugurates A Skeletal Domain<\/em>. \u201cThat\u2019s just a song about different ways of being splattered, and causing impact spatter through high velocity,\u201d the sticksman informs. \u201cThat one I think is a pretty self-explanatory title maybe, but just using different methods of going about that theme; falling off of a cliff, or getting hit by a train, or getting shot in the head with a bullet \u2013 things that are done with high velocity. That\u2019s what that song\u2019s about. I wrote the next one \u2013 \u2018Sadistic Embodiment\u2019. That\u2019s basically just a typical song about somebody going out and doing some bad things, and having a sadistic embodiment about them, so that\u2019s pretty much what that\u2019s about. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wrote \u2018Funeral Cremation\u2019, another of Pat\u2019s of course. That definitely has a little bit more of a short story vibe to it. I wanted to make up a pretty intense story about a funeral that\u2019s getting cremated, a whole funeral. It\u2019s almost kind of a play on words, a phrase that\u2019s a little strange. \u2018Funeral Cremation\u2019 can possibly be taken in different ways, but I imagine it to be taken as a funeral that is happening that is getting cremated, basically obliterated. The whole funeral, people inside the building \u2013 you name it. There\u2019s a little twist to that one that I\u2019m not gonna really talk about. I\u2019d love for the fans to read that song and maybe go \u2018Wow, that\u2019s pretty cool,\u2019 so we\u2019ll leave it at that for \u2018Funeral Cremation\u2019. <\/p>\n

\u201cI also wrote… Let\u2019s see… \u2018Hollowed Bodies\u2019 would be another song that I wrote for Pat, the last song on the record. I think that the song overall is a very typical Cannibal-sounding song, but a song that I\u2019m really proud of lyrically. I wrote that one last as well. I delved in and wrote that in a few hours, and kind of just came up with the story as I went because I actually knew what I was going for when I started writing lines down. That\u2019s another really cool story, where I don\u2019t wanna give too much away. I want the fans to read the lyrics when they hear it and see it. \u2018A Skeletal Domain\u2019 we just thought was an epic sounding song, enough to prompt it to be the title track of the record. I just wanted to write a pretty cool fantasy kind of story about basically all of the cemeteries and graveyards of the earth coming above ground, and making a whole new world on earth I guess, and destroying everything that\u2019s already here. That\u2019s another one I would like the fans to read and get to know. I\u2019m really proud of all of the lyrics that I did for this record, so I hope the fans like them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s cover artwork reflects the subject matter of its corresponding title track. \u201cI think when you look at the cover, that\u2019s what we were going for,\u201d Paul reckons. \u201cIt has a lot to do with the song of \u2018A Skeletal Domain\u2019. Like I was just saying, I don\u2019t wanna give away too much, but that\u2019s basically what it was about. It was about these structures coming from the ground and everybody dying, but kind of filled in with some sort of mutant creature person kind of a thing. It\u2019s gonna be open to interpretation a lot. That\u2019s basically what I was going for, is just an otherworldly kind of a thing that is brought to the world, to earth, but all from underground and just making a whole new way of life. Everything as we know it is demolished and gone, and here\u2019s the world now, and it\u2019s basically this skeletal domain.\u201d<\/p>\n

As has been the case since Cannibal Corpse\u2019s inception, artwork duties fell to Vince Locke. \u201cA lot of times we\u2019ve worked with him, just maybe giving him a song title, giving him an idea of what we\u2019re gonna call the album, and we might not even have an idea yet of what we were going for,\u201d the musician shares. \u201cOn this one in particular, we did know what we were gonna go for, once we had the song title and we knew it was gonna be the title track of course. I came up with that idea of the song structure, the content of it, so it was us relaying these ideas over to Vince and saying \u2018Hey, this is what it\u2019s gonna be called. This is what we\u2019re going for, and everything. Here\u2019s the lyrics to the song.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe just saw what he came up with. He had a few different ideas, and we picked the one that we used for the artwork that you see. We think that it\u2019s awesome; it\u2019s a really good artwork. It\u2019s a sinister, eerie cover, very epic we feel, and it needed be that way for an album called A Skeletal Domain<\/em>. We wanted it to be that way. I think Vince did a great job; it fits the whole vibe of the record, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The whole vibe of the record\u2019 happens to be \u201cjust a very eerie, dark vibe,\u201d Paul judges. \u201cIt\u2019s a very sinister vibe, but it definitely fits the song title of course and what the song is about. I think like I said though, it just sums it up. It\u2019s a very dark and eerie album for us. The album cover is a great one, and we\u2019re very proud of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The whole vibe\u2019 and overall sound of a given Cannibal Corpse platter is arguably dictated by its primary songwriter. \u201cYeah, maybe a little bit,\u201d the wordsmith considers. \u201cWe\u2019re very confident in everybody\u2019s abilities to write songs, whether it\u2019s Pat, Rob, Alex, or myself. Just this time around, Pat ended up having more songs on this record. Alex was a little busy with doing his Conquering Dystopia record (self-titled, March 2014), and everything. He was working extra hard with both bands basically, but it was a good situation for Pat and Rob to just step up a little bit more and contribute maybe a little more. Of course, Rob did pretty much the same I guess as he did on the last record, where he wrote a couple of songs \u2013 he had three on the last album. <\/p>\n

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Cannibal Corpse (l-r): Alex Webster, Patrick O\u2019Brien, Rob Barrett, George
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\u201cBut yeah, the fact that Pat just had a lot of creativity going this time really lent itself to him shining through a little more. Like I said though, no matter who writes the majority of songs, it\u2019s Cannibal Corpse. It\u2019s just great that we have the diversity to be able to do that mind, where we don\u2019t have to rely on one songwriter. We can all contribute and write a great Cannibal Corpse record, and I think that\u2019s what we did on this one as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each composer\u2019s given style bears certain hallmarks. \u201cI think it\u2019s apparent everybody\u2019s got their own writing style when you hear the songs,\u201d Paul feels. \u201cI think a lot of people listen now, and go \u2018Oh, okay. That\u2019s a Pat song; I can tell that\u2019s a Pat song\u2019 by just the way he writes. The way his riffing style is, it\u2019s different than Rob\u2019s, it\u2019s different than Alex\u2019s. I think at this point in the game, a lot of fans can really sit and listen, and probably pinpoint maybe who wrote what song. It\u2019s all Cannibal Corpse though, which is what makes it that much better for us to have diversity in the songwriting like that, but yet still all be Cannibal Corpse. It\u2019s an awesome thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further crazier riffing tends to emerge during Pat\u2019s numbers. \u201cWhen you hear very brutally hard, very note-y parts that\u2019s just sounding like a thousand miles an hour and there\u2019s just notes everywhere, that\u2019s more of a Pat song,\u201d the drummer tells. \u201cHe\u2019s been simplifying a lot more, writing a lot more by feel these days, but for the most part Pat\u2019s songs are the ones that definitely have the notier kind of phrasing and the very fast picking phrasings. That make Pat\u2019s songs stand out a little bit differently maybe than the other guy\u2019s songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The musical traits present within Pat\u2019s arrangements tend to somewhat differ to that of Rob\u2019s and Alex\u2019s. \u201cI think Rob writes a little bit more old school-style, a lot more by feel, and Rob might have a lot more slower parts, which Pat really doesn\u2019t seem to do a lot,\u201d Paul critiques. \u201cThen Alex, he\u2019s kind of in the middle. I think Alex is like the middle ground between Pat and Rob. A lot of his stuff can be very technical as well and then a lot of his stuff can be very simplistic as well, but Alex likes to work in different meters and things like that that make shifts go on throughout his songs a lot and make them very interesting songs. I think that\u2019s kind of what we\u2019ve got here, though. We\u2019ve got some simple, we\u2019ve got some mid-paced, half-simple, half-crazy I guess, and then we\u2019ve got some of Pat\u2019s that are maybe the most crazy, so we\u2019ve got a good mix between the three.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recording sessions for A Skeletal Domain<\/em> took place at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida, Mark Lewis sitting in the production chair. \u201cMark Lewis was great,\u201d the rhythmist enthuses. \u201cWe did the last three with Erik Rutan, but just felt that it was time for a change really, and that\u2019s the only reason because Erik did an amazing job with us. We just felt that we wanted to work with Mark, because we thought that he could make a great sounding record, and it was great working with him. He was a great guy, a great producer, and we had a lot of fun making this record. When you hear the final product, I think people are gonna be blown away by how great it turned out, how great it sounds. So yeah, working with Mark was really cool. Very awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Lewis\u2019 production and engineering discography in recent years brought him to the attention of the death metallers. \u201cI know Alex was really into all of his recordings up to this point,\u201d Paul highlights. \u201cThe most recent ones probably \u2013 like DevilDriver and bands like that. Anything that he\u2019s been doing that we would\u2019ve heard is just phenomenal, so everybody was excited throughout the camp, our record label, and all that \u2013 and management. It was just knowing that he\u2019s been doing an amazing job with all of the recordings that he\u2019s been doing these days. We felt that now was the time to give him a chance; we wanted to see what he could do with us. Like I said, I think he did an amazing job. It really sounds awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Evaluated against earlier producer Erik Rutan, A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s official press release states that Mark \u2018offered a slightly different, modern recording approach.\u2019 \u201cThis was the first time that we worked with Mark of course at Audiohammer Studios, and it\u2019s not a real studio per se,\u201d the percussionist notes. \u201cEvery other studio we\u2019ve been in is an actual studio. We did the drums in a great room, which is part of Audiohammer. It\u2019s the one guy, at Eyal Levi\u2019s house (engineer and D\u00e5\u00e5th guitarist). <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s another great producer as well, and has got a great drum room basically. His house is basically a drum room, and it\u2019s right around the corner from Audiohammer. They\u2019ve got a little combo going on there, a couple of places, and then Mark just works in his own place \u2013 it\u2019s just pretty much a room. With technology these days and with know-how, you almost don\u2019t need a studio any more to make albums. Yeah, we wanted the drums to be natural and do them in a proper drum room, but everything else after that? You really don\u2019t need an actual studio to get everything else done, so I think that was our big change. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was like no frills, because we were just there to record. We weren\u2019t at Morrisound. We weren\u2019t at the Sonic Ranch, where there are a lot of extra things going on. You\u2019re gonna pay more money just to be in those kinds of studios, so the fact that it\u2019s Audiohammer and the way Mark works is very much no frills, you just go in and you get the job done. Like I said, it was very different for us working in that situation, but I think it was awesome. We all loved it. I think at this point in our career, we\u2019re not a new band. It\u2019s not like we need to be experiencing studios, because we\u2019ve done it. They may be a little more luxurious in a way, but we didn\u2019t need any of that. That\u2019s not why we\u2019re there. We\u2019re there to record great sounding records, so that\u2019s the way Mark works, which is \u2013 like I said \u2013 a little bit different, but very effective. It worked well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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In light of the plethora of records Cannibal Corpse has cut as well as its veteran status, the group arguably know how to shepherd full-lengths through the recording process. \u201cOf course, we\u2019ve gained much experience over the years,\u201d Paul admits. \u201cWe\u2019re not newcomers to this. We go into any recording trying to be as prepared as we can, so we\u2019re not wasting time and all that. So, exactly, it\u2019s not our first record or second record. If it was, maybe we might\u2019ve been a little more let down, because you want to experience some studios like a Morrisound (Temple Terrace, Florida) or a Sonic Ranch (Tornillo, Texas). This time around though, like I said, we don\u2019t need that. We just wanna get this job done; we wanna be there to record and make a record, and that\u2019s it. We had more time, I guess. The fact that we did it that way with Mark saved us a little money, and actually I think gave us more studio time than we\u2019ve ever had with it being a no frills kind of situation. I think it was very effective and very beneficial for us to do it with Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one would expect, Mark supplied feedback with respect to each members\u2019 parts. \u201cEvery producer\u2019s going to…,\u201d the sticksman begins. \u201cNo matter what producer you\u2019re gonna work with \u2013 and we\u2019ve worked with a lot of great ones \u2013 they all have their different ways of recording and suggestions for this and for that, and that\u2019s just the way it is. Mark was no different than any producer we\u2019ve worked with in the past of course, but like I said, we go in pretty much as prepared as possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of Mark\u2019s things are just exactly capturing the sounds, getting us the sounds that we need, and making his suggestions where applicable. Maybe we changed a line or maybe we did something slightly different, because Mark said \u2018Hey, maybe try doing that fill there\u2019 or \u2018George, maybe try to sing that line only once there\u2019 \u2013 stuff like that. That\u2019s what our producers pretty much do these days, so they\u2019re always gonna help out, and try to do what\u2019s best for the songs and what\u2019s best for us. Like I said though, we\u2019re in there knowing what we want, so we\u2019re gonna be as prepared as possible, and very rarely anything gets changed in any way that\u2019s gonna be really noticeable, or detrimental, or just different from what we set out to do. That\u2019s what the producer\u2019s there for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such comments suggest producers tend to employ mostly a hands-off approach. \u201cYeah,\u201d Paul confirms. \u201cIf we didn\u2019t know what we were doing, then of course a producer is gonna come in and go \u2018Oh man, these songs are terrible. You guys don\u2019t know what you\u2019re doing.\u2019 We know what we\u2019re doing at this point. Like I said, even back then, there\u2019s never been any influence in the songwriting, because we feel that we write the songs that we wanna write. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, if things are gonna happen, then they\u2019re gonna be subtle. The producer is gonna work in tandem with us of course, but the producer\u2019s never gonna be that heavily involved to where they\u2019re changing arrangements or what have you. So yeah, that\u2019s how producers work with us. We can probably say that we produced this record as well, because we knew what we wanted, but we just let whoever the producer is do their job. When it comes down to it, we want them to make us sound as best as they can. I think that\u2019s what Mark and pretty much what every producer has done for us over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weighed against more recent Cannibal Corpse fare, A Skeletal Domain<\/em> features more high screams from vocalist George \u2018Corpsegrinder\u2019 Fisher. \u201cI think George went in and did a great job,\u201d the musician compliments. \u201cHe\u2019s been working hard with a couple of side bands that he\u2019s been in \u2013 his voice is in really good shape. We just wanted him to come in, and make him sound like George; make him sound as heavy as he could, and get the best product out of him. I know that Mark was definitely set on just trying to get more screams and just spending more time on the vocals, which of course, like I said… <\/p>\n

\u201cComing back to the answer of we had more time to work on this record, that was a liberty or a luxury that we\u2019ve never had in the past, to maybe do some vocals and then come back later to kind of go over and see what we need to redo, or what have you. We\u2019ve never done that on a record until now, so I think that was key and very helpful, and getting the best performances out of George as possible. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah though, we really wanted to hit home with this record, to have George hopefully sound as great as he can, and I think he did. So yeah, let\u2019s throw in some highs, let\u2019s do some more screams, let\u2019s do some doubling, and all that kind of stuff. I think George sounds really awesome on this record.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark compared A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s vocal tracks to those contributed towards October 1999 outing Bloodthirst. \u201cI think if you listen back to that and then you listen to this recording, he just sounds a little bit more maybe powerful I guess or something,\u201d Paul speculates. \u201cIt sounds good, and that\u2019s what we need; we need George to be sounding the best that he can. On this record, it does seem to kind of have more of a vibe of that perhaps. That\u2019s for everybody to interpret \u2013 to listen to make their decision \u2013 but we\u2019re definitely happy with his vocal performance, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The songwriter\u2019s goals with respect to personally recorded studio parts are elementary. \u201cI just wanna play the best that I can play, and do everything that I wanted to do while I was practising,\u201d he divulges. \u201cOne thing where Mark helped out on that is that we wanted to make the drum performances as heavy as possible; heavy in terms of hard hitting, and just getting really good strokes and hits on everything. I actually used heavier sticks for this record per Mark\u2019s suggestion, because he knew that the drums would sound better; they\u2019d sound heavier, and they would have more velocity \u2013 more impact \u2013 if I used heavier sticks. I said \u2018It\u2019ll be a little strange, but you know what? You\u2019re the producer, and you know what\u2019s gonna sound good on recording because that\u2019s your job. I\u2019ll do it.\u2019 For this one, that was key. Mark really wanted to just capture every hit that I did, and tried to make them as hard as possible. We were going for a natural drum sound here; I felt that that was important, and I\u2019m sure that he did as well. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of me \u2013 when it comes down to it \u2013 making sure I\u2019m happy with everything that I do, doing a fill or what have you, and not just saying \u2018Okay, that\u2019s good enough. Let\u2019s move on\u2019 because that\u2019s a spontaneous thing or what have you. No, let\u2019s make sure it\u2019s gonna sound great, and make sure that I\u2019m happy with it overall. That\u2019s what we really concentrated on on this record, and so I think the drum sound and my performance is probably the best that I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

All of A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s drum tracks \u201cwere hard in their own way,\u201d Paul submits. \u201cI recorded the drums pretty quick \u2013 I got them done in maybe four or five days. Yeah, they\u2019re all hard. The fast songs on A Skeletal Domain<\/em> needed a lot of endurance. A song like \u2018Vector Of Cruelty\u2019 was actually a slower song, but sometimes it\u2019s hard for me to play slower than it is faster because I\u2019m not used to that way of playing. They were all challenging in their own way, but when you work hard at practice and you go into it as ready as you can be? <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably my easiest session ever, because of the fact that I was so ready for this. There wasn\u2019t like any roadblock whatsoever, other than just getting these done, spending the time to make sure every song is the way it needed to be, and moving on. Twelve songs take a good four or five days to get done, and there you have it. When I look back, to me it was some of the hardest stuff that we\u2019ve ever done, and that I\u2019ve ever done perhaps. I was prepared more so than ever, though. It actually seemed to be a very smooth, easy recording session in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of writing, the wordsmith is performing death metal material at the age of 46. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy, yeah,\u201d he concedes. \u201cIf anything, I think we\u2019re just getting better. If you use your mind a little more so, and as long as you\u2019re feeling good physically \u2013 which we are, and I am \u2013 that\u2019s key. I think you tend to learn how to use your body a little bit better, just having the experience of us doing it this long and playing for many years of course. Health is very helpful, very key of course, but it is really crazy to think that the older we get, I really think the better all of us have gotten over the years. Of course though, it\u2019s still challenging. We\u2019re in our mid-40s \u2013 exactly. Like I said, I\u2019m 46. I\u2019m not 20 anymore, but I really do feel that I\u2019m playing better than I ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Much wear and tear has taken place on Paul\u2019s body. \u201cOh yeah, of course there\u2019s gonna be wear and tear,\u201d he accepts. \u201cHow can there not be? I\u2019ve been playing drums in this style for almost 30 years now, so how can your body not be beaten up in some way? I feel pretty good, overall. I feel really good, but yeah, I\u2019ve got a little something going on in my right elbow. I know that\u2019s from years of just hitting, but hopefully it\u2019s nothing major at this point. You never know, though. I\u2019m 46-years-old, so you never know when things could just turn a little more serious, or start to nag you a little bit more so than it did in the past. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said though, overall, I\u2019m feeling really good. I don\u2019t feel that there\u2019s anything at this point \u2013 right now \u2013 that\u2019s gonna make me think \u2018Oh man, I don\u2019t know how much longer I can do this.\u2019 Right now, I feel like I can go on for another 20 years, but that can change on a dime at this point in our lives and our career because of the age factor. Knock on wood, none of us really have any major kind of issues going on, other than just probably the normal wear and tear of doing this for almost 30 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite all of its members being in their mid-40s, Cannibal Corpse still records regularly and performs roughly 200 shows a year. In that sense, Cannibal Corpse is still setting the pace for fellow groups in the death metal genre. \u201cYeah, and that\u2019s what we wanna do,\u201d the drummer underscores. \u201cWe wanna be relevant. We don\u2019t go through the motions; we love playing our style of music, playing Cannibal Corpse music. We wanna go down in history as being the most brutal band of all time, getting our way, never compromising, and doing it until the very end. I hope that that\u2019s a good example for younger bands, to look at us and go \u2018Hey, we\u2019re this age and we can still be doing this at…\u2019 That\u2019s good for young bands, and for the future of everybody. So yeah, it\u2019s a pretty cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Written by journalist Joel McIver, authorised biography Bible Of Butchery<\/em> was issued to co-ordinate with A Skeletal Domain<\/em>\u2019s release. \u201cActually, Joel approached us a couple of years ago about wanting to do a book about Cannibal Corpse,\u201d Paul recalls. \u201cWe thought that it was a good idea; we felt \u2018Why not? If Joel wants to take initiative, and take over, and really work on this.\u2019 Metal Blade thought that it was a great idea, as well. We just wanted to do something a little different for the fans, too; since we\u2019ve done the \u2018Making Of\u2019\u2019s and put out live stuff, we felt that it was time for something a little bit different. Yeah, Joel did a great job compiling a bunch of interviews \u2013 mostly from us. It\u2019s really focusing on the five members of the band now, which has been our most consistent line-up of course, and our best line-up of all time. <\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of things of course were discussed and went over in our Centuries Of Torment<\/em> DVD (July 2008), which talks about the whole band, and everybody basically. This time around, we wanted to focus on the five members. There\u2019s a lot of pictures, a lot of old pictures that have never been seen before. Like I said, a lot of cool stories from us, from other people, and from other bands, and breaking down some lyrics and everything. I think it\u2019s a really cool book that the fans are really gonna enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rhythmist rules out the possibility of Bible Of Butchery<\/em> being expanded in future to become a more conventional biography of Cannibal Corpse. \u201cEverything\u2019s been covered elsewhere,\u201d he explains. \u201cThe only previous member that wasn\u2019t in Centuries Of Torment<\/em> was Bob Rusay (bassist, 1988-1993). Everybody got to talk, and everybody told their story, and everything. This time around, it\u2019s not about the whole; it\u2019s not about talking to everybody \u2013 it\u2019s not about talking to Chris Barnes (vocalist, 1988-1995), it\u2019s not about talking to Jack Owen (guitarist, 1988-2004). It\u2019s about talking to us five, as Cannibal Corpse now. That\u2019s been the most solidified line-up and what we\u2019ve had going for a long time, so it\u2019s really us five talking about certain things. <\/p>\n

\u201cLike I said, a lot of it may be talked about in Centuries Of Torment<\/em>, but I think when you\u2019ve got things in print, it\u2019s able to be referenced better and maybe there\u2019s a few stories in here that we didn\u2019t talk about \u2013 I\u2019m sure there is \u2013 and then having other people talk as well. Gene Hoglan does the foreword (drummer for Dark Angel, and various others over the years). We have some other people telling some stories, like Brian Slagel (founder and CEO of Metal Blade) and Metal Blade people, and things like that, so it is a different book in that sense. It\u2019s not a replication of Centuries Of Torment<\/em> put to book, which it could\u2019ve been. We went for focusing on the five members. If anything, it\u2019s more about pictures that people haven\u2019t seen; a lot of old pictures, a lot of different pictures \u2013 pictures that people just wouldn\u2019t have seen before. That\u2019s what we did with this book.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bob Rusay refused to participate in Centuries Of Torment<\/em>\u2019s documentary portion. \u201cHe didn\u2019t wanna talk; he didn\u2019t wanna be a part of the DVD,\u201d Paul discloses.<\/p>\n

A Skeletal Domain<\/em> was released on September 12th, 2014 in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, on the 15th in the rest of Europe, and subsequently on the 16th in North America, all via Metal Blade Records.<\/p>\n

Interview published in September 2014.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANNIBAL CORPSE – Sadistic Embodiment Anthony Morgan September 2014 Cannibal Corpse (l-r): Alex Webster, Patrick O\u2019Brien, George \u2018Corpsegrinder\u2019 Fisher, Rob Barrett and Paul Mazurkiewicz Writing sessions for September 2014\u2019s Evisceration Plague). Those were written in the traditional way, though. I sat down with a guitar, and came up with the riffs and all of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[108],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cannibal-corpse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23825"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23859,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23825\/revisions\/23859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metalforcesmagazine.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}