Interview cannibal corpse
zaterdag 19 oktober stond de baroeg in Rotterdam totaal afgeladen voor een concert van de meesters van de US death metal, Cannibal Corpse.
Na helemaal suf gebeukt te zijn had drummer Paul Mauzurkiewicz nog even de tijd om wat vragen te beantwoorden voor ZM.
[img]http://www.zwaremetalen.com/image/bands/cannibal1.jpg[/img]
[b]Rajackar:
Do you still play many small venues like the one tonight?[/b]
Paul Mauzurkiewicz:
Yes we do, quite a lot actually.
[b]R:
Do you have a special preference for small or big shows?[/b]
PM:
I’d rather do the small shows. You have more contact with the audience. Big shows are fun from time to time but I definitely prefer small venues like tonight.
[b]R:
As far as I can tell you seem to change your setlist a lot. Is this true?[/b]
PM:
Yes, this is true. We like to play different songs now and then to keep things interesting for ourselves as well as for the fans. There are songs like “hammer smashed face” that we have to play, but other than that we like to change it a lot.
[b]R:
You guys have been around for quite some time now. We see a lot of bands quitting because as they grow older they seem to lose interest in loud music. How is this for you, do you still enjoy death metal the way you used to?[/b]
PM:
It’s really different from the days in like 90-92 and I don’t listen to new stuff as much as I did back then but I still enjoy death metal a lot.
[b]R:
Was there ever a time when you guys thought of quitting?[/b]
PM:
No never!
[b]R:
How is your view of the whole metal scene nowadays? Has a lot changed over the years?[/b]
PM:
Yes, there are a lot of nu-metal bands that play very simple music and they influence the way people think about metal. I really don’t like their music and their attitudes.
[b]R:
Do you still have problems with morality groups or has the dust settled a bit around that issue?[/b]
PM:
We have only had some real problems in Germany. Sometimes we get some great publicity because we pissed some people off with cover art or something. But nothing other than that really.
[b]R:
On the recent tour, performances of the Dutch death metal group Severe Torture were banned because of their cd cover. Cannibal Corpse however was allowed to play. Don’t you think this is strange?[/b]
PM:
Yes, we were all really surprised to hear this. Especially because we’ve always had very brutal art work. I think it is a stupid random act more than that it is really someone going after death metal or brutal cover art.
[b]R:
Nowadays it seems that a lot of bands are judged by their technical abilities rather than their songwriting ability. How do you reflect on this?[/b]
PM:
I think that you should show your technical abilities through your songs. There seem to be more and more bands that show off but don’t know the first thing about songwriting. The ability to play complicated parts should enable you to make even better songs. In my opinion a song should never be writer for the purpose of showing off the technical ability of a musician.
[b]R:
On the latest album the song “when death replaces life” kind off stands out because of its lyrics. Is there any special reason for this?[/b]
PM:
You should ask Jack about that because he writes most of the lyrics and he wrote that song too. I think he wanted to make an anti religious statement. I agree that it stands but I think it’s more of a one time thing.
[b]R:
On your live album you clearly stated that no overdubs were used. How do you reflect on things that help bands sound better like vocal deformers or drum triggers for example?[/b]
PM:
I don’t like using drum triggers myself. On very rare occasion I use them in the studio but I never use them live. When I play live you only hear me playing my drums and nothing else.
Also we have never used things like vocal deformers or some tings like that. We like to keep it pure and brutal.
[b]R:
You always have a good live sound. Do you have a special technician who comes along everywhere? [/b]
PM:
Yes we do. He’s been with us for about ten years and he gives us the best sound we can hope for.
[b]R:
A lot of people clearly distinguish between European and US death metal. How do you think about this?[/b]
PM:
There is clearly a difference between those two. Although different kinds of Death Metal are mixing more and more you can often hear where a band is from.
[b]R:
I understand this is the last show of the tour. When will we be seeing you guys again, and when can we expect a new album?[/b]
PM:
We just released the mini-cd (worm infested) and we’re going to start writing new material in the next year. We will probably release the new album at the end of 2003 and be on the road again in early 2004.
[b]R:
Thanks a lot for the interview, any last words?[/b]
PM:
I just want to thank all the Dutch people who showed up during our tour. Stay brutal and see you guys next time!