Slayer, Cannibal Corpse, et Crowbar

One of the highly-revered ‘big four’ of the thrash metal genre, alongside their contemporaries Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax, Slayer have always been defined by two thing; the ferocity and speed with which they play, and the deeply dark nature of their thematic approach and lyricism, where pretty much nothing has been off limits - everything from Satanism to necrophilia has cropped up over the course of their ten records to date. The group is currently comprised of King on guitar, bass-playing frontman Tom Araya, drummer Paul Bostaph and guitarist Gary Holt; founding guitar player Hannemann passed away last year. The band made their name with their third album, “Reign in Blood”, in 1986; that record’s kind-of title track “Raining Blood” is effectively their signature song.

They’ve continued to both entertain, influence and provoke in equal measure ever since; from (albeit inadvertently) managing to release a record entitled “God Hates Us All” on September 11th, 2001 to routinely being accused of Nazi sympathies, Slayer have certainly earned more than their fair share of notoriety, but it’s perhaps in terms of their huge influence on the genre of metal in general that they’ll be best remembered over time; everybody from System of a Down to Slipknot to Darkthrone have attributed some of their style to Slayer over the years, proving their towering stature within the metal community.

The band took inspiration from thrash metal bands like Slayer and Kreator, as well as other death metal bands like Autopsy and Morbid Angel. The band is also highly influenced by horror movies, which can be conveyed by the band’s music. The band is known for their highly controversial album covers and lyrics, which has lead to them being banned from several countries. The band originally consisted of bassist Alex Webster, guitarists Jack Owen and Bob Rusay, vocalist Chris Barnes, and drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. The band released their debut self-titled demo in 1989, which immediately caught the attention of Metal Blade Records, who signed the band.

Cannibal Corpse released their full-length debut album “Eaten Back to Life” in 1990. The album was presented in a thrash metal style that contained fast-paced, distorted guitar riffs, thumping double bass drums, and deep, growling vocals. In 1991 the band released the album “Butchered at Birth”, which solidified their signature death metal style. Chris Barnes’ growling vocals became deeper on this album, which would determine the sound of Cannibal Corpse’s next albums. The band’s third studio album “Tomb of the Mutilated” was released in 1992 and would become banned in Germany due to the intense nature of the album artwork and lyrics. The album was praised by critics and “Rock Hard” magazine ranked it No. 278 for “The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time”. The album also contained the popular single “Hammer Smashed Face”, which also gained popularity due to its inclusion in the movie “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”.

In 1993 guitarist Bob Rusay would leave the band and would be replaced by Rob Barrett. In 1994 the band released one of their most successful albums to date “The Bleeding”. The album was the band’s first album to place them on the Billboard charts. The album featured a more groove metal style as well as more technical guitar work. In 1995 vocalist Chris Barnes left the band and went on to form the band Six Feet Under. Barnes was replaced by George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher. The band released the album “Vile” in 1996, which made its way on the Billboard 200 chart. Pat O’Brien joined the band on guitars in 1998 and appeared on the album “Gallery of Suicide”.

The band’s ninth studio album “The Wretched Spawn” was the band’s last album to feature guitarist Jack Owen before he parted ways with the band. In 2006 the band released the album “Kill”, which featured the single “Make Them Suffer”. In 2009 the band released “Evisceration Plague”, which reached the No. 66 spot on the US Billboard 200 chart. The band’s increasing popularity would continue to show through 2012’s release “Torture” and 2014’s release “A Skeletal Domain”.

Prior to forming Crowbar, guitarist and vocalist Kirk Windstein joined the band Shell Shock alongside drummer Jimmy Bower. When the band’s guitarist Mike Hatch committed suicide, Windstein and Bower carried the band on as Aftershock and experimented with a more doom metal sound. After a series of name and personnel changes, by mid 1991 the band was renamed Crowbar with a line-up consisting of Windstein, bassist Todd Strange, drummer Craig Nunenmacher, and lead guitarist Kevin Noonan.

Crowbar’s debut came in 1992 with the album “Obedience Through Suffering” and signed with Pavement Music. Crowbar’s subsequent self-titled album in 1993 and “Time Heals Nothing” in 1995, were issued by the new label, the former of which earned national promotion on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. After the release of “Time Heals Nothing” Nunenmacher left the group, and was replaced by Jimmy Bower for the albums “Broken Glass” in 1996 and “Odd Fellows Rest” in 1998. Choosing to focus on his other project Eyehategod, Bower left shortly after and was replaced by Sid Montz who recorded drums on 2000’s “Equilibrium”.

In 2001 with a line-up consisting of Windstein, Sammy Duet on lead guitar, Jeff Okoneski on bass, and Tony Constanza on drums, Crowbar released their seventh studio album “Sonic Excess in its Purest Form” on Spitfire Records. The band supported the album with an extensive touring schedule, and with Crowbar plagued with tumultuous line-up changes, often members of other bands needed to fill in. The band has subsequently released the albums “Lifesblood for the Downtrodden” in 2005, “Sever the Wicked Hand” in 2011, and “Symmetry in Black” in 2014.