Death metal staples Cannibal Corpse have been around since the late ’80s, and their extreme music draws heavily from horror fiction and horror films. Needless to say, the often gruesome imagery of their album covers and concert posters is controversial, especially around certain parts of the globe.
The band is getting set to release a colouring book, “The Official Cannibal Corpse Colouring Book,” on Dec. 1.
Released by Rock ’N’ Roll Colouring, the book features all of the band’s classic cover art by longtime collaborator Vince Locke.
“Going over art for the book, it was surprising to see just how much 30 years of collaboration yielded,” Locke told Metal Hammer. “It’s rare that I see it all compiled together. There are a few pieces that had to be included, some that were favourites of myself or the band, and some that just lent themselves well to colouring.”
“I’m always playing, trying different materials and techniques. Hope you do the same with these colouring pages. Try watercolour markers, crayons, and coloured pencils, adding your own details. You’ll probably go through a lot of red, but be creative, have fun, make it your own!”
Apparently the book has already been banned even before its release in Germany. A description for the online listing of the book also includes a disclaimer that reads: “This product is not available for sale in Germany. Any orders to German addresses will be refunded. We apologise for any inconvenience caused, but this release is subject to German law and regulations.”
Cannibal Corpse was once banned from playing any music from their first three records in Germany. The ban was lifted in 2006. Singer George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher explained to Chicago Innerview back in 2004: “It’s a pain in the a*s,” he said. “A woman saw someone wearing one of our shirts, I think she is a schoolteacher, and she just caused this big stink about it. So we can’t play anything from the first three records. And it really sucks because kids come up and they want us to play all the old songs — and we would — but they know the deal. We can’t play ‘Born In a Casket’ but can play ‘Dismembered and Molested.’ Talk about getting lucky, because I can’t see why they wouldn’t want to ban that.”
