Many death metal bands tried to follow in the footsteps of Death, and with their music falling to more of a corrupting of decency, the lyrics often had horror theme references, hence Cannibal Corpse fit properly into that category. By 1993, the band released 4-albums but started to hit a downward rut with their impact and style, while others excelled forward expanding their impact of the genre. Their problem was their outrageous albums covers ran their course and the lyrics slid into a tiresome trend (been there, done that), hence time to elevate their next move. That all changed with the album released on April 12, 1994 entitled ‘The Bleeding’ on their label Metal Blade Records.
They changed dramatically from merely shocking the listeners to delivering a more substantial album, by changing some of the line-up , guitarist Bob Rusay left, and in came Rob Barrett, with more experience. Meanwhile producer Scott Burns already working on a cleaner production value for many on the Florida death metal scene in the early 90s to mid-way through the decade, his influence encouraged the band to produce better lyrics, something with meaning and impact. The results included classic tracks “Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead” and “Stripped, Raped and Strangled,” with a strong emphasis on the vocals from founding member Chris Barnes (noting this was his last album with the band), however they never mellowed their sound or intentions, still delivered viciousness. One can’t omit the horror theme tracks, “Return To Flesh” a clear reference to a zombie and then “The Pick-Axe Murders” a concept and yet interesting lyrics.
Track Listing:
Staring Through The Eyes Of The Dead
Fucked With A Knife
Stripped, Raped And Strangled
Pulverized
Return To Flesh
The Pick-Axe Murders
She Was Asking For It
The Bleeding
Force Fed Broken Glass
An Experiment In Homicide
Band Line-up:
Chris Barnes – Vocals, Lyrics
Jack Owen – Guitars
Rob Barrett – Guitar’s
Alex Webster – Bass
Paul Mazurkiewicz – Drums
This album showed Cannibal Corpse maturing well, and giving more meaning musical layer product for their fans, enjoyable entertainment, but never really obtained this impact until later on in their career. In 1994/1995 the death metal scene started to change dramatically, carbon copies of the legendary bands emerged, while members began playing musical chairs, but still albums existed and significant influence found through them, like classic The Bleeding and the twisted lyrics still vile even today.
Baron’s Rating: 4.5/5.0
Band’s Links:
https://www.facebook.com/cannibalcorpse
http://www.cannibalcorpse.net/
https://www.instagram.com/cannibalcorpseofficial/
https://www.reverbnation.com/cannibalcorpse
https://twitter.com/corpseofficial
https://cannibalcorpse.bandcamp.com/
Label’s Links:
https://www.metalblade.com/us/
https://soundcloud.com/metalbladerecords
https://www.facebook.com/metalbladerecords
https://www.instagram.com/metalbladerecords/