Cannibal Corpse Interview
Chad recently caught up with Cannibal Corpse' drummer Paul Mazurkiewcz to discuss their new album Evisceration Plague.
POST MODERN INK: Evisceration Plague seems to represent a growth in the band technically, whilst maintaining your death metal roots. Was that your intention with this release?
PAUL MAZURKIEWICZ: Yeah, I think we are just constantly trying to progress. I think we are just getting better as songwriters, better as musicians, and as you said, just trying to refine our sound, but keep it old school in a sense. Some of these new songs are really definitely very technical and on the other hand we have some songs that are sort of very primitive sounding, like old Cannibal [Corpse]. So it’s good to really try and get a good mix going. Have some newer have some older, have some faster, have some slower.
PMI: Did this represent a difference in the writing and recording process of Evisceration Plague compared to older releases?
PAUL: Yeah, we are just doing what we do sort of thing. The fact that we used a click track this time around, really helped, it made everything a lot more precise. We got the most crushing guitar sound we’ve ever got. We are just trying to keep on improving what we have been doing for 20 years, just trying to make it the best Cannibal Corpse that we feel possible for that given moment.
PMI: You previously worked with produced Erik Rutan (Morbid Angel, Ripping Corpse, Hate Eternal) on your last Record Kill. How was it working with Erik on this release?
PAUL: It was great! Pretty much the same as it was with Kill. Maybe a little more relaxed. I mean we already worked with him for the one album, and that was the first time working with him, so of course the second time everybody knows him already. We all know how he works and everybody has a good feel for being in the studio with each other. He’s a great guy, and a great producer. It was great to have him on board again and producing a really killer CD for us.
PMI: You have always had a strong hand in the composing and writing of Cannibal Corpse material. How much input did you have on Evisceration Plague?
PAUL: I wrote lyrically, Pat’s songs. Of which were two songs. I wrote a song myself, on guitar. Of course the lyrics to Carrion Sculpted Entity. So basically I wrote the three songs lyrically and I wrote my own song like I did on Kill.
PMI: Was it a conscious decision to keep the graphic artwork off the front cover and move it to the inside of the album sleeve for this release?
PAUL: Well definitely. We felt that having more of a mainstreamy cover would just help us being out in the masses, in record chains and stuff like that. It’s something we thought was pretty cool. You have a pretty cool cover done by Vince [Locke], and you open it up and see more of a surprise inside. So it was definitely our intention. Having more of a tame cover ensures that there really shouldn’t be any censorship problems. And just being able to get the CD in all places it needs to be for the fans. So… that’s the most important thing.
PMI: That’s true as censorship in Australia was an issue with Cannibal Corpse for quite a long period.
PAUL: That’s right, I mean censorship sucks. Whatever. You know a lot of times you get censored and it helps in a sense. All people want to know what (it’s about). Obviously we want our music to get throughout the world. So we’re hoping that a release like Evisceration Plague shouldn’t really pose any problems like that. If it does well then so be it. At least we are not putting out a blatant cover like Butchered at Birth, Tomb of the Mutilated, Wretched Spawn, or something like that, where we know we are going to have problems. We’re still the same band. We’re heavier but other than that we are the same. So your going to have to deal with a more tame cover, for at least this release and get the goods on the inside.
PMI: It’s been about two and a half years since your last appearance at the Australia. Are there any plans to make you way out again on the back of Evisceration Plague?
PAUL: Yeah, there are definitely plans. Nothing confirmed as of yet, but it’s looking really good that we will make our way out some time in 2009, probably more towards the end of the yea. We should be definitely back very soon.
PMI: What are you favourite tracks to play live of the current album?
PAUL: We are only actually playing two tracks right now because we are on the Children of Bodom tour and we are only playing 45 minutes, so that only gives us a couple of songs to play. And with so many albums what do you do? So right now we are only playing Evisceration Plague, and Priests of Sodom. They are both going over very well. So I’m sure that those two will be in our set when we play our headlining shows. We will have to do another 2 or 3 songs off the new record. So I can see us doing songs like Evidence in the Furnace and maybe Rob’s song, Shatter Their Bones. We’re gonna mix it up a bit cause there are a lot of good songs. But those are the only two we are playing right now.
PMI: Has it become difficult over time to maintain the bands intensity, or does it just come naturally to you?
PAUL: I don’t think so. I think it’s just part of us. I don’t know if it gets easier or if it just stays the same, or if it gets harder or whatever. It’s just what we do. We are 20 years old as a band, we have 11 CDs. We just want to keep on getting heavier and better and the ideas are coming when the have to come. We are just doing our thing. When we have to write songs we do, when we have to record we do, when we have to go out on the road we do. Luckily we maybe did write some good songs here and there that people like to hear and we can sustain our careers, stay on the road. It’s just us and wanting to be brutal.
Evisceration Plague is available now and is distributed in Australia by STOMP
http://www.myspace.com/cannibalcorpse
