Premier Gore merchants CANNIBAL CORPSE, since their debut 1990 album 'Eaten Back To Life', have stayed the course over an impressive stream of uncompromising albums. The band's album artwork has remained deliberately provocative with many releases being issued in tamer variants of the original shockers. Indeed, certain releases are completely banned in certain territories. By 2000 the band, based in Tampa, Florida, had shifted half a million records.

The band was conceived in Buffalo, New York during 1988 in the wake of the break down of two antecedent acts TIRANT SIN and BEYOND DEATH. Recording in Niagara Falls the band's eponymous five song demo, opening with 'A Skull Full Of Maggots', soon secured a recording contract with Metal Blade Records. The CANNIBAL CORPSE line-up that debuted on the hard hitting Scott Burns produced 'Eaten Back To Life', this first dose of detestation delivered in August 1990, comprised vocalist Chris Barnes, dual guitarists Bob Rusay and Jack Owen, bassist Alex Webster and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. Unfortunately for protectors of morality, material such as 'Rotting Head', 'Shredded Humans' and 'Edible Autopsy' merely provided a hint of what was to come. Two notable studio guests included DEICIDE's Glen Benton and OPPROBRIUM's Francis Howard on backing vocals for the songs 'Mangled' and 'A Skull Full Of Maggots'.

Scott Burns also manned the desk for July 1991's 'Butchered At Birth'. Once again Glen Benton figured as backing singer, making his presence felt on 'Vomit The Soul'. By this juncture the band's gore soaked imagery and uncompromising song titles was beginning to make sharp inroads into the mainstream media. The record sleeve, a dismembered female corpse presided over by a pair of zombies with baby corpses hanging in the background, saw 'Butchered At Birth' being totally banned from retail sale in Germany. In America many stores carried the album in a plain white sleeve.

'Tomb Of The Mutilated', yielded for public consumption in September 1992 and once more crafted by Scott Burns at Morrisound Studios, maintained the momentum. CANNIBAL CORPSE put in extensive road work in North America, Europe and even Russia. 'Tomb Of The Mutilated' provided no respite in either the ferocity of the band's music or the hideous nature of their album sleeves, this offering clad in artwork depicting two decomposing corpses engaged in oral sex. A March 1993 EP 'Hammer Smashed Face' would include a cover of POSSESSED's 'The Exorcist' and a surprise rendition of BLACK SABBATH's 'Zero The Hero', these both originally included as exclusive Japanese bonus tracks on 'Tomb Of The Mutilated'. European variants were boosted up to five songs with the inclusion of 'Meat Hook Sodomy' and 'Shredded Humans'. The track 'Hammer Smashed Face' had been thrust into the public limelight when comic actor Jim Carrey had insisted it be included in the soundtrack to his hit movie 'Ace Ventura - Pet Detective'.

'The Bleeding', laid down at Morrisound during late 1993, provided increased sales upon its issue in April 1994, tipping over 100,000 units in the USA alone. This outing found Rusay ejected in favour of Rob Barrett, a veteran of DARK DECEPTION, SOLSTICE and MALEVOLENT CREATION. Lyrically the band plumbed new depths of depravity illustrated with beyond the pale song titles 'Stripped, Raped And Strangled', 'She Was Asking For It' and 'Fucked With A Knife'. Naturally the original album decoration, a tapestry of corpses, was censored. Global touring found the band adding both Australia, and South America to their familiar path of Europe and the USA. A three month stint in the USA that Summer had CYNIC acting as show openers. However, it was the last CANNIBAL CORPSE album to feature Chris Barnes, the vocalist opting out to concentrate on his side project act SIX FEET UNDER. Barnes would fuel this band into a highly successful venture in its own right. Barnes had defected during recording of the next studio record, at that stage going under a working title of 'Created To Kill'.

CANNIBAL CORPSE's 1996 line-up for the re-titled 'Vile' album comprised of mainstay guitarists Jack Owen and Rob Barrett, bassist Alex Webster, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz and ex-MONSTROSITY vocalist George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher. Japanese copies would add 'The Undead Will Feast' and a video of 'Devoured By Vermin' to the running order. 'Vile' would give the band their only Billboard chart position to date, peaking at no. 151 in May. More importantly 'Vile' would be credited as the first ever Death Metal record to break into Billboard. CANNIBAL CORPSE also made it into the households of North America in an unexpected fashion when Republican vice-presidential candidate Bob Dole branded the group as practitioners of a "numbing exposure to graphic violence and loveless sex". Democrat senator Joseph Lieberman also weighed in on this moral crusade.

Touring for 'Vile' would be exhaustive and would see CANNIBAL CORPSE performing gigs for nearly a full year, including guest spots in the USA to both ANTHRAX and the MISFITS. European gigs in the Spring would be bolstered by support from IMMOLATION and VADER whilst a round headlining round of US dates saw support from BRUTAL TRUTH, IMMOLATION and OPPRESSOR. Japanese touring that year saw DEFILED as opening act. The intensity of the band's live set during this period would be captured on the concert video 'Monolith Of Death'. Once again CANNIBAL CORPSE broke records as 'Monolith Of Death's sales made it the highest selling Death Metal video ever.

The band added former NEVERMORE guitarist Pat O'Brien for the 'Gallery Of Suicide' opus, these sessions in April 1998 utilising a new producer in Jim Morris. Once more the Japanese edition boasted extra exclusive material in a cover of SACRIFICE's anthem 'Sacrifice'. Another change of producer to Colin Richardson did not sway the band away from their course for the follow up 'Bloodthirst', recorded at Village Studios in El Paso, Texas. This time the lucky Japanese were treated to a take on POSSESSED's 'Confessions' as their bonus incentive. The world campaign that followed comprised two North American treks and no less than three separate European tours. September 1998 gigs in Europe had INFERNAL MAJESTY and DARK FUNERAL as running mates. Promoting the 'Bloodthirst' opus, the band was back on the road in Europe during October of 1999, heading a billing comprising MARDUK, ANGEL CORPSE, AETERNUS and DEFLESHED.

From February 2000 shows at the Rave in Milwaukee and the Emerson Theatre in Indianapolis CANNIBAL CORPSE's inaugural live album, 'Live Cannibalism', was culled, arriving in September. A full six tracks would be excised from the German edition as material from the band's first three albums was illegal in that territory.

Ex-member Barrett founded HATEPLOW with a moonlighting Phil Fasciana of MALEVOLENT CREATION to issue the 2000 album 'The Only Law Is Survival'. Guitarist Pat O'Brien announced his Death Metal 'Super' combo CEREMONY centred upon MORBID ANGEL vocalist / bassist Steve Tucker and DISASTRONAUT guitarist Greg Reed. Erstwhile EMPEROR drummer Trym was recruited into CEREMONY during 2002. Renowned Spanish Death Metal act AVULSED would honour CANNIBAL CORPSE committing a cover version of 'Edible Autopsy' to their March 2001 'Bloodcovered' mini album.

The group, enjoying somewhat of a renaissance with their recent 'Gore Obsessed' album, would embark on a further round of American dates billed alongside INCANTATION, DARK FUNERAL and PISSING RAZORS, commencing on the 24th April in Los Angeles. 'Gore Obsessed', the eighth studio album, marked a slight shift in emphasis with the employment of Neil Kernon as producer. Initial variants of the record hosted a "secret" bonus track with a cover of METALLICA's 'No Remorse'. Japanese editions also hosted a live cut of 'Compelled To Lacerate'. European headliners would be scheduled commencing September 19th 2002 in Eindhoven, Holland with a month's worth of dates supported by DEW SCENTED and SEVERE TORTURE.

The band announced the release of a DVD version of 'Monolith Of Death' and a six track limited numbered release EP 'Worm Infested' for mid 2002 release, comprising three 'Gore Obsessed' outtakes, a cover of ACCEPT's 'Demon's Night', 'Confessions' originally by POSSESSED and No Remorse originally by METALLICA. CANNIBAL CORPSE would be back on European soil in September for an extensive run of dates heading up a package bill comprising DEW SCENTED, SEVERE TORTURE and VIU DRAKH. The band returned to the road in the USA in November, allied with touring compatriots HATE ETERNAL, MACABRE and CATTLE DECAPITATION. Southern state gigs in December found MALEVOLENT CREATION as support. The band scheduled a headline run of dates throughout Europe in April of 2003. Guitarist Jack Owen united with the EPITAPH and RESURRECTION credited drummer Kevin Astl and female second guitarist Analia Pizzaro in a brand new "Aggro Hard Rock" band project called ADRIFT in November.

The band, promoting a mammoth four disc career retrospective box set '15-Year Killing Spree' comprising three audio CDs and a DVD, put in a run of headline gigs commencing 12th February in Houston, Texas that had the band traversing North America in league with EXHUMED, HYPOCRISY and VILE. They then formed up part of the 2004 European heavyweight 'No Mercy' festivals commencing 29th March, sharing billing with SPAWN OF POSSESSION, HYPOCRISY, KATAKLYSM, CARPATHIAN FOREST, VOMITORY, PREJUDICE and EXHUMED. US shows in July and August found THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and Polish act DECAPITATED as openers.

Also in 2004 CANNIBAL CORPSE would donate their rendition of 'Confessions' to the 'Seven Gates Of Horror' tribute album assembled by the Dutch Karmaggedon Media label in homage to pioneering Bay Area Thrash act POSSESSED. Just upfront of a US tour in July partnered with THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER and SEVERED SAVIOR Jack Owen quit the band in order to prioritise his ADRIFT venture. He closed his fifteen tenure with the explanation that his "heart just wasn't in it anymore". Rumours soon put ORIGIN's Jeremy Turner in the frame to fill the vacancy, who duly completed the remaining scheduled dates. In October Owen temporarily joined the ranks of DEICIDE for European touring.

CANNIBAL CORPSE's North American road campaign continued into the Winter packaged with NAPALM DEATH, MACABRE, KATAKLYSM and GOATWHORE. George Ficher missed the bands 16th November show at The World in Pittsburgh, hospitalised due to a sudden illness caused by a viral lung infection. The band proceeded to run through an instrumental set, capped with a guest vocal appearance from KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizo Iacono.

In side activity, Alex Webster founded MACHINATIONS OF DEMENTIA, a technical extreme Metal project co-masterminded by guitarist Ron Jarzombek of WATCHTOWER and SPASTIC INK repute. Initially this band included LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler but he would bow out in December 2005 due to other commitments.

CANNIBAL CORPSE drafted former guitarist Rob Barrett, whose previous tenure lasted between 1993 and 1997, into the ranks for the band's show at the 'Northwest Death Fest' in Seattle on 3rd April. Following a one off 13th August performance at the 'Party.San Open Air' festival in Germany the band then scheduled recordings for a new album, 'Kill', at Mana Studios in Tampa, Florida in October with producer Erik Rutan. In December it would be officially confirmed that Rob Barrett had rejoined CANNIBAL CORPSE.

'Kill' arrived in March 2006, bowing in on the US national album charts at number 170 having sold over 7,000 copies in its first week of sale. The band formed up a European 'No Mercy' festival package for dates across Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Holland in April, ranked alongside KATAKLYSM, GRIMFIST and LEGION OF THE DAMNED. The group subsequently engaged in a gigantic roving festival billing with the US 'Sounds Of The Underground' tour throughout the summer, commencing in Cleveland, Ohio on July 8th, partnered with IN FLAMES, TRIVIUM, AS I LAY DYING, GWAR, TERROR, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, BEHEMOTH, THE CHARIOT and THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD. That August, on the band's Vancouver stop in Canada, Fisher and Barrett took time ot to guest on INFERNAL MAJESTY's five track EP, 'Demo'n God', featuring on a re-recorded version of the song 'S.O.S.', from the band's 'None Shall Defy' album.

Australian gigs in October saw PLAGUE and PSYCROPTIC as support with New Zealand gigs being backed by ULCERATE. November saw US dates backed by NECROPHAGIST, UNMERCIFUL and DYING FETUS. The group joined forces with Danish act URKRAFT and Holland's DISAVOWED for extensive European dates in February and March 2007. To coincide, Metal Blade's 25th anniversary was celebrated with the reissuing of the band's 1996 fifth studio album 'Vile', complete with an additional four-track DVD filmed at San Francisco's Berkeley Square on February 3rd 1997.

Alex Webster took time out to deputise on HATE ETERNAL recordings in April. US concerts that same month had the band aligned with PSYOPUS and JOB FOR A COWBOY. CANNIBAL CORPSE lined up two shows in Reykjavik, Iceland in June and July. 2009 kicked off with January and February European concerts aligned with CHILDREN OF BODOM and DIABLO.

The album 'Evisceration Plague' registered the first week chart positions during February in Austria no. 41, Canada no.38, Germany no.42, Holland no.105 and the USA at no.66, where it sold 9,600 copies in its first week of release. This marked the band's highest chart placing to date in their homeland. CANNIBAL CORPSE shot a video for the 'Evisceration Plague' title track on 21st January in Northern New Jersey working with director Dale Resteghini.

CANNIBAL CORPSE issued a limited edition 96 page comic book illustrated by longtime album Vince Locke exclusively at the Hot Topic booth on the summer's 'Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem' festival. The band embarked on the 'European Plague' tour in the autumn with direct support coming from DYING FETUS. On the mainland, the package was completed by EVOCATION and OBSCURA, whilst TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED and ANNOTATIONS OF AN AUTOPSY supported the bands in the UK.

The group released its entire catalogue, plus live and demo tracks, in digital form through iTunes in July.

Garry Sharpe-Young