CANNIBAL CORPSE Bassist Talks About New Album, JACK OWEN's Departure

Jackie Smit of Chronicles of Chaos recently conducted an interview with CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist Alex Webster. An excerpt from the chat follows:

Chronicles of Chaos: I know that you've been asked about Jack Owen leaving the band a million times before, but in terms of losing what was one of the band's oldest members and certainly a creative cornerstone, did you feel that there was added pressure on CANNIBAL CORPSE this time around to prove this wasn't a band on their way out?

Alex Webster: "I know what you're talking about, but I think that, if anything, it's something that we weren't worried about even a little. We knew that we'd be able to make a huge improvement this time around, because Jack's motivation had been on the decline for a long time. He had a few ups and downs and he did write a couple of killer songs here and there, but some of the material he was bringing to the table was becoming a lot slower, more straightforward, and quite different from what me and Pat [O'Brien, guitarist] like to do. We knew that the new album was going to be faster and more complex than anything we've done over the last couple of records, not so much by the addition of Rob [Barrett, guitarist], but by the absence of Jack; and then Rob's style is closer to the stuff that, say, Pat would write, or I would write. Paul [Mazurkiewicz, drummer] also contributed a song and that turned out to be quite technical. So, you know, all those songs are pretty tough to play, as opposed to what Jack would have done. Now, like I said, we liked Jack's stuff, but we weren't concerned by his leaving, because we knew that with how he had been feeling about the band and stuff like that, when he did leave it was actually a relief in some sense. I'm not saying that to talk crap about him, because he's a great guy and a great guitar player."

Chronicles of Chaos: No, absolutely, and to tell you the truth, I think that the manner that you've dealt with the ensuing questions about him joining DEICIDE since it all happened has been very professional and very impressive.

Alex Webster: "Well, you know everybody can do what they want to do and it's not our business why he does something."

Chronicles of Chaos: So it didn't come as a surprise when he announced that he was leaving then?

Alex Webster: "It wasn't a huge surprise. It was always hard to tell with him, because he's generally a quiet guy, and sometimes it would seem like he was actually getting re-motivated about the band. We really like him a lot and he's a cool guy, but I think that the situation is actually better now, and I think that people see it when we play. You know, Jack was always a unique personality on stage, but when you see us now, I think you'll see a more focused effort where everyone is more on the same page. Rob is doing similar stuff on stage to what me, Pat and George [Fisher, vocalist] are doing, so it looks more uniform. That's not because Rob doesn't have a shaved head or anything, but Jack was always just doing his own thing. But yeah, he's really cool and we wish him well, but I think it's better for both parties this way."

Chronicles of Chaos: Were you surprised when he joined DEICIDE?

Alex Webster: "Not really, because it seemed like it was a pretty good opportunity for him at the time. He'd been out of our band for six months and then the Hoffmans quit, and you know, you've got to put food on the table — and DEICIDE is an awesome band as well, so why not? As far as our band is concerned, we feel like it's kept getting better over the years. There are always things you feel like you could have done better, and I can't speak for any other bands, but for us, we're always trying to get better. If we fail, it's not for lack of trying, I can tell you."

Read the entire interview at www.chroniclesofchaos.com.