There has always been bad blood between the current vocalist of the band Cannibal Corpse, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, and his predecessor, the "dinosaur" Chris Barnes (as he is now called by Cannibal Corpse drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz).
While there was always tension between the two men, things escalated quickly when Chris Barnes called George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher a "karaoke singer" for playing "his" (meaning songs composed during "his" era, pre-1995) live.
This has led to insults, internet death threats, and a whole bunch of other nasty stuff reminiscent of early Norwegian black metal bands feuding... but the story doesn't end here.
Cannibal Corpse Fans Chant "F--- Chris Barnes!"
During a recent live event in Reading, Pennsylvania, Cannibal Corpse fans took to chanting "F--- Chris Barnes!" in between live performances by the band.
While Corpsegrinder and the other musicians initially tried to calm the fans down, as is customary during such events, they proved too "enthusiastic" to be negotiated with. Eventually, George Fisher gave up and simply shouted back "You said it, not me!".
This was seen as an insult to Chris Barnes, who immediately took to social media to insult Alex Webster, George Fisher and others. But even then, the story was far from over.
The final chapter of this saga is perhaps the most hilarious to date.
"We had to remove Chris Barnes [...] George Fisher is a better vocalist!"
In an interview given to the heavy metal author Antoine Grand for the book "The Death Metal Bible: A Story of Extreme Metal Brutality", current Cannibal Corpse drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz and long time bassist Alex Webster recounted how Cannibal Corpse evolved over the years... and in doing so, sent a little "message" to Chris Barnes and his current band, the deathcore titans Six Feet Under.
Paul Mazurkiewicz: It's a little crazy to think that we did that [kick out the vocalist Chris Barnes]. You look back now, and we all obviously feel we've bettered the band; George is just a better vocalist overall. And we've moved forward. And here we are - Jeez, [Chris] Barnes has been out of the band how long now? 25 years or so (laughs).
The drummer later dismisses Chris Barnes' "era" as a "cool story", but nothing important. Eventually, both members agree that the band is better off with Fisher as a vocalist.
Paul Mazurkiewicz: It's cool to be able to talk about it - a cool story that maybe a lot of bands wouldn't be able to survive. And luckily we have been able to survive and, like I said, do better than we ever thought we would have, I guess, by having George in the band.
The band certainly adopted a more technical death metal approach on their later releases, which contrasts with the speed metal inspired chugging slam of the first four, so one can certainly make the case that the addition of George Fisher was a net improvement over Barnes in both the lyrical and vocal department.
Also read: Top 5 Death Metal Songs With The Most Brutal Riffs!
At the end of the day, whether Barnes is indeed a "dinosaur" of death metal, and whether or not George Fisher is a "karaoke singer" (as Barnes famously said), are mostly irrelevant. Cannibal Corpse has been on a upward trajectory for the past few years, and that is something quite rare in today's oversaturated, overmarketed and retro-obsessed death metal scene.
Very few bands can match their output. Morbid, maybe? And Disma, perhaps. Those are the only two that come to mind.
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