Ahead of the release of their new DVD and, to celebrate a glorious career, Planet Loud looked back over some of the more gore-ious moments from the career of US death metal Kings Cannibal Corpse.

Planet Loud – Do you remember much about the early days? First gig, first rehearsal?
Cannibal Corpse – It was long time ago but I do have great memories of the early days when everything was fresh and the future was unpredictable for the band. I just remember how exciting and natural it felt those first few practices. We gelled pretty much immediately and how could I forget our first gig – opening for Dark Angel. The early days were great because everything that happened to us was a new experience. It’s hard not to remember.

Planet Loud – What was the local scene reaction to the music you were making?
Cannibal Corpse – The local scene in Buffalo, New York at the time we were forming was doing great. A lot of killer bands were coming through on a regular basis and the extreme music scene was taking off. That first show with Dark Angel we played in front of 400 people and the reaction for us was very positive. I know we sold a bunch of demos afterwards and the rest is history as they say…

Planet Loud – What do you remember about signing your deal with Metal Blade? Did peoples attitude to the band change?
Cannibal Corpse – We signed very early after forming and I remember kind of being in shock. We have been a band for only 7 months and here is a record contract for you! It was crazy! I think people just payed more attention to us outside of Buffalo at that point…we were ready to invade the world and it seemed like the world was ready for us!

Planet Loud – Controversy has followed the band. Has there been any point where you thought was all this aggro worth it?
Cannibal Corpse – We just do what we do and don’t let things like that really bother us. We are very happy with what we accomplished with the band and everything we have ever done has been just a dream come true really!

Planet Loud – When Chris and the band were writing songs like Entrails and Stripped, Raped And Tortured did you ever thing that was taking it too far?
Cannibal Corpse – No. The band is about gore, horror, death…and taking it to the extreme! Back then we were just writing music we enjoyed and making it as repulsive to the masses as possible!

Planet Loud – Four albums into your career and Chris left the band, what is your memory of that period?
Cannibal Corpse – We were getting very disappointed in his vocals and felt it was time for a change. A change we felt needed to happen to better the band. The four albums we did with him are special and will always be a very important period in Cannibal history of course. Things just had to change!

Planet Loud – You also appeared in a Jim Carrey movie, that must have been pretty surreal?
Cannibal Corpse – Very surreal!! It was a great experience being on a movie set and seeing all the ins and outs of movie making. Thanks to Jim Carrey we were able to be apart of a killer comedy done right!

Planet Loud – Do you remember the first time Corpsegrinder sang a Cannibal Corpse song?
Cannibal Corpse – It would have been at a practice or in the studio recording Devoured By Vermin. That was the first song he sang I’m pretty sure. I just remember hearing him sing it in the studio and being like….holy….this album is going to be brutal!

Planet Loud – Even moving forward from the Butchered At Birth and Tomb Of The Mutilated era you have still been dogged with controversy. Are you surprised people were still getting offended by the material?
Cannibal Corpse – Not really. There is always going to be something of that nature going on. You would think everybody has seen it and heard it by now and that it wouldn’t be happening these days…

Planet Loud – Was there a point over the career where you actually sat down and thought wow, we’ve been really successful?
Cannibal Corpse – Everyday pretty much! ..haha… It all happened so fast and the fact that it’s still going is incredible! We just do what we do and if good things come of that then great!

Planet Loud – What has been your favourite Cannibal Corpse story so far?
Cannibal Corpse – The story of our career! What a story!

Planet Loud – Having toured the world, is there any particular fan incident that sticks in your mind?
Cannibal Corpse – We played a festival in the province of Quebec, Canada a few years back and when the show was over I see a kid in the front row and I was going to throw him a water in a plastic bottle unopened. As I threw it to him from the stage he turned his head and I hit him with it just above his eye. I felt so bad because he needed a stitch or two so I met up with him after and gave him a shirt and a pair sticks and told him how sorry I was…he was cool with it all and said he had a good story to tell…

Planet Loud – Even after all these years is there a Cannibal Corpse song that is your absolute favourite?
Cannibal Corpse – Maybe Hammer Smashed Face. I think it’s put together well and it is very fun to play! Especially when the fans are going crazy to it!

Planet Loud – We’ve talked about some of the good times, what has been the low point of your career?
Cannibal Corpse – Luckily there has not really been any low points for us. We have been very fortunate to be touring constantly and our record sales are pretty steady. We’ve been climbing the ladder slowly for years and we are still climbing with no end in sight!

Planet Loud – Do you have any message for those people back in the day who didn’t take you seriously?
Cannibal Corpse – Not really. We are not for everybody. If someone didn’t like us for whatever reason so be it. That’s their opinion. We liked what we were doing and luckily there were others out on the world that liked it too.

Planet Loud – Finally, what are your plans for the future?
Cannibal Corpse – We are working on material for our 12th CD which we’ll record in September. After releasing it sometime early next year we’ll be hitting the road once again!…like I said…there is no end in sight.

Interview by Graham Finney