THE BEAST

Florida-based death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE will release their new studio album, "Red Before Black", on November 3. The follow-up to 2014's "A Skeletal Domain" was recorded at Mana Recording Studios in Saint Petersburg, Florida with producer/engineer Erik Rutan (SOILENT GREEN, BELPHEGOR, HATE ETERNAL), who previously worked with CANNIBAL CORPSE on 2006's "Kill", 2009's "Evisceration Plague" and 2012's "Torture".

Many words come to mind when you hear the name CANNIBAL CORPSE, but one truly defines the soon-to-be 30-year death metal veterans: unstoppable. Returning with their fourteenth full-length, the monstrous "Red Before Black", serves to not only reiterate this but to once more raise the stakes, making it very clear who sets the standard when it comes to always compelling music that is equally brutal and complex. Moreover, the band have pushed themselves again, ensuring that it stands out from their catalog.

"We always try to make our music aggressive, but where an album like 'A Skeletal Domain' [2014] was definitely aggressive, it has a targeted refinement that the new album doesn't. 'Red Before Black' is as well executed as anything we've done, but it has a rawness to it that we haven't had in a long time," asserts bassist Alex Webster. "We really worked super hard crafting these songs, practicing them, and getting them where we wanted to be more so than on any of our previous albums," adds drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. "And, as Alex said, musically I think it's the most raw sound we've had — and at the same time I think it's our most focused, tightest and catchiest record."

With 2017 seeing a slew of stunning new releases from death metal's old guard — including SUFFOCATION, OBITUARY and DYING FETUS — it's been a landmark year both for the genre and its early innovators, and with "Red Before Black", CANNIBAL CORPSE stand strong alongside their peers. "We're proud to be part of a scene that has great, experienced bands that stick to their guns," affirms Webster. "Death metal is an established form of underground music that's here to stay, and the leadership bands like these have shown by staying true to the genre is no doubt part of the reason it has such longevity."

That CANNIBAL CORPSE have carved out a career spanning almost three decades is testament to their work ethic, innovative songwriting, passion and devotion to extreme music — though it still remains an astounding feat to the members, as Webster makes humbly clear.

"Who could have imagined this?" he says. "When we started, even BLACK SABBATH hadn't been around for three decades. There simply was no precedent for a lifelong career in metal, of any kind, let alone a relatively new form like death metal. We've been unbelievably lucky, and we are so grateful to our fans for making it possible." In typically grounded fashion, they continue to forge ahead, seeing no end in sight, Webster stating he likes to think they have yet to write their best record, while Mazurkiewicz outlines their goals: "I would say we just want to keep it going, try to better ourselves — and finally open for SLAYER!"

"Red Before Black" track listing:

01. Only One Will Die
02. Red Before Black
03. Code Of The Slashers
04. Shedding My Human Skin
05. Remaimed
06. Firestorm Vengeance
07. Heads Shoveled Off
08. Corpus Delicti
09. Scavenger Consuming Death
10. In The Midst Of Ruin
11. Destroyed Without A Trace
12. Hideous Ichor

The cover artwork for the album can be found below.

This November, CANNIBAL CORPSE will kick off a USA tour in support of the upcoming disc. Support on the trek will come from POWER TRIP and GATECREEPER.

"A Skeletal Domain" sold 8,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 32 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Torture", opened with 9,600 units to land at No. 38. This figure was in line with the first-week performance of 2009's "Evisceration Plague", which entered the chart at No. 66. CANNIBAL CORPSE's 2006 CD, "Kill", debuted at No. 170 after shifting more than 6,000 copies.

"A Skeletal Domain" was produced by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DEVILDRIVER) at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida.

Via Blabbermouth