Cannibal Corpse Debut New Single, Name Erik Rutan as a Permanent Member

Here’s some bittersweet news.

First, the sweet: following yesterday’s reveal that their new album, Violence Unimagined, will be released in April, Cannibal Corpse are now streaming the first single, “Inhumane Harvest.” You can listen to the track, which first premiered on Sirius XM’s Liquid Metal yesterday, below; a music video will premiere today at noon EST. The song is unsurprisingly great; I cannot imagine any Cannibal Corpse fan not loving it.

Now, the bitter: guitarist Pat O’Brien is officially not returning to the fold. O’Brien, you’re likely aware, was arrested in December of 2018 on charges of burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault and aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer after his home caught fire with exploding ammunition inside. The band subsequently released an official statement saying that O’Brien “is getting the help he needs” and “is currently with family and friends and looks forward to a healthy return at some point.”  They’d later say that “We love him. We want him back.” Meanwhile, Cannibal Corpse’s frequent producer, Erik Rutan (Hate Eternal, ex-Morbid Angel) took O’Brien’s place for tour requirements. O’Brien first joined Cannibal Corpse in 1997, and has played on all of their albums since 1998’s Gallery of Suicide.

Now, the sweet again: Rutan has been named as O’Brien’s official full-time replacement. Rutan is already a legend in death metal; joining one of the most popular bands, if not the most popular band, the genre has ever produced will only bolster his mythos, and fans would have to be more or less completely crazy not to welcome him with open arms. Rutan reportedly helped contribute to the writing of Violence Unimagined, which is also excellent news.

Says Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster of Rutan’s new role in the group:

“I think the most noticeable difference on this record will be the addition of Erik to the band. He wrote three full songs for the record, music and lyrics, and his song writing and guitar playing have added something new, and I think his musical style integrated into ours very well.”

“He’s a great friend of ours, so on a personal level, he’s been a perfect fit, as we knew he would be. Beyond that, he’s one of the hardest working people I know, in music or otherwise, and he maintains a high energy, positive demeanor in challenging situations where other people might go in a negative direction. This energy and great attitude rubs off on the rest of us as well. That’s really a perfect situation to have when you add someone to a band, or any kind of team: someone who’s great at what they do, and also inspires the people around them.”

As for the album itself, Webster adds:

“It really follows the path we’ve been going down for a few years now. I think we approach the writing in a similar way most every time: each of us try to write the heaviest, most memorable songs we can. We want each song to have its own identifiable character. Showing my age, I like to say you can ‘drop the needle’ on any point of one of our albums and quickly tell which song you’re listening to.”

Violence Unimagined will be released April 16 via Metal Blade. Pre-order it here. The track list is as follows:

1. “Murderous Rampage”
2. “Necrogenic Resurrection”
3. “Inhumane Harvest”
4. “Comdenation Contagion”
5. “Surround, Kill, Devour”
6. “Ritual Annihilation”
7. “Follow the Blood”
8. “Bound and Burned”
9. “Slowly Sawn”
10. “Overtorture”
11. “Cerements of the Flayed”

[via The PRP]