Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years

To celebrate the band’s 20th anniversary, Metal Blade Records has released this 3-disc retrospective DVD chronicling the history of Cannibal Corpse, and it is excellent. I’m normally not that interested in music-related DVDs, but this one is packed with interesting information and hilarious footage. Disc 1 contains a three-hour documentary on the band’s history that features all Cannibal Corpse members past and present (except founding guitarist Bob Rusay, who was apparently impossible to track down). There’s scarcely a wasted moment on this disc; my favorite parts were old footage of band members screwing around with a camera and how lead singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher gave most of his interviews in front of a bookcase full of action figures that were still in their boxes. I knew he was nerdy, but not that nerdy! I also liked getting to see people associated with the band who I previously only knew by reputation; cover artist Vince Locke looks nothing like you’d expect someone who drew such gory images to look like.

Disc 2 is a set of Cannibal Corpse performances from all eras of the band (although the Barnes era is underrepresented). I liked this disc, but it was my least favorite of the three; I’ve never really cared that much for live DVDs. The second disc also contains all of the band’s videos. Disc 3 contains a bunch of themed collections of footage that didn’t make it into the first disc. My favorites among these were “Sickening Metalocalypse,” which covers Fisher’s recurring role on the Adult Swim show; “Every Ban Broken,” which discusses the censorship problems that the band has faced in countries like Germany and New Zealand, and “Covered With Ink,” which shows how die-hard Corpse fans have gotten images from the band’s notoriously gruesome album covers tattooed on them.

I only have one major complaint about this DVD set- the sound just isn’t loud enough! I watched this on my laptop, and even with the volume turned all the way up, it was noticeably less loud than actual Cannibal Corpse songs being played on iTunes on the same laptop. You’d think that a DVD about a band like CC would be as loud as possible. But despite that, I heartily recommend this DVD set. It’s highly entertaining, reasonably priced (at just $25 US), and has plenty of material (well over seven hours). I give it five out of five skinless, rotting cadavers.

Originally posted at metal-jerks.com

This is an extremely well done DVD that not only documents the band's history but also includes performance footage from all eras. I will briefly describe the high points of each of the three discs:

Disc one is a very good documentary following the band all the way from its inception to 2008. It's peppered with interesting bits of trivia that will be informative to all but the most hardcore Cannibal Corpse fan. Almost every member past and present participates in recounting their memories from their time in Cannibal. The most interesting part for me was how there seemed to be little animosity between Barnes and his former band mates. Many fans constantly bicker over whom was the better vocalist but it seems that to those involved it was just something that had to happen and happened for the better.

Next, we have the performances. This disc may slightly disappoint those expecting a Live Cannibalism 2 as most of the footage seems to be from single camera audience sources. I think this is to be expected considering some of this footage dates back to 1989. If you already own 15 Year Killing Spree and wondering if this is worth your purchase you will be pleased to know nothing from that disc on here, you are getting all newly released footage.

Lastly, we are presented with Bonus Chunks; a collection of interviews and featurettes. My personal favorite is the interview with long time illustrator, Vince Locke who explains the process of creating the morbidly fascinating, grotesque album artwork that Corpse has become so infamous for.

Overall, this is an insightful and worthwhile DVD. Everyone from the Corpse curious to metal maniacs with the band's logo carved into their skin should find something to enjoy here. Highly recommended.