I was rooting around for a cool interview to post on the blog from the SY vault. What better interview to post than the legends themselves: Cannibal Corpse? This interview is from 2007, Kill was new, Alex Webster had just signed on to play bass for Hate Eternal and the Pitgoddess was still a baby who'd just entered college. Enjoy!
PitGoddess: Hey there Alex. Hope I find you well. What’s going on in your world?
Alex Webster: OK. Well, we're home from touring Europe; that tour actually finished up a couple of weeks ago. So we've just resumed practicing for the next string of dates we're going to do. Also, we've all just been relaxing a bit, trying to enjoy be home for a little while.
PG: I know you guys tour like crazy…what’s your favorite place to play?
AW: Well, we don't have one favorite place in particular. There are really great places to play all over the world. I can say for sure that every gig we've had in Latin America has been great, so that's one of our favorite areas to play. There is a great death metal scene in Central and South America.
AW: Well, we don't have one favorite place in particular. There are really great places to play all over the world. I can say for sure that every gig we've had in Latin America has been great, so that's one of our favorite areas to play. There is a great death metal scene in Central and South America.
PG: Yeah, SA has a killer metal scene. Anywhere you’d like to play and haven’t?
AW: Well, we've only played Japan once, and that was back in 1996, so we're eager to return there. And we're going to play Iceland for the first time this summer, so that is something we're all pretty excited about. Personally, I'd love to have the band play in countries in SE Asia like Malaysia and Indonesia, but so far we haven't been able to set anything up. We really want to play anywhere that has a good death metal scene.
PG: Iceland? That’s pretty exciting. Congrats on getting the Hate Eternal gig. How did that come to fruition?
AW: Well, Erik's been my friend for a long time, and I really love Hate Eternal's music, so when he asked me about doing the album, I said "of course". Some people might not remember but I actually played on the first Hate Eternal demo back in 1997, so working with Erik is not something new for me. I look forward to playing in a band with him again after all of this time.
AW: Well, we've only played Japan once, and that was back in 1996, so we're eager to return there. And we're going to play Iceland for the first time this summer, so that is something we're all pretty excited about. Personally, I'd love to have the band play in countries in SE Asia like Malaysia and Indonesia, but so far we haven't been able to set anything up. We really want to play anywhere that has a good death metal scene.
PG: Iceland? That’s pretty exciting. Congrats on getting the Hate Eternal gig. How did that come to fruition?
AW: Well, Erik's been my friend for a long time, and I really love Hate Eternal's music, so when he asked me about doing the album, I said "of course". Some people might not remember but I actually played on the first Hate Eternal demo back in 1997, so working with Erik is not something new for me. I look forward to playing in a band with him again after all of this time.
PG: Good luck with that! What should we expect from the new HE?
AW: Just really fast, twisted, evil sounding death metal!
AW: Just really fast, twisted, evil sounding death metal!
PG: Sweet! Can’t wait …How is playing with HE different from your work with Cannibal?
AW: Well, the type of guitar parts that Erik writes are a lot different from the type that Pat, Rob, or I would write. I will probably take a different approach to writing my bass parts for this album. I'm excited about this, because I think it will be something new from me, and it might add a little something to HE's sound too. However, I will make sure that all of my parts fit tastefully into the songs Erik has written. That's the challenge, to write parts that help the song…Interesting parts that aren't so busy that they distract the listener.
PG: KILL is a pretty sick album. Where did you guys get ideas for this one?
AW: Well, for me personally, I try to write songs that capture some sort of emotion. In death metal, the emotions should be dark and negative. Emotions like anger or fear, for example. My favorite songs that I've written are usually the really aggressive ones like "The Time To Kill Is Now". We like songs that capture a feeling of rage, and Kill has quite a few like that.
PG: Obviously...hence the title. J There is serious discontent between your lyrics and your personalities…where did that come from? Singing about stuff you wish you could do?
AW: Well, our lyrics feature deeply disturbed characters and we do not condone the type of behavior described in our songs. It's the same thing with authors of violent horror novels like Stephen King, or makers of violent movies like Wes Craven. It's all just entertainment, and it does not reflect on what kind of people we are. However, like all people, we have all experienced feelings of rage and frustration, and this type of music helps us deal with it. Making brutal music is a way to do something positive with negative energy.
AW: Well, for me personally, I try to write songs that capture some sort of emotion. In death metal, the emotions should be dark and negative. Emotions like anger or fear, for example. My favorite songs that I've written are usually the really aggressive ones like "The Time To Kill Is Now". We like songs that capture a feeling of rage, and Kill has quite a few like that.
PG: Obviously...hence the title. J There is serious discontent between your lyrics and your personalities…where did that come from? Singing about stuff you wish you could do?
AW: Well, our lyrics feature deeply disturbed characters and we do not condone the type of behavior described in our songs. It's the same thing with authors of violent horror novels like Stephen King, or makers of violent movies like Wes Craven. It's all just entertainment, and it does not reflect on what kind of people we are. However, like all people, we have all experienced feelings of rage and frustration, and this type of music helps us deal with it. Making brutal music is a way to do something positive with negative energy.
PG: I try to tell that to people all the time. Making music is better than shooting some dude for cutting you off in traffic. Would you let your kids listen to your music?
AW: I don't have kids, but if I did, I would definitely let them listen to our music. I might wait until they were teenagers to let them read the lyrics though, since they are on the par with an R-Rated movie.
AW: I don't have kids, but if I did, I would definitely let them listen to our music. I might wait until they were teenagers to let them read the lyrics though, since they are on the par with an R-Rated movie.
PG: That’s probably a good idea. CC is one of the pioneer death metal bands, I’d say…what do you think of the new death metal that comes out today?
AW: Heavy music has been great therapy for me for most of my life. I can't imagine life without extreme metal. There are many great new bands, some of my favorites are: Nox, Spawn of Possession, Aeon, Brain Drill, Dominion, and Internal Suffering. There are tons and tons more though, too many to name right now. The scene has never been stronger.
PG: You think so? Tampa seems a little dead right now. Can’t say much for the rest of the US/world though…
AW: Well, Tampa is strange in that you don't see the bulk of the fans until a really big show. For us, the scene seems to be doing very well. Our tour with Dying Fetus, Necrophagist and Unmerciful was one of the biggest in our career.
PG: Congrats on the tour! I guess you’re right about Tampa…Seems like there are less and less big shows (I miss the Masquerade). Speaking of which… If you had the choice, what band/figure/thing would you bring back?
AW: A Dark Angel reunion and tour would be killer.
AW: A Dark Angel reunion and tour would be killer.
PG: Cannibal was in Ace Ventura back in the day…any future blockbuster plans? Perhaps an art film in the making?? Hahaha.
AW: Well, George and I were in that movie "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", but that's it as far as movies go. George did some voices for the cartoon "Metalocolypse"...I just spelled that wrong, oh well. No, no art films for us.
AW: Well, George and I were in that movie "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey", but that's it as far as movies go. George did some voices for the cartoon "Metalocolypse"...I just spelled that wrong, oh well. No, no art films for us.
PG: That's a funny show! You should do an art film...Cannibal Corpse: The Interpretive Dance.
AW: Haha, like that funny hippy "Hammer Smashed Face" video on Youtube.
PG: There’s a hippy Hammer Smashed Face?
AW: Check youtube, you'll find it. It's some old video of a 60's band jamming and dancing with HSF playing in the background. It's pretty funny. (PG note: http://youtube.com/watch?v=I2PzagXsD0Y)
AW: Check youtube, you'll find it. It's some old video of a 60's band jamming and dancing with HSF playing in the background. It's pretty funny. (PG note: http://youtube.com/watch?v=I2PzagXsD0Y)
PG: Haha…I thought hippies hated metal…I know they hate Slayer.
AW: Well, I don't imagine these folks know that their video has been mashed up in this way, haha.
AW: Well, I don't imagine these folks know that their video has been mashed up in this way, haha.
PG: Poor hippies. Time’s running low…any final words Alex?
AW: Yeah…I should get going soon, time for dinner. My final words are just thank you for the interview, and thank you to all of our fans who might be reading this. Without your support, we're nothing. Stay brutal!!
AW: Yeah…I should get going soon, time for dinner. My final words are just thank you for the interview, and thank you to all of our fans who might be reading this. Without your support, we're nothing. Stay brutal!!
PG: Thanks for your time!!!
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