The Bleeding
Encyclopedia
The Bleeding is the fourth studio album by American death metal
band Cannibal Corpse
, released in 1994 through Metal Blade Records
. It is the last album featuring singer and founding member Chris Barnes
and is the first album featuring guitarist Rob Barrett
. According to Soundscan
numbers, The Bleeding is the fifth top-selling death metal LP in the United States
, amassing over 98,300 copies sold. The Bleeding is also Cannibal Corpse's most successful album to date, and their first entry on the Billboard
charts.
A video was made for the song "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead". A re-master of this album is available and features new cover art, a bonus track ("The Exorcist", a Possessed
cover) and the music video of "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead".
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
band Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York. Formed in 1988, the band has released eleven studio albums, one box set, and one live album...
, released in 1994 through Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records
Metal Blade Records is a record label which was founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The U.S. corporate office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Arizona, Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distributed in the U.S. by Sony BMG Music...
. It is the last album featuring singer and founding member Chris Barnes
Chris Barnes (musician)
Chris Barnes is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a death metal vocalist recognized for his very low guttural vocals and explicitly violent lyrics...
and is the first album featuring guitarist Rob Barrett
Rob Barrett
Rob Barrett is the rhythm guitarist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse and currently resides in Tampa, FL. He joined in 1993 and left in 1997, but rejoined in 2005. He features on the albums The Bleeding, Vile, Kill, and Evisceration Plague...
. According to Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
numbers, The Bleeding is the fifth top-selling death metal LP in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, amassing over 98,300 copies sold. The Bleeding is also Cannibal Corpse's most successful album to date, and their first entry on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
charts.
A video was made for the song "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead". A re-master of this album is available and features new cover art, a bonus track ("The Exorcist", a Possessed
Possessed (band)
Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's guttural vocals, they are routinely called the first band in the death metal genre...
cover) and the music video of "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead".
Musical style
This album signified a few changes for Cannibal Corpse, primarily the change in speed. The reason for this was because Barnes had decided he wanted to pursue a different musical angle. For this album, he chose a more "groove" style similar to what he was doing in Six Feet Under over Cannibal Corpse's previous material which focused more on blast beats and speed. Vocally on "The Bleeding" Chris had also decided to go for a more "decipherable" approach instead of his previously inhuman grunting he had executed on previous Cannibal Corpse albums. The album is also notable for a much more technical approach for the guitar work.Cover art
The original 1994 cover art, a departure for a Cannibal Corpse album, appeared to depict a tapestry of raw flesh and muscle, rather than it featuring graphic violence. The uncensored cover art for the 2006 reissue, however, reveals the original artwork was merely a part of a greater whole. In reissue artwork, a man is standing in an intimate gathering of zombies, with an expression of ecstasy on his face. The man has been stripped of skin from the chest down. The corpses are entwined with a veiny, blueish growth that is reminiscent of a root system. The exposed muscle and bone of the man's lower body exhibits a fresh growth of this ropey-material, suggesting he is becoming one of them. The original 1994 cover art was simply a closeup of the skinless ribcage and musculature of that man's midsection.Reception
"Pushed the envelope in every imaginable way, from cover art to song titles to the music itself." "Scott Burns gives the album a wonderful sheen that instantly sets Cannibal Corpse apart from most of the other death metal bands out there". "The riffs absolutely grind, just as the rhythms pulverize and the vocals thunder." "one of the standout death metal albums of the mid-'90s".Track listing
Personnel
- Chris BarnesChris Barnes (musician)Chris Barnes is an American singer-songwriter, best known as a death metal vocalist recognized for his very low guttural vocals and explicitly violent lyrics...
– vocals, lyrics - Jack OwenJack OwenJack Owen is an American guitarist, best known for his work in the death metal genre. He was one of the founding members of Cannibal Corpse. He stayed with the band from their formation in 1988 until 2004 when he left because he wanted to move on as stated in the Centuries of Torment DVD...
– guitar - Rob BarrettRob BarrettRob Barrett is the rhythm guitarist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse and currently resides in Tampa, FL. He joined in 1993 and left in 1997, but rejoined in 2005. He features on the albums The Bleeding, Vile, Kill, and Evisceration Plague...
– guitar - Alex WebsterAlex WebsterAlex Webster is an American bass player, who is best known as a member of the American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is one of two current members who were of the original lineup of Cannibal Corpse, the other being drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz...
– bass - Paul MazurkiewiczPaul MazurkiewiczPaul Mazurkiewicz is the Polish-American drummer of Cannibal Corpse, and one of two remaining original members, the other being bassist Alex Webster.-Musical History:...
– drums