Biography of Cannibal Corpse's Pat O'Brien

By Tyler Watson, April 6, 2007

Known by many to be one of the most technical forces in Death metal history, Death metal guitarist Pat O'Brien needs little introduction to fans of the genre. Throughout his career Pat has played in various influential metal bands over the years. He is most famously known as being the current lead guitarist for the pioneering Death metal band Cannibal Corpse, after replacing former guitarist Rob Barrett in 1997.

Before becoming the technicality infused genius of Cannibal Corpse, Pat O'Brien played in such bands including the now defunct Ohio based heavy metal band Chastain. He fulfilled duties for a short period of time as a touring guitarist with them during 1987.

Upon finishing his stint with Chastain, Pat O'Brien was a member of the Death/Thrash metal band Ceremony which formed in 1990. Ceremony only ever released one EP in 2000 via Hammerheart Records entitled "The Days Before The Death", which is basically a reissue of their 1992 demo, a demo which Pat had indeed handled the guitar duties on.

During his career, Pat also had a short yet influential stint with the Seattle based Power/Thrash metal band Nevermore, joining them prior to the release of their "In Memory" EP which was released on May 28, 1996 via Century Media Records. O'Brien would only record one more album with Nevermore entitled "The Politics of Ecstasy" which would be released on July 23, of that same year, again by Century Media Records. After recording "The Politics of Ecstasy", Pat left Nevermore in 1997, and joined Death metal legends Cannibal Corpse to replace guitarist Rob Barrett.

It is here when O'Brien's talent and technical skill would achieve great new heights. After some long term contemplation, Nevermore would fill the now departed O'Brien's vacant spot in the band with former Forbidden guitarist Tim Calvert.

Pat also played a short role as a touring guitarist with the legendary Florida Death metal band Monstrosity. He fulfilled these duties for their 1997 "Extremities Tour". Ironically, Monstrosity was also the former band of O'Brien's now longtime Cannibal Corpse bandmate George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.

After joining Cannibal Corpse in 1997, Pat began to embark on what is now considered to be his finest career effort by many Death metal fans. He first appeared on Cannibal Corpse's "Gallery of Suicide" album alongside secondary guitarist and founding member Jack Owen. The album was released on April 21, 1998 via their longtime record label Metal Blade Records. Even though "Gallery of Suicide" was his first album with Cannibal Corpse, Pat wasted no time and teamed up with bassist Alex Webster to write the music to some of the albums most devastatingly brutal and technical songs including "Blood Drenched Execution", the title track "Gallery of Suicide", as well as the instrumental onslaught "From Skin To Liquid". On this album, Pat is also credited for writing the music to the bonecrushing track "Stabbed in the Throat" by himself. By writing these tracks, Pat O'Brien had proved to Cannibal Corpse fans that despite him only being with Cannibal Corpse for little over a year, that he was a worthy replacement for Barrett.

The year 1999 saw Pat O'Brien enter his second and even more technically creative year with Cannibal Corpse. It was during this year that the band would release their second album with O'Brien entitled "Bloodthirst". The album was released on October 9, 1999 by Metal Blade Records and again showcased more of the technical genius that Pat possessed. On this album Pat also gained even more artistic independence, writing all of those 3 songs by himself. The songs that Pat contributed to "Bloodthirst" were "Dead Human Collection", "Ecstacy in Decay", as well as the technical juggernaut "Hacksaw Decapitation". With credits to some of Cannibal Corpse's most technically brutal riffs under his belt, Pat O'Brian had now proved to Cannibal Corpse fans that he was more than just a "one note pony", he proved that he could fiercely compete with the other guitar gods of the Death metal universe. During 1999, Cannibal Corpse would also play at the famous Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany (which is basically an annual metal equivalent to Woodstock) for the first time.

The new millennium gave many fans a chance to witness the excitement of seeing Pat O'Brien's technicality and guitar wizardry in their homes via both live album and DVD format. This DVD and album package was entitled "Live Cannibalism" and both components were released on September 26, 2000. The concert footage on this DVD was taken from a gig that Cannibal Corpse had played on February 16, 2000 at The Rave club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This gig was a part of their Death Metal Massacre Tour. Interestingly enough, songs featured on the live album were actually recorded from 2 separate gigs (1 night apart) from that same tour. Thirteen out of the eighteen songs on the "Live Cannibalism" album were from that same February 16th gig in Wisconsin, where as the tracks "Stripped, Raped and Strangled", "Covered With Sores", "Fucked With A Knife", "The Spine Splitter", and "Devoured By Vermin" featured on the album were actually taken from a gig that had taken place the previous night (February 15th) at Emerson Theatre in Indianapolis, Indiana. By having these live tracks captured on both CD and DVD, Cannibal Corpse fans now had the opportunity to hear the skullcrushing guitar work of Pat O'Brien live in their homes for the first time.

Also in 2000, Cannibal Corpse would release a single entitled "Sacrifice/Confessions" which was a bonus 7" EP included with the "Live Cannibalism" LP. The single showcased Pat O'Brien shredding alongside secondary (now former) Cannibal Corpse guitarist Jack Owen to two cover songs. The cover songs featured on the single were "Sacrifice" which was written by the Canadian Thrash metal Sacrifice, as well as "Confessions", a tune that was originally written by the legendary Death metal band Possessed. Possessed had written the tune for their 1987 EP entitled "The Eyes of Horror".

2002 was yet another productive and creative year for Pat O'Brien and his fellow Cannibal Corpse bandmates. On February 26th, 2002 they released their eighth studio album entitled "Gore Obsessed". The new material album saw Pat O'Brien yet again pushing himself to reach his creative, lyrical, and technical potential. On the album O'Brien is credited with writing the music for the songs "Hatchet to the Head", "Drowning in Viscera" as well as the lyrical bloodbath "Sanded Faceless". These songs continued to show Cannibal Corpse fans both new and old, that Pat O'Brien was a sonic, brutality infused tidal wave not to be reckoned with. During this year Cannibal Corpse also took the stage at the Wacken Open Air Festival for a second time, bringing their signature brand of skullcrushing, fist pumping, Death metal to the masses in Germany yet again.

2003 was yet another prosperous year for Pat O'Brien and his Cannibal Corpse entourage. Primarily they released their second EP (technically their third if you count the "Sacrifice/Confessions" EP) entitled "Worm Infested" on July 1, 2003. The limited edition 6 track EP featured 2 new songs entitled "Worm Infested" and "Systematic Elimination" which were outtakes from the "Gore Obsessed" recordings sessions. The EP also included a cover of "Demon's Night" which was originally written by the German Heavy/Power metal band Accept for their 1982 album entitled "Restless and Wild". The final three tracks featured on the EP included a cover of Metallica's 1983 thrash anthem "No Remorse" from their 1983 album "Kill Em' All". M This Metallica cover had originally only appeared on the first pressing of the "Gore Obsessed" album as a bonus track.

Finally, a brand new version of "The Undead Will Feast" with George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher on vocals (this song originally was sung by Chris Barnes on 1990's "Eaten Back To Life). The previously recorded cover of Possessed's "Confessions" also appears on the EP as well.

On November 4, 2003 the band released their first ever boxed set entitled '15 Year Killing Spree" to commemorate their 15th anniversary as a band. The three CD and one DVD set was a collection of assorted Chris Barnes/George Fisher material taken from 1988-2003 and also featured assorted material from O'Brien's time in the band which was now reaching it's sixth year. This material included the previously unreleased "Gallery of Suicide" demo; cover versions of "Bethany Home (A Place To Die)" by The Accused, "Endless Pain" by Thrash metal giants Kreator, as well as a cover of "Behind Bars" by the Canadian Thrash metal band Razor. Pat O'Brien's technical genius was captured on DVD format yet again. This was made possible via the "Live at the Palace" gig which is featured on the DVD (which is comprised of various live footage from over the years) included with this boxed set. The Palace gig was recorded in 2002 in Hollywood California at the Metal Blade Records 20th Anniversary Party, and yet again shows Pat O'Brien shredding away flawlessly in top form for the crowd.

The following year, Cannibal Corpse released their ninth studio album entitled "The Wretched Spawn" on February 24, 2004. Nearly a quarter of the music featured on the album was written by O'Brien , with the exception of the track "Severed Head Stoning" a track in which Pat had co-wrote the music for alongside Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster. Songs on the album that O'Brien had composed the music for on his own include "Blunt Force Castration", "Psychotic Precision", as well as the technical juggernaut "Frantic Disembowelment". Instrumental footage of Pat recording the guitar tracks for "Frantic Disembowelment" can be seen on "The Making of the Wretched Spawn" DVD which had come with the limited edition digipak version of the album. The DVD also features interviews with Pat (as well as the rest of the band) as well as more footage of Pat recording his guitar duties for "Festering in the Crypt" alongside the entire band. After releasing the album, O'Brien and company embarked on tours to promote the album and one of the gigs that they played in 2004 was none other than the Wacken Open Air Festival, for the third time.

On October 17th 2006, Cannibal Corpse would enter Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida to begin recording their 10th and most recent studio album entitled "Kill". "Kill" was released March 21, 2006 via their longtime record label metal Blade Records. The new album features some of O'Brien's most technical material to date including the tracks "Make Them Suffer", "Purification By Fire", "Brain Removal Device", as well as the instrumental slab of brutality entitled "Infinite Misery". Choosing to remain musically independent for this album yet again, Pat composed these four songs by himself.

Since the release of Kill, guitar god Pat O'Brien has been extremely active tour wise promoting "Kill" with his bandmates. Last summer, Cannibal Corpse were featured on the "2006 Sounds Of The Underground Tour" among other tours.

The year 2007 marks Pat O'Brien's 10th year with the band. Recently the band has remastered and re-released their fifth album entitled "Vile". This 2007 remastering and re-issuing includes a bonus DVD of concert footage from 1997. The name of this re-release is none other than "Vile Live". Besides this special treat, the band already has announced various tour dates for the upcoming months of the year. Upcoming tours for 2007 include an April/May tour of the USA, a small Latin America tour taking place in May, and a special 2 day tour in Reykjavik, Iceland. Besides this new album re-release and these upcoming tours, I myself am wondering what other potential Death metal surprises Pat O'Brien and company have in store for us in the upcoming future? Only time will tell.