Cannibal Corpse: Uncensored Covers
Can you remember the last time you heard Cannibal Corpse on the radio? What about on MTV? This is a band that gets zero mainstream support but is one of the highest selling death metal bands in the world.
Cannibal Corpse’s covers, while not exactly the best examples of good taste or typography have become an important part to the bands image. Fans expect the cover artwork to be as raw and confronting as their sound and lyrics. Extreme sells and Cannibal Corpse has been working this angle for over 15 years.
After watching Metal: A Headbangers Journey last night I was surprised to see that almost every one of Cannibal Corpses album covers had been censored and alternate covers produced. As vocalist George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher explains in Metal; “it’s art, just look at it as art. Yeah, it’s disgusting…but go to the Vatican and look at some of the art there. That’s real, that’s representing something that’s real, that could happen. This [artwork], you know, that’s never going to happen…monsters aren’t going to rip out of people’s bodies anytime soon.”
If the cover doesn’t shock you then the band hasn’t done their job properly.
I now present to you the complete discography of Cannibal Corpse, in order, with alternate/censored covers for your enjoyment. If you’re eating you might want to finish it before scrolling further down.
| Eaten Back To Life: 1990
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 You can’t walk past an album cover like that and even the title itself is pure gold. |
| Butchered at Birth: 1991
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| Tomb of the Mutilated: 1992
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 Cannibal Corpse’s first alternate cover to feature artwork. Also the introduction of the Parental Advisory label standard. |
| Hammer Smashed Face: 1993
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 This was just an EP but the band was featured in Ace Ventured Pet Detective playing this very song. It’s also probably the worst of all the covers and it’s hard to decide which one is worse. Again kudos for the great song titles. |
| The Bleeding: 1994
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 The most conceptual cover and it’s an censored one. Its a very tight crop of the man’s bleeding chest. |
| Vile: 1996
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 Nice and simple crop, some head and chest surgery and you have your alternate/censored cover. Cannibal Corpse also dropped their old logo for a slightly more refined version. |
| Gallery of Suicide: 1998
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 I actually prefer this censored cover but it doesn’t fit with the title of the album. |
| Bloodthirst: 1999
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 This is probably the most gory alternate/censored cover produced for CC. |
| Live Cannibalism: 2000
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 Another cropping effort. |
| Gore Obsessed: 2002
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 As a piece of art I feel the censored version is stronger. I guess CC don’t really wan to reply on their fans imagination for the covers. |
| Worm Infested: 2003
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| The Wretched Spawn: 2004
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Another copped alternate cover. I wonder if the artist himself suggest’s this or the band do this to save time and money. |
| Kill: 2006
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All props to Vince Locke the actual artist behind the horror cover art. The band has shown great loyalty by using him for all their covers.
And if you have never heard a Cannibal Corpse album then Youtube is the best way to experience them.
Here’s the lounge version of Rancid Amputation:
Here’s an unreleased film clip of their early days:
But seriously here is them performing Hammer Smashed Face live:
All these vidoes have over 500,000 views just showing the intrigue this band creates and the mainstream media void they experience.
The only other band I can think of that comes close to using controversy like Cannibal Corpse is GWAR. But they are a joke band right?
If you think censoring these covers are justifed then explain why Tool’s Undertow and Fat Boy Slim’s You’ve Come a Long Way Baby were censored. Do American’s hate the site of fat people?
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