Cannibal Corpse

death metal · Buffalo; Tampa from 1994

Founded

1988

City

Buffalo; Tampa from 1994

Hub region

Tampa Bay

Status as of 5 September 2026

active; Chaos Horrific (2023); on a live break in 2026 with a seventeenth album planned

Connections

38 edges, 36 distinct neighbors · betweenness 0.064 (rank 8 of 371) · people and production 0.058 (rank 8)

Confidence

High · sources: [W] [WEB] [WGS] [WBT] [WKL] [MBC] [LWC] [TBC] [BCC] [MA] (register)

The inbound relocation case. Formed in the first week of December 1988 in Buffalo from Tirant Sin, Beyond Death and Leviathan, signed by Metal Blade in July 1989 as the label's first death metal band, and sent to Morrisound for Eaten Back to Life (May 1990), Butchered at Birth (1991), Tomb of the Mutilated (1992) and The Bleeding (1993 to 1994) with Scott Burns. The band moves to Tampa in 1994 to be inside the scene it had been commuting to; Vile (1996) and Gallery of Suicide (1998) complete the Morrisound run. Chris Barnes is replaced by George Fisher of Monstrosity in 1995; Erik Rutan produces every album from Kill (2006) and joins on guitar in 2019. Nielsen counts the band the best selling death metal act in the United States.

Connections

People and personnel

• founderChris BarnesDismissed during the Vile sessions1988 to 1995
• founderAlex Webster1988 to present
• founderPaul Mazurkiewicz1988 to present
• founderBob Rusay1988 to 1993
• founderJack Owen1988 to 2004
• memberErik RutanFill in from January 2019, permanent 2 February 20212019 to present
• memberPat O'Brien1997 to 2018
• joined fromRob BarrettThe Bleeding, Vile1993 to 1997, 2005 to present
• joined fromGeorge FisherFrom Vile1995 to present
• produced byJim MorrisGallery of Suicide1998
• produced byScott BurnsEaten Back to Life to Vile1990 to 1996
• produced byErik RutanKill through Chaos Horrific at Mana2006 to 2023
• produced byColin RichardsonBloodthirst at Sonic Ranch1999

Lineage

• spawnedExhorderPat O'Brien2019
• spawnedDeicideJack Owen2004
• came out ofMonstrosityGeorge Fisher1995
• came out ofSolsticeRob Barrett, by way of Malevolent Creation1993
• spawnedSix Feet UnderChris Barnes, side project then main band1993
• spawnedHatePlowRob Barrett1994
• spawnedUmbilicusPaul Mazurkiewicz2021
• grew out ofTirant SinBarnes, Mazurkiewicz and Rusay1988
• grew out ofBeyond DeathWebster and Owen1988

Recording credits

• recorded atMorrisound RecordingEaten Back to Life, Butchered at Birth, Tomb of the Mutilated, The Bleeding, Vile (Scott Burns), Gallery of Suicide (Jim Morris)1990 to 1998
• recorded atSonic RanchBloodthirst (Colin Richardson), Gore Obsessed, The Wretched Spawn (Neil Kernon)1999 to 2004
• recorded atMana Recording StudiosKill, Evisceration Plague, Torture, Violence Unimagined, Chaos Horrific (Erik Rutan)2006 to 2023

Influence

• influenced byRepulsion1986
• influencedSuffocationEaten Back to Life and Butchered at Birth as the precursors of brutal death metal in the reference account1991
• influencedGatecreeper2013
• influenced200 Stab Wounds2019
• influencedSanguisugabogg2019

Labels, festivals, tours, collaborations

• collaborationMalevolent CreationThe two Buffalo bands that moved to Florida1988
• collaborationObituaryThe Tampa neighbors after the move1994
• collaborationGorgutsNorth American tour2024
• collaborationGorgutsChris Barnes guests on Considered Dead1991
• collaborationDecibelHall of Fame 40, Tomb of the Mutilated; The Bleeding2008, 2017
• labelMetal Blade RecordsThe label's first death metal band1989 to present
• festival, venue or tourThe Brass Mug25th anniversary show, 30 November 20132013
• festival, venue or tourHillsborough County historical markerPaul Mazurkiewicz2025