The Bleeding is the fourth studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on April 12, 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.

Composition

The Bleeding is noted for its advanced musicianship and refined approach to songwriting as compared to its predecessors. Decibel magazine noted that with The Bleeding, "Cannibal Corpse set to change their destiny from shock to substance". Rich Hobson of Metal Hammer wrote that the addition of Rob Barrett on guitar "brought a tightness and precision to the Cannibal Corpse sound that had been conspicuous by its absence on their earlier albums". Founding guitarist Jack Owen remarked, "it's almost a commercial evolution in death metal songwriting, because Tomb was abrasive and brutal".

Background

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 Butt-Head.

Reception and legacy

Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic praised the album's guitar work, vocals, artwork, and Burns' production, saying the band "pushed the envelope in every imaginable way", calling it one of the "standout death metal albums of the mid-'90s". Joe DiVita of Loudwire named The Bleeding as the best death metal album of 1994. Metal Injection included the album's second track "Fucked With a Knife" in its list of "The 10 Gnarliest Extreme Metal Lyrics", joking "maybe they got rid of Chris Barnes after The Bleeding because the band was close to going respectable. Just look at that romance". Founding guitarist Jack Owen cited The Bleeding as his favorite Cannibal Corpse album.

Track listing

Credits

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

Personnel

Cannibal Corpse

Production

Artwork and design

Studios