George Fisher is a monster. Well ok he’s not really. Except that he is. It just depends on what you’re talking about. As the vocalist for the world’s biggest death metal band Cannibal Corpse, he has a bit of a reputation. Physically speaking, everyone in the band is huge. They’re all tall as hell with varying degrees of muscular prowess. Combine that with the band’s horror-themed lyrics and ultra-gory album and merch art, and you have a recipe for intimidation.
The truth is far less exciting. The members of Cannibal Corpse are some of the most normal musicians you’ll ever meet. Originating from Buffalo, NY the band transplanted themselves to Florida and became stalwarts of the death metal scene along with bands like Deicide and Morbid Angel. The band endured censorship around the world, but their popularity has only continued to grow. They’ve sold over a million albums worldwide and Brendon Small copied their onstage stances for the live appearance of his faux-metal cartoon Dethklok.
But back to the whole monster thing. The band’s first four albums with original vocalist Chris Barnes are still hailed as genre defining, but since he joined in 1995 the band has become far more associated with George, not only vocally but in image as well. His pitch-perfect guttural vocals cut through his bandmates’ groove-laden heaviness like a machete through a zombie’s skull. Then there’s the headbanging. There’s no other way to put it but bluntly: George has a massive neck. Probably the biggest in all music (I’d bet), and it makes for incredible displays onstage. Every night he proclaims to the crowd: “try to keep up with me, you will fail”.
So yeah, when it comes to death metal vocals and headbanging supremacy, George Fisher is a bit of a monster. I had a chance to sit down with George before the band’s recent performance in Toronto to speak about his neck muscles, his time in the band, and the stigma against extreme vocalists.