''Red Before Black'' is the fourteenth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on November 3, 2017. This is the band's final album to feature guitarist

Pat O'Brien Pat O'Brien may refer to: Politicians * Pat O'Brien (Canadian politician) (born 1948), member of the Canadian House of Commons *Pat O'Brien (Irish politician) (c. 1847–1917), Irish Nationalist MP in the United Kingdom Parliament Others *Pat O'Br ...

before producer

Erik Rutan Erik Rutan (born June 10, 1971) is an American heavy metal musician and producer from New Jersey. He is the guitarist and lead vocalist of death metal band Hate Eternal and lead guitarist for Cannibal Corpse, who he fully joined in 2021 after ...

officially replaced him in 2021.

Background

The band started to write the album in 2016 after the last run of touring for their previous album, ''

A Skeletal Domain ''A Skeletal Domain'' is the thirteenth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Released on September 16, 2014 by Metal Blade Records, the album was produced at Audiohammer Studios by Mark Lewis. The album entered the US ' ...

''. When interviewed in 2017 drummer

Paul Mazurkiewicz Paul Mazurkiewicz ( ; born September 8, 1968) is an American drummer best known as a member for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Mazurkiewicz was originally the drummer for the band, Tirant Sin, alongside two other future Cannibal Corpse memb ...

stated that the band never go by any specific blueprints when they start writing for an album, pointing out that this was also the case with ''Red Before Black''. However the idea of utilizing some slower

doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

elements was discussed beforehand. This manifested in a couple of songs, while they mostly remained true to their death metal sound and thrash metal roots. Mazurkiewicz came up with the album title while sleeping in the middle of the night, making him wake up. Further down the road of creating the album he said about the title "... I really pushed for it because I felt it was very strong and something very different than our previous titles. It’s simple, but effective". After hearing the song 'Only One Will Die', penned by bassist

Alex Webster Alex Webster (born 1969) is an American bass player who is best known as a member of the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He is one of two remaining members of the original lineup of the band, along with drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz. He is al ...

, all members of the band thought it should be the first track of the album. The first song they worked on was 'Red Before Black'. It started out as an unnamed piece written by guitarist

with Mazurkiewicz contributing with a title and the lyrics later. Choosing to work with

as a producer again after working with Mark Lewis on the previous album was partly because of convenience, enabling the band to stay focused during the recording process, although Rutan's previous work with the band was also a deciding factor.

Track listing

Credits

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

Personnel

Cannibal Corpse

George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher George Fisher (born July 8, 1970), better known by his stage name Corpsegrinder, is an American death metal vocalist who is the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse, Paths of Possession and the supergroup Serpentine Dominion. He recorded two al ...

– vocals *

– lead guitar *

Rob Barrett Robert Joseph Barrett III (born January 29, 1970) is the guitarist for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. He played with the band from 1993 to 1997 and rejoined in 2005. He has cited Gary Moore, Malcolm Young, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, Ton ...

– rhythm guitar *

– bass *

– drums

Guest musicians

– backing vocals on "Only One Will Die" and guitar solo on "In the Midst of Ruin"

Production

–

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

, mixing * Art Paiz – assistant engineering * Alan Douches – mastering

Visual art

Vince Locke Vincent Locke () is an American comic book artist known for his work on ''Deadworld'' and '' A History of Violence'' and for his ultraviolent album covers for death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Biography Locke began work in 1986 illustrating ''De ...

– cover art * Brian Ames – layout * Alex Morgan –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

Studios

* Mana Recording Studios,

St. Petersburg, FL St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa, Florida, T ...

, United States – engineering, mixing * West West Side Music, Cornwall, NY, United States – mastering

Charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2017 albums Albums produced by Erik Rutan Cannibal Corpse albums Metal Blade Records albums