CANNIBAL CORPSE Drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz interview on 30 years of 'Eaten Back to Life' | BangerTV

hey it's Bradley's or Dreger here in the Bangor hangar I just drove across Toronto and back picked up Paul mazurka wits from Cannibal Corpse we're coming up on 30 years of their debut studio album eating back to life and we're gonna chat about that and some other very key moments in metal [Music] welcome thank you thanks for having me my pleasure eating back to life debut studio albums turning 30 later this year 2020 what comes to mind when you think back on that record land crazy 30 years you know it's unbelievable you know we're very fortunate and and and happy to have have had a career this long you know to still be here to be able to talk to you guys and to be on tour but I know thinking back of course what a special time I mean you're a newly formed band I mean I guess that's the thing that kind of gets me the most is cannibal was only formed eight months prior to actually signing our record deal with Metal Blade Wow you know so we were just a fresh new band you know just trying to find our way basically and make a demo tape and to get the attention from Metal Blade and sign our contracts eight months later is just we've crazy you know everything was happening so fast I remember us recording a few months after that in the winter I guess we signed the contracts in July I believe in of 89 and we're recording you know soon after so I remember it being just just a whirlwind of because everything was happening so fast not having enough material to actually have to you know to complete a full CDs worth of you know haven't happened that the music and having the songs and the time so we really had to kind of push and you know get material together to actually you know haven't had to finish this record to do this record but what an exciting time I mean you know we're from Buffalo New York we're going down to Tampa Florida to work with Scott burns you know here we are filling the fans and driving down there's a band to go to go record your debut album with you know for Ed Morris own recording studios you know I mean it was just it was it was an electrifying unbelievable time getting back to life is a little bit more of a thrash leaning album it's a bit of a different sound to so to celebrate it might be you know be a completely different set than what people use give him from Cannibal Corpse I'm just curious how that sound came together on the eating back to life one and then how you developed the sound that would be come to define Cannibal Corpse and be largely defining of death-metal as a whole yeah good good good point good question um like I said the fact that the band was really together a few months you know we're finding our way kind of a thing cannibal was formed from the demise of of two buffalo bands at that time tyrants in which I was in and you know Barnes Andrew say were in and Alex and Jack Owen were in beyond death so so we're both of thrash products you know basically growing up in the early eighties mid 80s you know or bands like creator and you know Sodom and all Dark Angel although those thrash icons were our influences Slayer of course Metallica and working with different people then of course years trying to find your way in that way you know working with another guitar player another bass player that have different views different ideas you know different ways of writing and all that so I look at it as like I stated earlier right we we don't even have enough material to go oh hey we're yeah we have all these songs and we can pick and choose you know because we've been a band for maybe years you know we're I guess if we if we were then maybe the debut album would have been something a little different than the way I look at it right is we're still trying to find our way if you listen to the first cannibal the only Cannibal Corpse demo of course you notice that the vocals weren't death metal really you know they were more of a thrash style that's how much how things change so quickly and how things were just evolving and such a short amount of time there wasn't really a death metal sound per se to go off of you had a few bands of course you had death you know you had possessed which weren't really maybe you know death metal arguably you know starting it out I remember listening to the first more of an angel album just came out prior to us going to record and that kind of kind of gave us a little bit of a kick in a sense of hearing some more guttural vocals or or what-have-you and the aggression of that record and that bang and I I think we got lucky in the sense where you got a sense of the fans and you look back they they we grew with with we were growing as well our our sound was growing as we're recording albums which is crazy we were maybe a band that was on the scene for five six seven years you know which a lot of bands maybe are or were back then then what our debut album then maybe the bleeding you know where then you're going well right we have 40 songs to choose from here you know so maybe maybe a lot of those early songs never even saw the light of day because exactly we're progressing as songwriters and as musicians and finding our way you know so I think it's very special to have an album like eating back to life and being what it was for that time that was cannibal at that time right we didn't know anything else it's a very thrash oriented album of course you know that's what we were into there wasn't anything to us go by I really do think the bleeding is where we came into our own with feeling like having our signature sound of sorts you know so yeah very very interesting and it's very cool of how we went about things and how things worked out for us I believe awesome one thing that strikes me a lot of you know interviewing bands is they say their first album they had they had the whole career of their band to write those songs and then the other ones they either have to do it on the road or take time off and they have shorter times you've probably have longer after that to write subsequent albums for the most part right because we didn't do any touring for eating back to life really you know I mean that when you look at the timeframe of of the first say four albums we put out four albums in a in a such a short amount of time because we had the time to do that the fact that we didn't really tour we were just able to focus on our honing our style and and working on you know getting to where we want to be I guess you know as songwriters and as musicians the curiosity you know we're not doing a lot of touring how did metal blade come across your band I'm sure I'm sure the story is out there but I am unfamiliar with curious there was a record store in Buffalo called cabbages it was a big chain and there was a guy that was working there and a guy offered like our help hey I got some I got a little like you know sometimes you know working or you own the record or whatever I guess with metalblade of all labels Mike faily the who's second-in-command still there if they at the label the MVP yeah yep from Buffalo New York he's billy sheehan 'he's personal manager work you know knew the buffalo scene knew the guy that was helping us so when we sent our demos to some various labels we had a little bit of in at metalblade i think to be able to kind of get through some red tape there you know our demo not just get pushed pushed aside you know so it got to Brian Slagel and he really loved the demo he loved a skull full of maggots which was our first the song first song on the demo and I do remember the story is he's heard this title and he heard this song and he was like oh my god cannibal of course a skull full of maggots yes you know this is I need this band but basically that's what it was you know because we never got any any other offers from any other label that we sent to so his metal blade that came back to us Brian's like oh like and like and what he heard and and you know we're signing our contracts you know soon after it's very forward-thinking of the metal blade guys you know wanting that that extremity that disgusting which wasn't really like you were saying a thing of right or betangel was coming out you know like a little bit of like like like that darkness but it wasn't like corpses and maggots and [ __ ] and to be like this is the next thing right no a very good point there right because Brian took a chance you know right he doesn't I mean he must have felt something you know obviously we felt good about what we're doing of course you know we're pushing our music and it was great to see Brian have that same view to go wow this is you know I got a sign this band exactly amidst all this you know just normal so-called metal that he metal blade would have been known for and great artists of course but right you know for him to take that chance was was awesome and I'm very very grateful of course glad that he did you know so earlier you were talking about you know coming out of the thrashing before we started this you were talking a little bit about Metallica being almost too extreme when you heard it yeah curious curious how that came came about and how you grew to love thrash and then you know potentially even Slayer you know and a whole nother level of extremity in rash very fortunate to be to have grown up in that whole time where everything was changing you know the eighties obviously look what happened from 1982 like you know to 83 I mean oh my god and then 83 to 86 and then 86 to 89 I mean unbelievable the changes in the musical scope especially in the metal scope you know so you know we're just young kids exactly you know lovin our bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath and you know just the you know the mainstream II heavy metal that's out basically because there's nothing else you know and I remember hearing Metallica for the first time right and it was like what is this I mean this is just this is beyond anything I've ever heard of course you know and hearing a hearing Metal Mulisha for the first time it was just it was it was too in too extreme for me right I couldn't comprehend it you know it was just it was crazy this is you know it's too much you know but I wasn't ready I guess you know mentally wasn't ready I was still too young still just forming that that path I guess of getting into the heavier stuff and didn't take very long you know and then exactly then you got a man like Slayer coming out that right after that hearing show no mercy for the first time and then it's taking it to like a little bit pushing the envelope a little more so than say Metallica was you know but it formed us obviously the left its mark it really was forming of of what we were to become we were already into Slayer and hearing rain and blood then for that first time was just like mind-blowing and it took it to that other level and I remember going this is how I want to play drums you know but just hearing Lombardo play hearing those songs just hearing the aggression just taking it to a whole nother level of haunting the chapel and hell awaits and it was changing it changed it changed a lot of people of course I'm sure so many bands talked about this and how rain and blood is you know their Bible kind of a thing but it really truly was it was such a groundbreaking you know album it changed us it definitely made us want to do this even more so than ever I think I remember hearing a cone this is how I want to play drums this I mean not that I'm Lombardo by any means he's my idol and my you know really my the guy that pushed me to wanna play the style in a sense but but just while amazing that you know when I heard that and was just blown away and and and how strong it made you you know feel that this is what you need to want what you want to do how you want to take your musical you know career in your direction you know it's fun it's funny you basically just answered like three of my questions in one I was gonna ask you know how you felt the first time you Slayer gone how important is Slayer to extreme metal gone right how did Slayer influence the writing and Campbell choruses whole gone you know it's you can't understate the impact no you can't you really can't I think you know one thing that I'm getting you know in time talking about this you know saying even like Metallica you know kill them all to ride the lightning similar to to the Cannibal Corpse a little bit punky er a little bit rough around the edges and then it kind of you're just like this this is just another level right right right they were Slayer yeah right exactly you know show no mercy doesn't even feel like the same baños hell awaits right right I think we fell along that same pathway in a sense where you know those bands probably yeah they weren't where they should be or where they were gonna go you know they're still finding their sound you know kind of a thing cuz exactly such different homes and I think we got lucky if for both of those bands you know to have an a kill kill em all and to have a show no mercy have it documented right because yeah maybe a couple years later you know the how the band's progressed maybe those songs never seen the light of day because they're probably looking at them going oh we got better you know you're right here's our do it here's our debut album hell awaits you know and you never heard Slayer before which it would be amazing of course which would be great but you need to have the priors you know to have this show no mercy like that that's we're very fortunate very lucky that we were able to have that so you guys got a little bit of a kick in the pants earlier you know you're going from thrash and then you you know got the Morbid Angel you got the darker vocals things are getting darker what keeps you motivated you know we're 30 32 years I guess now 31 32 years into the career as a whole it's hard it's hard to stick that's older than I am I can't even really you know understand it's what keeps you mo Aveda to keep going keep it extreme one thing Cannibal Corpse is always i think done is like you find s it a little bit it always seems like a little bit more technical but never technical death metal just a bit a bit nice like nice touch here nice touch here what keeps you going yeah I think it's just our love of the style of music you know our love of you always look back to your roots you know this was your passion so much back when you were a teenager starting out you lived it you know we said you you it was your religion you know living metal you know everything with the posters the the garb you know everything right and and then you you you want to form a band you know because you love it that much you know you want to create you want to you know express yourself and then we were so lucky to have made it in a sense you know because not everybody can do that and there's a lot of great musicians a lot of great bands that you know why why not that band Y us you know I mean you know so so I think we all always looked at it as we don't take it for granted how everything has come together for us and and then we always I believe really wanted to always stick true to a to to what we started we never wanted to let our fans down we never wanted to let ourselves down I guess we always wanted to stay true to what we started and then just having the ability to be able to still be here right to be to be happy on a record label that's very supportive you know to have the fans that are you know like amazing with them some of the best fans are really in the world you know that are such cult followers you know so that keeps you motivated we want to create you know we feel like we're not done and I think that's a parent right when you look at all our albums in concession we try to do the best we can on every album maybe you hit some songs you know you're better than others whatever that's kind of for the fans to decide I guess and the critics or what have you but we try to do the best we can try to write the next best song and then you know that's all you can do it but I look at say you know fast forwarding to say no with say red before black our fourteenth album and arguably our best album I mean you know the songwriting you know I mean just to me is this like it's only it's taken like a kind of a a mix of all things cannibal the way I look at it you know it's got a good kind of influence it's got a good death model it's got like it's like take cannibal from day one to our 13th album and you wrap it together and you get read before black you know I haven't been that excited about an album in such a long time just knowing the songs we came up with the rips that we're coming up with it's in us to you know just to create to keep going and I'm glad we have that because I think the fans know we're not going through the motions you know that we truly love what we do and we're gonna give it our best at all times the life's too short you know you only get on up maybe an opportunity you know once in a lifetime to do what we're doing here so we have to make the most of it [Music] you

Channel: BANGERTV - All Metal

Views: 119,140

Keywords: BangerTV, Banger TV, Metal Evolution, Lock Horns, Metal documentaries, Cannibal Corpse, Paul Mazurkiewicz, hammer smashed face, Eaten Back to Life, Slayer, global metal, Overkill Reviews, metal a headbangers journey, Banger Films, metal interviews, metal reviews

Id: k2Cb4rB42wQ

Length: 16min 36sec (996 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 18 2020