CANNIBALCORPSE-Kill

CANNIBAL CORPSE are:
Alex Webster - bass

Paul Mazurkiewicz - drums

Pat O'Brien - guitar

George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher - vocals

Rob Barret - guitar


Formed in 1988, Buffalo born/Tampa raised Cannibal Corpse helped found, manipulate and transcend the very boundaries of death metal beginning with the scandalously controversial debut, Eaten Back To Life. Raising the eyebrows of inquisitive metalheads and incensed parents and politicians, the record - produced by Scott Burns at the now renowned Morrisound Studios - was more extreme and confrontational than anything the metal genre had ever known. As a result of the band's brilliantly gruesome cover art, grisly lyrics and song titles like "Hammer Smashed Face," "Meat Hook Sodomy" and "Addicted To Vaginal Skin," follow-up records Butchered At Birth (1991) and Tomb Of The Mutilated (1992) were met with further contempt by the likes of such organized censorship leagues as the PMRC. In just three years, the sale of Cannibal Corpse merchandise was (temporarily) prohibited in Australia, Korea and New Zealand (in fact, the sale of Butchered At Birth and the performance of those three records is still forbidden in Germany). But dissuaded they were not.
Proving technical dexterity, diabolic vocal grunts and a penchant for serial killers, zombies and gore of all shapes, sizes and textures, Cannibal Corpse won over the hearts of many a metal extremist and have since become a harrowing household name. Since the bands inception they have sold millions of albums world wide and show no sign of slowing or bowing down to the ever changing metal genre. Massive tours throughout the U.S. and Europe as well as Australia and South America only underscored the band's staying power…and all this with zero commercial radio presence and minimal video play (although the band did appear in the Hollywood blockbuster, Ace Ventura - Pet Detective).
The momentum continued with the 1996 release of Vile, the first Cannibal record to feature former Monstrosity throat George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher following the departure of Chris Barnes. Any skepticism over the new voice behind the mighty Corpse was quickly put to rest. Simply put, Vile slayed from beginning to end and became the first ever death metal record to enter the prestigious Billboard charts. Over the next few years, relentlessly touring, bolstered musicianship and progressively more potent recordings saw the band increase in popularity within the underground and beyond.
After the mass success of 2004's The Wretched Spawn and some personnel changes (longtime guitarist Jack Owen fled the band in 2004 to carry on his commitments with his rock project, Adrift. Origin axe-master Jeremy Turner filled in for the band during their remaining tours that year before Malevolent Creation/Hate Plow/Solstice guitarist Rob Barrett, who played on Cannibal Corpse's infamous releases The Bleeding and Vile records, rejoined the band as a fulltime member.), Cannibal Corpse has returned to the Death Metal frontlines with the pungently eloquent majesty that is Kill.
Simply titled but meticulously assembled, Kill was recorded with producer Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal/ex-Morbid Angel) at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. The tenth record of their storied career, each track basks in its own claustrophobic abrasiveness and maniacal subject matter. From the onset of the fiery "The Time To Kill Is Now," guitarists Barrett and Pat O'Brien, vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, bassist Alex Webster and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz pummel with a renewed sense of urgency. Fast, furious and scrupulously timed, the tune is a palpable reminder that Cannibal remains a force to be reckoned. "Make Them Suffer" sears with an old school Possessed vibe (a band to whom Cannibal has paid homage to on several occasions), while "Necrosadistic Warning," replete with a barrage of blistering solo work by O'Brien whose guitar deftness is often underestimated, comes riddled with visions of zombies sexually gratifying themselves with the body parts of the beings they've slain. Other tracks like the telling "Five Nails Through The Neck," "Death Walking Terror," "Brain Removal Device" and instrumental closer "Infinite Misery" see the five-piece at their most cogent, both lyrically and musically.
Older, wiser, and as malevolent as ever before, the time to Kill is now!

Still Remains-The Serpent

Members:

T.J. Miller - vocals

Jordan Whelan - guitars

Mike Church - guitars/vocals

Ben Schauland - keyboards

Steve Hetland - bass- Bone - drums

Ask Still Remains, the young Grand Rapids, MI band about their sophomore full length The Serpent, what the last two years have been like, and they'll begin by telling you how much they've grown as people and musicians. "I've grown up a lot," explains vocalist T.J. Miller. "I feel like I've come into my own as a song writer. I haven't been afraid to write about things that I might have only alluded to on the last record. My lyrics have always been personal, but the new stuff is deeper, subjects I needed to and wanted to get out."

A lot has happened with Still Remains since the band released their 2005 debut Of Love and Lunacy. Besides growing up both metaphorically and physically, they've toured America and Europe with acts like Trivium, Shadows Fall, Hawthorne Heights and Bullet for My Valentine. They've experienced things that most young bands might not even dream of, like performing before a sold out crowd at London's Brixton Academy. "I can't explain what it's like to wake up in another country at 2PM and step off the bus to a line of people who have been waiting all day for you so they can get your autograph," guitarist Jordan Whelan reflects. "Realizing that people appreciate what we've worked so hard at has just been an amazing experience."

Produced by Steve Evetts (The Cure, Hatebreed) and mixed by Logan Mader (ex-Machine Head, ex-Soulfly guitars), The Serpent palatably demonstrates the culmination of the last two years of Still Remains' efforts and experiences. Together with T.J. and Jordan, guitarist / backup vocalist Mike Church, drummer Adrian "Bone" Green, keyboardist Ben Schauland and bassist Stephen Hetland, Still Remains has written their best music to date. "The creative process for this record was very different from the last one," explains T.J. "Jordan, Mike, Bone and I really worked together on this album. Everyone had input into all aspects of the recording process. Who we are, what we like and what we listen to shine through. This album is a true collaboration."

Examples of the success of that collaboration couldn't be more apparent than on songs like "Stay Captive," the album's first video track, "Anemia in Your Sheets" and "Sleepless Nights Alone." All are aggressive yet melodic and refined glimpses into the band's psyche and rich history of influences. "I feel like I've come into my own as a vocalist," T.J. remarks. "Since I was a kid I have always been singing. On this record I explored that more than on Of Love and Lunacy. The singing is stronger and the screaming is more brutal. My vocal range has grown."

Other tracks like "Dancing with the Enemy" and "The Wax Walls of an Empty Room," capture the band's progress and diversity of talent and influences. The band's personality shines through both in the music and the lyrics. "Both of those songs, ‘Dancing with the Enemy' and ‘The Wax Walls of an Empty Room' are truly personal songs to me," illuminates the vocalist. "A broken relationship between best friends was the inspiration behind ‘Dancing with the Enemy.' ‘The Wax Walls of an Empty Room' is about a lesson I learned in regard to finding strength and happiness in the midst of suffering."

From touring the world to performing on the Roadrunner United album and in the once-in-a-lifetime showcase in New York City last year, an event Jordan, the youngest musician asked to participate, describes as "surreal," (a reference to sharing the stage with his heroes from Slipknot, Machine Head, HIM vocalist Ville Valo and others) Still Remains has achieved more than they could have imagined. It wasn't long after the release of Of Love and Lunacy that the band played the annual New England Metal and Hardcore Festival in Massachusetts and then made their way to Europe where they performed in front of thousands at the U.K.'s famed Download Festival in Donington Park. "Up to that point, Download was the biggest crowd we'd ever played in front of," explains T.J. During the Of Love and Lunacy support cycle, the band made it back to Europe on three occasions, playing in over twelve countries and headlining sold out shows across the U.K. "Europe has always been an amazing place for us, particularly the U.K.," continues T.J. "The metal fans there just seem to get what we are doing."

Back in the States, Still Remains has toured relentlessly, performing on select Sounds of the Underground dates as well as on the popular Strhess Tour, where they shared the stage with such diverse acts as Shadows Fall, Poison the Well and Suffocation. These performances and experiences left an impression that coalesced into what would become the material for The Serpent.

While not completely deviating or alienating, The Serpent showcases the band's growth and potential without losing the foundation they have worked so hard to create. "One of the things we loved about working with Steve Evetts is that he really forced us to bring out the best in ourselves," Jordan says. "If something wasn't right we did it until it was done right. No studio tricks, just hard work until we got it perfect. I can't imagine working with another producer. He has a way of bringing out raw emotion in us. I'm still growing and learning who I am personally and musically," he goes on to confess. "I couldn't be happier with the results of this new record. It's been a lot of hard work, but was worth every minute."

With the recording of The Serpent barely behind them, the band is gearing up for a month long stint on the Van's Warped Tour, a jaunt that will take them across the U.S. and put them in front of faces who may just be getting their first taste of aggressive and melodic metal.