HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Kill – Cannibal Corpse
The trajectory and widespread acclaim of CANNIBAL CORPSE defies logic. A band of their ilk, a killer no-nonsense death metal band with a love affair with horror and gore. Not necessarily the subject matter to land chart-topping tunes. But alas, the Buffalo death metal legends have cemented a unique position and have a truly special reach, resulting in a career spanning nearly four decades and sixteen albums. By and large, the band’s longevity is due to their consistency, but there’s been some standout moments. 2006’s Kill is one of them.
The turn of the century had ran like clockwork for the band. 2002’s Gore Obsessed and 2004’s The Wretched Spawn continued the band’s relevance in extreme music circles but failed to break new ground but by 2006, the band were ready to strike again. A strike with the same ferocity that sparked controversy worldwide with their gore-soaked early material.
With Rob Barrett re-joining the ranks following guitarist Jack Owen, the band hunkered down at Mana Recording Studios in October of 2005 with HATER ETERNAL guitarist Erik Rutan – who would later officially join years later in 2021 – for two months. The goal was simple. Create the quintessential CANNIBAL CORPSE record.
Bolstered by Rutan‘s production and the first to feature a down tuning to G# standard, Kill is a monumentally heavy record. 42 minutes of being musically beaten into a pulp. The Time To Kill Is Now. Make Them Suffer (which has become a fan favourite). Death Walking Terror. Five Nails Through The Neck. It’s utterly relentless and marked an explosive return to form from a band who celebrated their tenth release with Kill. The return of Barrett worked a treat with Pat O’Brien, ominous and razor-sharp, while George ‘Corpsegrinder’ Fisher laid down some of his heaviest vocal work to date.
Perhaps a more unique subplot in Kill‘s story, and lasting legacy, is its artwork. Of course, dear reader, this being a CANNIBAL CORPSE article, it would be impossible not to mention the artwork, considering it’s notoriety with their reputation. Where the likes of Tomb of the Mutilated, Butchered at Birth or Eaten Back to Life basked in the macabre and over-the-top violent imagery, Kill is a notable record in the CANNIBAL CORPSE discography for the fact it was the first album to omit the violent imagery all together.
Although the band would recall that “the original art that Vince [Locke] gave us was really cool, but we didn’t think it would make the best cover. We decided to use it as interior art, and just have a simple band logo/album title type cover. The main focus of our band should be music anyway, so I don’t think it’s a big deal that the cover’s not a blood soaked scene of carnage the way our others have been”, it highlights the band’s intent, the music itself. And with it’s simplistic design, simply stating the word KILL. MO understood.
Kill‘s impact was immediate. Upon its release in March 2006, CANNIBAL CORPSE unleashed aural bedlam upon the world. And it was lapped up with acclaim. In the week following its release, Kill became the second record in the band’s discography to chart on the Billboard 200, landing at number 170. Critically, it was received highly positively too, with praise landing across the board. Buoyed by its success, the band would tour extensively throughout the remainder of 2006, appearing on the Sounds of the Underground Tour across North America with the likes of BEHEMOTH and IN FLAMES. A headlining run, alongside NECROPHAGIST and DYING FETUS, followed.
But, perhaps the lasting impact of Kill isn’t necessarily the fact it’s 42 minutes of top-tier death metal, it’s the fact it reignited CANNIBAL CORPSE, and years later, it’s considered a turning point in their career. Not only did it introduce the band to a new generation of metal fans whose adolescence timed perfectly with the record’s release, but it provided the platform for the band to deliver 2009’s critically acclaimed Evisceration Plague.
Kill‘s impact is just as brutal as it was when it first shredded eardrums twenty years ago. The band weren’t necessarily treading water so to speak, but Kill lit the spark to ignite the powder keg and provided the platform for the band to continue their dominance. Twenty years on and CANNIBAL CORPSE are still revered as the biggest death metal band on the planet. Six albums have followed since Kill‘s release, and the band’s consistency has been one of their defining factors. But trace back the roots, and it lands with Kill. 42 minutes of some of the best death metal committed to tape.
Kill was originally released on March 21st, 2006 via Metal Blade Records.
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