Cannibal Corpse – Pat O’Brien, Guitars

On the heels of their11^th studio album, Evisceration Plague, Cannibal Corpse guitarist Pat O’Brien spoke with SMN News about recording the new album, the controversial lyrics that have made Cannibal Corpse infamous, and what the future holds for the death metal band.

What was Cannibal Corpse’s mindset going into the studio for the recording of Evisceration Plague?

Basically, we tried to be as prepared as possible. We took six months to write the album…we tried to have everything planned out before we go out and record. That’s basically our mindset.

Did the band do anything different this time around or was it business as usual?

We definitely tried some things different. Every album we do, we always try to go in and make it as heavy as we possibly can. Of course, every band always says that…with this album, we worked with a click track a lot. Every song, Paul (Mazurkiewicz, drums) would practice to a click, which we’ve never done before. That was different, but the end result was that we got a lot tighter with the sound. I think the performance were a lot tighter because of that. There was no fluctuation within the song or even the riffs. It was pretty much straight through as far as the click and the timing go.

Were there any issues with using a click track?

I thought there would be; I didn’t think we could pull it off. We’ve never done that; usually, we write a song, practice the shit out of it, and then we go in and record it, and get the best takes. A lot of times, Paul will do a great take, and the song will be a little bit faster than we originally had the idea for because the way the drummer plays or just the way things change over time…I think with the click, we knew exactly the tempo things were going to be so we were able to iron that out before we went in.

Do you feel that this is the tightest Cannibal Corpse album?

I definitely think it’s the tightest, for sure. Definitely one of the tightest; the only one that is maybe as tight is Bloodthirst because of the production on that.

Will you guys use a click track again in the future?

I definitely think we will use it again because it comes across better. Everything is tighter, more solid, and cleaner; it really cleans everything up.

You guys don’t want to get too clean though…

No, we don’t want to get too clean; believe me, we do not want to get too clean (laughs). The problem is, a lot of the time, we’ve been too dirty, where people can’t hear some of the stuff going on…its good to have stuff that’s more controlled.

Where did the title of the album originate from?

I can’t remember who came up with the title. It was either Paul or Alex (Webster, bass). What we do, we call it the drum head: Paul’s got the snare drum head. We take a piece of paper with song titles on it. So we have a couple of titles coming in and coming in, and even if its just one word that’s kind of weird, we write it down. When we write music, if one of the song titles from the paper up on the wall, if they make it to the music, he writes it on the drum head. So all these albums each have snare drum head with all the songs on them. It’s like the final stage; if it makes it to the snare drum head, that’s what it’s usually going to be called.

Last time around, some fans were complaining that the cover art for Kill wasn’t graphic enough. This time around, was it easier for everybody to agree upon a cover art?

We were going back and forth with ideas; honestly, we’re getting sick with stores not carrying our product because of album covers. With Kill, we wanted to put that everywhere, we wanted to be able to be in Best Buy. There were so many albums, like The Wretched Spawn, where we couldn’t get it into any stores because the front cover was so graphic…have all the shit on the inside, so at least we can get into stores.

What made Cannibal Corpse choose producer Erik Rutan to come back and work on Evisceration Plague?

He played in Morbid Angel and Hate Eternal; he’s played death metal his own life and has this killer studio that he has been building over the years. We used him for the last album, Kill, and we thought he did an amazing job on that. He knows what he is doing…he knows how to get good performances out of you. He brings a lot of knowledge and has a lot of great gear in the studio and we get a better rate. I think he’s done us right both times.

How do you feel about the end result?

I think I feel pretty good about it; I feel better and better about it the farther I get away from the recording process because the recording process torments a person like me. I analyze every little thing about it. I go in there recording guitars all day long, and by the end of the night, I think, “Man, this sounds like shit.” The next day, I think it sounds good, and it always goes back and forth. It’s good to step back from the album and not listen to it for a little while. That way, I forget about everything that went into it, all the aggravating little details and just listen to it the way it is.

Can you explain what is on the bonus DVD that comes with the album?

It’s just basically studio stuff, going over some gear we used, the process of making the album. Probably something that doesn’t need to be here, but it is, so I guess its something else for people to put on.

Do you believe that bonus material like a DVD is needed to help sell albums?

I really don’t think it is, but the record label thinks it is. There’s so much downloaded on the Internet that you can’t really stop it. This bonus DVD could be on YouTube anyway…probably will be up there before the damn thing comes out. A lot of people are trying different things to sell their CD’s as much as they can.

Do you have any favorite tracks off the new album?

There isn’t one I particular like more than the other. I think they all got certain strong points. I’m kind of curious to see what the fans think of it.

Are they any particular guitar parts you are proud of?

There are certain things that turned out pretty cool. I enjoy playing parts that I write more, as I usually play those parts better. Most of them turned out pretty damn good; some of the solos turned out good. It’s hard to pinpoint anything in particular.

After 20 years, is it tough to provide shocking lyrical content to hardcore fans?

You would have to ask the fans; I’m definitely not shocked by anything anymore. I don’t think there is too much out there that can be shocking, especially after September 11^th. What can be more shocking than that? I’m not a lyric type of person. Every time I listen to my favorite bands, I listen to the guitar parts.

So you never have been a fan of lyrics?

Not really a major fan of lyrics. For me, it never did matter to me if it was a good song or not. Most of the time, I can’t understand what they are saying anyway. Even when people do sing, I never focused on the lyrics. With bands like Metallica, I would read the lyrics as I listening to them, but that isn’t what drew me in…it was the overall thing, not the lyrics…for me, it’s just the music.
Have you ever thought about doing some instrumental music on the side?

Well, from time to time, we do some instrumental work in Cannibal Corpse, but later on down the road, I’ll think about doing something like that, but not right now.

In your time with Cannibal Corpse, has there been any lyrics that have shocked or possibly offended you?

If you think about it, if we play “Fucked With A Knife,” that’s a brutal topic. There’s some (songs) when I first joined, I said “ah, that’s fucked up.” After seeing them on the set list every day, you get used to it; it doesn’t faze you anymore. I never let it bother me in the first place. To me, I got what it was about before I was in the band. We do have brutal and gory lyrics, but that’s all they are. There isn’t any kind of message or anything like that…I don’t want to speak for the lyrics; I’m just a guitar player. George (Fisher, vocalist) isn’t up there trying to push any political agenda or anything like that.

Do you think that makes the band unique, as there always seems to be underlying messages in a lot of modern metal bands?

Yeah, maybe. We’re definitely not a political band and I’m glad about that. I wouldn’t want to be. There’s political issues I have that people wouldn’t agree about; I would rather keep that personal. When you listen to Cannibal Corpse and you listen to the music, what lyrics are really going to fit over it? I think the lyrics actually fit the music perfect, but I think the music has more to say than the lyrics. To me, it’s more about the music than the lyrics.

That’s an interesting viewpoint, as the fans would probably feel the opposite way, looking at the lyrics more…

That might be for George, you know. Lyrics are going to be more important for him as the vocalist. I’m a self-indulgent guitar player (laughs); that’s the way it comes from me…there is no doubt that the lyrics are important, but as a guitar player, that’s not what I’m listening to.

Are there any Cannibal Corpse songs that you are sick of playing live, that make you go “oh god, here we go again?”

(laughs). Depends on what night we’re playing. Some nights, there are ones where I go “oh god, here we go again,” but it’s a good thing because I might be playing like shit; at least I’m able to play these songs that I’m sick of. If I’m not sick of them, I can play them with little effort. For the most part, they are pretty fun to play.

Tell me one thing people may be surprised to find out about you, something they wouldn’t expect a Cannibal Corpse guitarist to do.

I do enjoy hunting, shooting. Actually, I have been fucking around with a banjo, messing around with it. I’m from Kentucky, so I’ve been checking out some of the bluegrass stuff up there.

Any final thoughts?

Thanks for the support; for supporting death metal, as George says every night at the end of a show.

By Dan Marsicano

(+45 rating, 9 votes)

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