In a departure from their usual milieu of splatter, gore and serial killer adoration, legendary death lords Cannibal Corpse have announced plans to base their next album on the war between Russia and western powers like Britain, France and Sardinia that rocked Europe and Asia from 1853 to 1856. Founder/bassist Alex Webster explained the plan thusly:
“We’ve been doing the whole blood and guts thing since we were kids, and it’s obviously a big part of what Cannibal Corpse is. But this time we wanted to show we aren’t punk kids anymore and we care about things besides being addicted to vaginal skin. Things like war, for instance. Especially old, fucking obscure wars. And let me tell you this, nobody has done an album about this particular war. Not Hail of Bullets, hell, not even Bolt Thrower!”
When it was pointed out that Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper” dealt with the famous Charge of the Light Brigade which occurred during the Crimean War, Webster became noticeably irritated. After regaining his composure, he went on to explain that while Maiden may have touched on one tiny, insignificant skirmish in a much larger geo-political conflict, the Cannibal Corpse album would cover the entire history of the complex historical event.
Furthermore, the narrative voice would jump between the perspectives of the Ottoman Empire, Russia and George B. McClellan, U.S. Army observer, eventual commander of the union forces during the U.S. Civil War and unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Presidency. According to Webster, this multi-viewpoint approach would allow the band to fully examine the political realities on the ground at the time while touching on related topics like the dangers of nationalism, the scourge of cultural ethnocentrism and the duality of mankind itself.
In an effort to further flex their creative muscles, they’re currently in discussions with metal luminaries such as Russell Allen and Jorn Lande about potentially adding their vocal prowess to that of George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. Additional guest appearances could include the likes of Jon Dette and Paul Bostaph among others, and recording duties may be handled by Jari Mäenpää of Wintersun, depending on the success of his ongoing crowdfunding efforts to finance his studio, housing and spa works.
Whether this project ultimately proves successful or not, it’s great to see an established band taking a real chance and daring to try something new and different. Watch this space for further developments.
