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By 2008, CANNIBAL CORPSE had reached a point where they had been active for two decades, an extraordinary feat for a band as extreme as they are. They had been accepted as respected elders of death metal with every album they brought out, eagerly devoured by their devoted and rabid fanbase. The fact that they had been active as a band for two decades by this point was a milestone to celebrate and to do so, the band brought out Centuries Of Torment, an all encompassing look back at their history from the bands inception all the way up to their current album at the time Kill.



With Kill, CANNIBAL CORPSE had more than established their status as legends, of not only death metal but metal in general and at this point, and they could have easily rested on their laurels but instead kept pushing forward with the follow-up album Evisceration Plague (released on longtime label Metal Blade) and with the talented Erik Rutan (who would actually later join the band as a guitarist years later) producing again and the results were an album that proved the band were as murderous as ever.Photo Credit: Alex Solca

Retaining the same lineup on Evisceration Plague that recorded Kill, which consisted of vocalist George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher, bassist Alex Webster, drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz, lead guitarist Pat O’Brien and rhythm guitarist Rob Barrett (who had returned to the band on Kill), CANNIBAL CORPSE produced an album with Evisceration Plague that saw them further hone their razor sharp death metal with a streamlined collection of brutally to the point songs, and the album’s relatively short running time of only 38 minutes felt like a rapid series of blows to the head audibly speaking.

The cover artwork for Evisceration Plague by longtime collaborator Vincent Locke was definitely understated compared to some of the band’s previous album covers in terms of over the top gore, but the cover still retains that feeling of the macabre that Locke does so well. Its eeriness and was once again delivered, keeping with the band’s horrific death metal style.


The twelve tracks on the album spill blood in typical CANNIBAL CORPSE fashion with album opener Priests Of Sodom setting the tone perfectly and from then on in, the album flows like fresh blood from an open wound with tracks like Beheading And Burning, Shatter Their Bones and the closing maelstrom that is Skewered From Ear To Eye all delivering on their bloodthirsty promise. The title track to Evisceration Plague also garnered its own suitably gruesome video (and one that plays like the band’s own horror movie with vibes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and various zombie movies) and is still part of their live set to this day, proving its staying power in the vast arsenal of CANNIBAL CORPSE tracks.


Upon the release of Evisceration Plague, CANNIBAL CORPSE undertook an extensive touring schedule that saw them playing whenever they could across the globe and shows the immense power of a live act that they had grown into at this point. The band undertook a huge tour supporting CHILDREN OF BODOM and while the band didn’t really need to be a support band at this stage of their career, they’ve never been a band with any ego whatsoever. CANNIBAL CORPSE also joined the lineup of the Mayhem Festival 2009 in the US that was headlined by MARILYN MANSON and SLAYER, with the band topping a stage that featured BEHEMOTH, JOB FOR A COWBOY and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER.

Following that festival, CANNIBAL CORPSE further added to their joining of varied bills by joining HATEBREED alongside UNEARTH, BORN OF OSIRIS and Erik Rutan‘s band HATE ETERNAL on the Decimation Of The Nation 2 tour, proving again that the band will play with anyone to further add to their formidable reputation.Photo Credit: Alex Solca

The Evisceration Plague tour went into 2010 and saw the band play many festivals across Europe including Wacken and Full Force as well as an epic set at that year’s Bloodstock Festival where they slayed the crowd with an intense set.

Evisceration Plague is an album that, like so many of their albums throughout their history, still holds up today and acts as a solid reminder of how powerful the band were during that point of their career. Ultimately, this album still sounded as fresh and as bloodthirsty as ever, despite having been releasing music for so many years prior to that. Evisceration Plague was a record that further elevated CANNIBAL CORPSE as a core pillar of the extreme metal community.



Evisceration Plague was originally released on February 3rd, 2009 via Metal Blade Records.

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