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Draft:Controversies of Cannibal Corpse

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Cannibal Corpse lyrics, song titles, album covers and merchandise artwork frequently feature transgressive and macabre imagery, including depictions of extreme violence, which the band has always defended as artistic expression that is clearly fictional. Bassist Alex Webster commented, "most Western music is people singing from the heart — singing to a girlfriend, so a lot of people are freaked out by our songs".[1] The band's album art (most often by Vincent Locke) and lyrics, drawing heavily on horror fiction and horror films, are highly controversial. At different times, several countries, such as Germany and Russia, have banned Cannibal Corpse from performing within their borders, or have banned the sale and display of original Cannibal Corpse album covers.[2][3]

According to Metal Blade Records president Brian Slagel, "there were times in Europe that were really scary, to the point where the local government said if they played their songs then [they] would arrest them immediately."[4]

Vocalist George Fisher has stated that death metal is best understood as "art" and claims that far more violent art can be found at the Vatican, pointing out that such depictions are arguably more transgressive because they actually happened.[5] On the same topic, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher stated the band does not sing about religion or politics, and that the band's songs are simply "short stories" that could be converted into horror films. He said: "Really, that's all it is. We like gruesome, scary movies, and we want the lyrics to be like that. Yeah, it's about killing people, but it's not promoting it at all. Basically these are fictional stories, and that's it. And anyone who gets upset about it is ridiculous."[6]

Webster recalled, "It got to the point where it entered global politics. That's something I never imagined, and I never heard [Senator] Joe Lieberman actually say these words, but he said this about us: "[Cannibal Corpse] is deplorable. They have a song about having sex with a severed head." I wish I could have heard him say that shit. I'd love that sound bite."[7]

United States

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Cannibal Corpse have been subject to obscenity controversy since virtually the beginning of their career.

In May 1995, then-US Senator Bob Dole accused Cannibal Corpse—along with hip hop acts including the Geto Boys and 2 Live Crew—of undermining the national character of the United States.[8] Vocalist George Fisher recalled, "people were bitching us out on TV but it was like ‘cool, you’re not hurting us and you’re telling millions of people who we are’ – good job. ‘Undermining the youth’ – yeah, because we want people to get arrested and not come to our shows. We want regular jobs – great plan!”

A year later, the band came under fire again, this time as part of a campaign by William Bennett, Senator Joe Lieberman, then-Senator Sam Nunn, and National Congress of Black Women chair C. Delores Tucker to get major record labels—including Time Warner, Sony, Thorn-EMI, PolyGram and Bertelsmann—to "dump 20 recording groups [...] responsible for the most offensive lyrics".[9]

Australia

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Further information: Censorship in Australia

As of October 23, 1996, the sale of any Cannibal Corpse audio recording then available was banned in Australia and all copies of such had been removed from music shops.[10] At the time, the Australian Recording Industry Association and the Australian Music Retailers Association were implementing a system for identifying potentially offensive records, known as the "labelling code of practice".[11][12]

All ten of Cannibal Corpse's albums, the live album Live Cannibalism, the boxed set 15 Year Killing Spree, the EP Worm Infested, and the single "Hammer Smashed Face" were re-released in Australia between 2006 and 2007, finally classified by ARIA and allowed for sale in Australia. However, they are all "restricted" and only sold to those over 18 years of age. Some are sold in "censored" and "uncensored" editions, which denotes the change of cover art.[13] Despite this, when displayed in some stores, even the "uncensored" editions are censored manually.[citation needed]

After discussion of banning them from touring, Australian comedy act The Chaser did a lounge music version of their song "Rancid Amputation" on their show The Chaser's War on Everything, arguing that being able to perform the same song as lounge music on television proves that the music, and not the lyrics, is the problem.[14]

Germany

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In Germany, numerous albums have been indexed by the Federal Agency for Child and Youth Protection in the Media, which means that these albums may only be offered and sold to adults and must disappear from regular retail outlets.[15]

The indexed songs may only be played in front of an adult audience and the organizer must ensure that no minors attend the event by means of an age check.

Some albums have even been confiscated by the courts and may no longer even be sold to adults.[17][18]

  • Butchered at Birth (1991), on the index since October 1991,[16][19] confiscated since 1994[20]
  • Created to Kill (2000, a bootleg release consisting of demo recordings), on the index since August 2011,[21] confiscated since November 2012[22]
  • Torture (2012), on the index since December 2012,[23] confiscated since December 2013[24]
  • Vile (1996), on the index since September 2015,[25] confiscated since July 2017[26]

In a 2004 interview, George Fisher attempted to recall what originally provoked the ban:

"A woman saw someone wearing one of our shirts, I think she is a schoolteacher, and she just caused this big stink about it. So [now] we can't play anything from the first three records. And it really sucks because kids come up and they want us to play all the old songs — and we would — but they know the deal. We can't play 'Born in a Casket' but can play 'Dismembered and Molested'."[27]

In a 2019 interview with Christa Jenal, the teacher behind the numerous banning proceedings, spoke about the band:

"I have been dealing with the potential for brutalization in society for decades. In this context, I came across the band around 25 years ago because, as a teacher, I saw pupils wearing T-shirts depicting babies on grappling hooks. They were freely available on the market at the time. I've been educating people ever since. Cannibal Corpse is not the only band, but I see it as symptomatic of how far things can go when state institutions turn a blind eye.[28]

Russia

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Six of the eight planned shows from the band's 2014 Russian tour were canceled after protests from local Orthodox activists. A month before the tour, religious activist Dimitry Tsorionov said Cannibal Corpse's music was punishable under Russian law because it "incites religious division." He commented unfavorably on the lyrics, saying they promoted "death, violence, as well as various kinds of sexual perversion."[29] The gig in Nizhny Novgorod was stopped halfway through the set, after police conducted a search for drugs at the venue.[30] The concert in Saint Petersburg was canceled at the last minute because of unspecified "technical reasons", OMON arrived shortly after and arrested eighteen concertgoers.[31] Cannibal Corpse members stated that Russian authorities threatened to detain the members if they performed because they did not have the correct work visas.[30]

Responses to censorship

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In response to accusations that his band's lyrics desensitize people to violence, Alex Webster argued death metal fans enjoy the music only because they know the violence depicted in its lyrics is not real: "If you really saw someone get their brains bashed in right in front of you, I think it would have a pretty dramatic impact [...] you'd react to it, no matter how many movies you've watched or how much gore metal you've listened to [...] even though we've got crazy entertainment now, our social realities are actually a bit more civilized than they were back then [...] we're not hanging people or whipping them in the street and I think that's positive improvement for any society".[32]

He also believes the violent lyrics can have positive value, saying "it's good to have anger music as a release."[33] George Fisher further explained, "there's nothing ever serious. We're not thinking of anybody in particular that we're trying to kill, or harm or anything."[34]

Chris Barnes, who wrote the lyrics to the band's first four albums, said: "I never did anything for controversy. That was more a nuisance. I wanted to just write something that was exciting to me. Controversy was secondary."[35]

See also

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[edit]
  1. ^ "Death Metal 101: The History of Death Metal". Loudwire. August 31, 2017.
  2. ^ Joe DiVita (2020-10-27). "13 Hard Rock + Metal Bands Who Were Banned From Countries". Loudwire.com. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  3. ^ "Russian court bans music and artwork of Cannibal Corpse". the Guardian. 2014-12-02. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  4. ^ Coles, T. Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 64.
  5. ^ Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005, Sam Dunn, director)
  6. ^ Fisher, Mark (January 2004). "Interview: George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher". Mark's Record Reviews. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  7. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon. "Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History". Revolver. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
  8. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (June 1, 1995). "Films and Recordings Threaten Nation's Character, Dole Says". The New York Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009. Although the article seems to imply that Cannibal Corpse is a "rap group" rather than a metal band, it is one of the few reliable sources on the Internet for Dole's exact words.
  9. ^ Philips, Chuck; Salem-Fitzgerald, D. J. (May 31, 1996). "Rap foes put 20 artists on a hit list". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  10. ^ Sinnet, Natasha (October 23, 1996). "Censorship and heavy metal". Green Left Weekly. Archived from the original on November 10, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  11. ^ "What music is your child listening to?" (PDF) (leaflet). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 12, 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "Labelling Guidelines" (PDF). Labelling code of practice for recorded music containing potentially offensive lyrics and/or themes. Australian Music Retailers Association. March 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 16, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2009.
  13. ^ "AMRA Restricted Warning – 01.4.06 – 30.9.06" (PDF) (table). Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2008. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  14. ^ Chaser's War On Everything - Cannibal Corpse Parody. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2024-10-30 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Wie wirkt die Indizierung?". Bundeszentrale für Kinder- und Jugendmedienschutz (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  16. ^ a b c d e f Wurm, Gerald. "Indizierung - Cannibal Corpse (Schnittberichte.com)". www.schnittberichte.com (in German). Retrieved 2024-10-30.
  17. ^ "German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch – StGB)".
  18. ^ "German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch – StGB)".
  19. ^ https://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=IndexDocs&ID=2841&idid=1228
  20. ^ Beschlagnahmebeschluss des Amtsgericht Stuttgart vom 3. September 1994, Az.: 21 Js 58315/94
  21. ^ https://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=IndexDocs&ID=2841&idid=1233
  22. ^ Beschlagnahmebeschluss des Amtsgericht Saarbrücken vom 25. Juli 2012, Az.: 7Gs 3248/12
  23. ^ https://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=IndexDocs&ID=2841&idid=1236
  24. ^ Beschlagnahmebeschluss des Amtsgericht Fulda vom 28. Oktober 2013, Az.: 27 Gs – 51 UJs 50930/13
  25. ^ https://www.schnittberichte.com/svds.php?Page=IndexDocs&ID=2841&idid=1237
  26. ^ Beschlagnahmebeschluss des Amtsgericht Marburg vom 19.08.2016, Az.: 54 Gs – 1 Js 10068/16
  27. ^ Falina, Melanie (February 2004). "Cannibal Corpse Just Wants to Sing About Ripping Apart Human Flesh in Peace". Chicago Innerview. Innerview Media, Inc. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  28. ^ https://www.kreiszeitung.de/kultur/ausverkauf-moral-12753626.html
  29. ^ Kozlov, Vladimir (October 14, 2014). "Cannibal Corpse's Russia Tour Under Pressure from Orthodox Protestors". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  30. ^ a b Hartmann, Graham (October 16, 2014). "Cannibal Corpse Concert Stopped Mid-Show by Russian Police". Loudwire. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  31. ^ Munro, Scott (October 17, 2014). "Cannibal Corpse fans arrested in Russia". Metal Hammer. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  32. ^ Wilschick, Aaron (February 15, 2007). "Cannibal Corpse: Interview with bassist Alex Webster". puregrainaudio.com. PureGrain Inc. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved February 5, 2009.
  33. ^ "Cannibal Corpse — Alex Webster and George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher". Way Too Loud!. Xtremely Media. October 23, 2007. Archived from the original on June 4, 2008. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  34. ^ Van Pelt, Doug (April 2004). "What Cannibal Corpse Says". HM: The Hard Music Magazine. HM Magazine. Archived from the original on February 20, 2012.
  35. ^ Dick, Chris. Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces. Da Capo Press. p. 149.
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