Editing Cannibal Corpse (section)

===Dismissal of Chris Barnes ''and Vile'' (1995–1996)===
{{Main|Vile (album)|Six Feet Under (band)}}
[[Image:Cannibal Corpse 2.png|thumb|The band's current logo, in use since 1995.|300x300px]]
[[File:George Fisher 02.jpg|left|thumb|[[George Fisher (musician)|George Fisher]] replaced original vocalist [[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]] in 1995]]
In 1995, during recording sessions for their fifth album [[Vile (album)|''Vile'']], singer [[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]] was dismissed from the band while on tour with [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]], which was at the time his side project. Barnes and the rest of the band members have since stated the split was due to creative and personal differences within the group that had been mounting for years. The band members have since admitted some semblance of jealousy towards Barnes on their part, partially due to media attention regarding his vocals and lyrical content, which often eclipsed attention towards the band's instrumentation and songwriting. Barnes stated "things just kept getting weirder and weirder between us at that point," and has gone as far as to allude to a "fist fight" with another band member that occurred during this time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.roughedge.com/features/sixfeetunder0701a.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316020336/http://www.roughedge.com/features/sixfeetunder0701a.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 16, 2008|title=Six Feet Under Interview with Chris Barnes|date=March 16, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPot3rP53o&t=3153s |title=Cannibal Corpse - Centuries of Torment - DVD 1 - History (OFFICIAL) |date=2013-11-20 |last=Metal Blade Records |access-date=2025-01-21 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref name="Domepublished"/>

In 2025, Barnes said, "There was always tension on a personal level in that band when I was in the band, and probably mostly my fault [''laughs''], so I'll be the first to admit it."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blabbermouth |date=2025-01-11 |title=CHRIS BARNES Admits He Was Responsible For Most Of The Tension In CANNIBAL CORPSE During His Time With The Band |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/chris-barnes-admits-he-was-responsible-for-most-of-the-tension-in-cannibal-corpse-during-his-time-with-the-band |access-date=2025-01-15 |website=BLABBERMOUTH.NET |language=en}}</ref>
Barnes was replaced by [[Monstrosity (band)|Monstrosity]] singer [[George Fisher (musician)|George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]]. According to Paul Mazurkiewicz, "George was the only person we ever considered. We believed he could do what we wanted. If he had declined, or hadn’t have worked out, I’m not sure what would have happened. It may have been the end of Cannibal Corpse. It was as serious as that." Webster commented, "I feel that certain people at our record label [Metal Blade] were making it sound like our careers would be over without Chris. And if the only good thing about our band was Chris Barnes, then we weren’t much of a band then, were we?" Mazurkiewicz said, “I’ll admit that [[Brian Slagel]], the head of [<nowiki/>[[Metal Blade Records]]], wasn’t at all pleased. That was understandable. For any band to fire their vocalist is a really risky step. But we had complete faith in what George had done, and thankfully the fans’ reaction was almost totally positive."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-04-01 |title=The Moshville Times - Interview Archive: Alex Webster (Cannibal Corpse) |url=https://www.moshville.co.uk/interview/2013/04/interview-archive-alex-webster-cannibal-corpse/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=The Moshville Times |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Domepublished" />[[File:Deicide band 010.jpg|thumb|275x275px|Original guitarist [[Jack Owen]] left the band in 2004, and was replaced by former guitarist Rob Barrett.]]According to producer [[Scott Burns (record producer)|Scott Burns]], "I thought Barnes was irreplaceable. I had no idea who could take his place, but occasionally, amid the drama and confusion, Rob Barrett would speak up and say, "Let's bring in George." Rob was the easiest to get on board with the decision. I'll stress this: The decision to remove Barnes was ultimately the band's. Alex and the guys knew I didn't think Barnes's performance was up to par, but kicking out a band member was not my territory. I wasn't thinking about George at the time. I worried about getting the album done and didn't see how we would do it without Barnes. I remember the Cannibal guys saying they didn't care if Metal Blade dropped them. They wanted to make one record where they were as happy with the vocals as the music. It took a lot of courage to make that call."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kennelty |first=Greg |date=2023-11-07 |title=CANNIBAL CORPSE & SCOTT BURNS Dive Deep Into The Failed 1995 Album Created To Kill |url=https://metalinjection.net/news/cannibal-corpse-scott-burns-dive-deep-into-the-failed-1995-album-created-to-kill |access-date=2025-01-30 |website=Metal Injection |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Pat O'Brien.jpg|left|thumb|[[Pat O'Brien (guitarist)|Pat O'Brien]] replaced [[Rob Barrett]] following his departure from the band in 1997.]]
The band released their fifth album [[Vile (album)|''Vile'']] in 1996. Mazurkiewicz said, "At first I think everybody was a little reluctant. [...] They loved Barnes, but we knew we were bettering the band and were just like, 'Wait until you hear it.' And I think, for the most part, everybody shut up after that. As soon as we put the album out, we went out on the road, and it was 'Barnes who?' at that point."<ref name="Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim!" />

The band toured North America with [[Misfits (band)|Misfits]], [[Anthrax (American band)|Anthrax]] and [[Life of Agony]] in 1996.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-Vq68ShfTw |title=Cannibal Corpse on Tour with Misfits, Anthrax and Life of Agony in 1996 |date=2025-03-19 |last=Cannibal Corpse Fanbase |access-date=2025-05-20 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

Barnes went on to perform with the band [[Six Feet Under (band)|Six Feet Under]] as his main project and later, [[Torture Killer]]. Barnes designed the original Cannibal Corpse logo, which was changed following his dismissal from the band. There has been speculation regarding whether Barnes had legal ownership rights to the logo. Cannibal Corpse drummer [[Paul Mazurkiewicz]] clarified, "He didn’t legally own it, [...] but Chris did draw the thing in the first place. We needed a logo when the band started out, and he came up with something suitable. But once we’d fired him, then he started asking for payment on all CDs and merchandise we sold that carried his logo. Therefore, we decided to come up with a new one for the ''Vile'' release, which also marked a new era for us. So, it really did the job on two levels."<ref name="Domepublished" />