Stacey's View
What could I possibly say about Cannibal Corpse that hasn’t been said already? Not much that’s for damn sure. Here I have been given the opportunity to write about a band that just so happened to have formed the exact year I myself was born. Quite the challenge to come up with something original.
Cannibal Corpse should require no introduction; however, for those who have been living under a rock their whole lives, I suppose I will briefly explain just who these guys are. Cannibal Corpse is a group of living legends who walk amongst the mere mortals of heavy metal fans. This group of musicians is a plethora of talent, creativity, and brutality that play a key role in one of the hundreds of subgenres of metal, that being, death metal. Having been around for over two decades, Cannibal Corpse has acquired a cult following of fans without of the help of the evolving trends of media. Having little radio play and lack of television credits throughout the years, aside from their infamous moment in the in the 1994 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective movie with Jim Carey, Cannibal Corpse has sold over one million albums just by working their asses off.
Photo by Dirt Junior - http://www.dirtjunior.com/
Whilst enjoying the pleasures of sitting in the upper tier, out of the way of the mosh pits and sweaty guy fans, near those of band dudes and industry folk, I awaited for the big moment when Cannibal Corpse would take the stage. This being my first time seeing them live I was quite excited. Sitting through the energetic set of the Faceless and the um, interesting BTBAM set, the time was approaching. Fans were going nuts screaming for these guys to take the stage. Tension was in the air as fans were becoming restless until, the shining beacon of hope rose up, and yes I mean the CC backdrop. It’s funny as hell how fans react to the simplest of gestures made by the roadies including the rising of the backdrop and simple mic checks.
Then there was that pause, the roadies disperse from the stage, the lights lie dim, then black. At that moment my own adrenaline was racing, the energy in the room was electrifying. Red filled the room as Paul Mazurkiewicz took to the drums while the others walked out in a line. I couldn’t remember when I had gone to a show and the crowd was going as insane as it was that night. Without any hesitation the music starts and they go immediately into “Demented Aggression”.
No fancy light show, no gimmicks, no running around the stage like you often see today, and very few pauses made in between songs to speak. There is absolutely nothing to Cannibal Corpse in regards to live show, and by that I mean they don’t need the fancy lights, they don’t need wear matching outfits, or what have you of other genres, Cannibal Corpse is metal royalty and they damn well know it.
“I Cum Blood”, was dedicated to all the guys in the crowd, which of course like any typical metal show was about 90% of the population in the venue. The sound was amazing, kudos to the engineer, the blend of Rob and Pat’s guitar riffs, Alex’s bass, Corpsegrinder’s ferocious growls, and the so fast you could easily get dizzy pounding of Paul’s double base, could quite possibly decapitate the elderly. Corpsegrinder was also kind enough to dedicate the song, “Priests of Sodom”, to the two dozen or so females in the room. Quite the gentleman.
By now Corpsegrinder was egging on the crowd to increase their intensity, apparently the circle pit wasn’t good enough. The crowd came through though, and the pit during “Unleashing The Bloodthirsty” was the second best mosh pit I have ever seen in my life. Well done Los Angeles, well done.
Photo by Dirt Junior - http://www.dirtjunior.com/
It seemed like Cannibal Corpse was only on the stage for a short time, I guess when you listen to such high intensity music you can easily lose track of reality and time, but sadly Corpsegrinder announced what we all didn’t want to hear. The final song, being everyone’s favorite, “Hammer Smashed Face”. To see this song live pretty much made my life and the energy was higher than ever in the venue. Once over I swear a riot was about to break out as the crowd refused to let the legends leave the stage. Fortunately for us an encore was had and I couldn’t have picked a better song than “Stripped, Raped, And Strangled” to end such a perfect set.
I know I am not alone when saying that seeing Cannibal Corpse live has certainly been a life changing experience for the better. To see this group of highly talented middle aged men is by far an experience that metal fans all around should witness. Thanks Cannibal Corpse for keeping your music true to the roots of death metal, for staying completely brutal and not giving in to changing times. You are fucking awesome. \m/
Performance review by: Stacey Heath
