The Bleeding (album)

The Bleeding is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released in 1994 through Metal Blade Records. It is the last album featuring singer and founding member Chris Barnes and is the first album featuring guitarist Rob Barrett. According to Soundscan numbers, The Bleeding is the fifth top-selling death metal LP in the United States, amassing over 98,300 copies sold. The Bleeding is also Cannibal Corpse's most successful album to date.[1][2]

The Bleeding
Studio album by Cannibal Corpse
Released	April 12, 1994 (1994-04-12)
Recorded	November 12 – December 3, 1993
Studio	Morrisound Recording, Tampa, FL
Genre	Death metal
Length	36:54
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Scott Burns
Cannibal Corpse chronology
Tomb of the Mutilated (1992) The Bleeding (1994) Vile (1996)
Censored cover
Remastered cover
Singles from The Bleeding
"Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead" Released: 1994

A video was made for the song "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead". A re-mastered version of The Bleeding is available and features new cover art, a bonus track ("The Exorcist", a Possessed cover) and the music video of "Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead". This music video would later be featured in Beavis And Butthead.

Musical style

This album signified a few changes for Cannibal Corpse, primarily the change in speed. The reason for this was because Barnes had decided he wanted to pursue a different musical angle. For this album, he chose a more "groove" style similar to what he was doing in Six Feet Under over Cannibal Corpse's previous material which focused more on blast beats and speed. Vocally on The Bleeding, Barnes had also decided to go for a more "decipherable" approach instead of his previously inhuman grunting he had executed on previous Cannibal Corpse albums.[3] This same "groovy" death metal style was later the foundation for vocalist Chris Barnes' new band, Six Feet Under.

The album is also notable for a much more technical approach for the guitar work, and a more prominent bass.

Cover art

The original 1994 cover art, a departure for a Cannibal Corpse album, appeared to depict a tapestry of raw flesh and muscle, rather than it featuring graphic violence. The uncensored cover art for the 2006 reissue, however, reveals the original artwork was merely a part of a greater whole. In reissue artwork, a man is standing in an intimate gathering of zombies, with an expression of ecstasy on his face. The man has been stripped of skin from the chest down. The corpses are entwined with a veiny, blueish growth that is reminiscent of a root system. The exposed muscle and bone of the man's lower body exhibits a fresh growth of this ropey-material, suggesting he is becoming one of them. The original 1994 cover art was simply a close-up of the skinless ribcage and musculature of that man's midsection.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Sputnikmusic	[4]

"Pushed the envelope in every imaginable way, from cover art to song titles to the music itself. [...] Scott Burns gives the album a wonderful sheen that instantly sets Cannibal Corpse apart from most of the other death metal bands out there [...] The riffs absolutely grind, just as the rhythms pulverize and the vocals thunder. [...] one of the standout death metal albums of the mid-'90s".[1]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Chris Barnes.

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Staring Through the Eyes of the Dead"	Alex Webster, Jack Owen	3:30
2.	"Fucked with a Knife"	Webster	2:15
3.	"Stripped, Raped and Strangled"	Webster, Owen, Rob Barrett	3:27
4.	"Pulverized"	Webster, Owen	3:35
5.	"Return to Flesh"	Webster, Owen	4:21
6.	"The Pick-Axe Murders"	Webster	3:03
7.	"She Was Asking for It"	Webster, Owen, Barrett	4:33
8.	"The Bleeding"	Owen	4:20
9.	"Force Fed Broken Glass"	Webster, Owen, Barrett	5:02
10.	"An Experiment in Homicide"	Webster, Owen, Barrett	2:36
Total length:			36:54

Remastered version bonus track

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
11.	"The Exorcist" (Possessed cover)	Mike Torrao	Torrao	4:36

Credits

Writing, performance and production credits are adapted from the album liner notes.[5]

Personnel

Cannibal Corpse

• Chris Barnes – vocals
• Rob Barrett – guitar (solos on 1, 7)
• Jack Owen – guitar (solos on 1, 5, 6)
• Alex Webster – bass
• Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums

Production

• Scott Burns – production, recording, engineering, mixing, mastering

Artwork and design

• Vincent Locke – cover art
• Brian Ames – design
• Frank White – photography
• Joe Giron – photography

Studios

• Morrisound Recording, Tampa, FL, USA – recording, mixing
• Fullersound – mastering

References

1. Birchmeier, Jason. The Bleeding - Cannibal Corpse at AllMusic
2. "It's Official: Cannibal Corpse Are the Top-Selling Death Metal Band of the SoundScan Era". Blabbermouth.net. November 17, 2003. Archived from the original on December 2, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2008.
3. Watson, Tyler (February 18, 2007). "Biography of Chris Barnes". Tomb of the Mutilated.net. Archived from the original on May 9, 2008. Retrieved August 2, 2012.
4. https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/5619/Cannibal-Corpse-The-Bleeding/
5. The Bleeding (liner notes). Cannibal Corpse. Metal Blade Records. 1994.CS1 maint: others (link)

External links

• The Bleeding at AllMusic
• The Bleeding at Metal Blade Records