CANNIBAL CORPSE's PAUL MAZURKIEWICZ Admits Touring Is Not As Exciting As It Once Was: 'The Older We Get, The Harder It Is'

In a new interview with "Reckless" Rexx Ruger of Pod Scum, Paul Mazurkiewicz of long-running Florida death metallers CANNIBAL CORPSE was asked how the touring life has changed for him and his bandmates since the group's formation nearly four decades ago. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "Yeah, it's definitely different. We'd be lying if [we said], 'Oh, it's just as exciting and gung-ho as it was in the early days.' Of course. But it's what we have to do. It's part of our job, and we wanna be out there, of course, still playing to the fans and all that. But the older we get, the harder it is, the harder it is to be away and to live on a bus with everybody and all that kind of thing. So, you just gotta make it work. I mean, we've been doing it our whole lives, so I guess we have that experience of how to do it and how to live out there as opposed to being home and all."

He continued: "For me, it's just a matter of… I guess it's kind of just similar, if I would say, well, what do I gotta do to maintain being older now? So it's the same thing on the road. Of course I just gotta make sure I'm eating well and hydrated and get sleep and all that. I go on walks every day, just to kind of get some good exercise and all that. And being able to get away to keep your sanity, I guess, 'cause, yeah, it gets a little tough when you're on the bus with, say, 10 guys. And especially the older we get now and maybe the tours aren't happing as frequently as they did, which is fine as well. If we can maximize in that regard, I think we're all happy. But, yeah, you get home, you're used to being home and being by yourself or with your family or your wife or girlfriend, then you gotta go out on the road and live like the old days. It's tough. But we make it work. And you just gotta pick those spots, just like I said, go on walks and get out. That's why I think the great thing about being on the road when the weather's nice is you can do those things. I'm living in Florida too, man. I'm Floridian now. It's been what? 30 some years now [since I moved to Florida from upstate New York]. And go on a winter tour where you gotta bundle up and maybe it's snowing, or if it's raining, you just can't do anything. I mean, I love to be able to get out outside, enjoy the fresh air, get away from people and take walks and all those things. I mean, it's great when it's weather permitting."

CANNIBAL CORPSE's sixteenth studio album, "Chaos Horrific", was released in September 2023 via Metal Blade Records.

Since 1988, CANNIBAL CORPSE have been at the forefront of death metal, shaping and defining the genre. In 2021, they raised the stakes again with "Violence Unimagined". And in 2023, the band's thirty-fifth anniversary, they returned with its successor, the equally monstrous "Chaos Horrific", starting a new chapter in their storied legacy.

CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist/producer Erik Rutan has now helmed six of the band's albums, starting with 2006's "Kill". This is Rutan's second release as a full-fledged member, since officially joining in 2020.

"Chaos Horrific" was recorded at Rutan's Mana Studio in Florida.

In an August 2026 interview with Laughing Monkey With Shawn Ratches, Mazurkiewicz was asked how he has held up physically after playing extreme metal drums for nearly four decades. He said: "I feel pretty good, luckily. I think that's the key. Of course, if we don't feel good, then it would be very difficult at this point in our lives to be up there and maintaining. I don't wanna fool myself or feel like I'm just gonna go up and go through the motions. I wanna feel good up there. And I do — luckily I do… Of course I gotta practice — probably practice way more than I've ever had just to sustain and maintain. So I gotta do that more regularly than ever, which is obviously gonna be good for me, I suppose. But I think, like in anything, when I tell people, just like in life in general, you get older, you gotta eat right, you gotta stay hydrated. You gotta exercise. You gotta get good sleep. Those things are so important. Of course, genetics fall into play as well because some people might do all that, but then they got issues with their back, or they got muscle problems, or they got who knows what kind of issues. Luckily, I do got good genetics, which has kept me really healthy for the most part throughout my life. But like what I just said, these basics — as long as I can get the sleep I need and stay hydrated and eat right — I still play ice hockey, so that kind of obviously helps me a little, working out a little bit."

He continued: "I really gotta play more than anything. I think that's the most important thing, is just still just practicing and keeping up on it in that regard. 'Cause if I don't, I do notice — I'm not 30 years old anymore. You don't have that natural adrenaline flowing. Or I don't, anyways, and I'm a hyper kind of a guy. There's a couple of guys that I look at that are our age, my age, going, 'Man, where do you get all this energy from?' I still have it, but, man, it's waning, of course, and I really gotta work on it to sustain that. So that's the important thing, is really just keep practicing and keep pushing and doing always a little more extra, I suppose, at this point. Because, man, I'll tell you, if I don't, then it's gonna be really quick where I'm gonna turn around and go, 'Wow, I can't do this.' It's harder to come back to it, harder to maintain. We're not getting any younger. Every day is just a day older and a day closer to the end, so to say. But, yeah, man, it's tough, man. I'll tell you, it's tough."

Mazurkiewicz added: "Am I gonna be able to do what I do right now in 10 years? I don't know. We don't know. Maybe, maybe not. I mean, in 10 years I'm gonna be — what? 68 years old? So am I gonna be able to go up there, 68, 70 years old, blasting, doing 'Hammer Smashed Face' with conviction, with feeling like I'm able to just kind of do it — like I said, without dying or feeling like I'm about to pass [out]. Who knows? But that's tough. Only time will tell, I suppose, in that regard. I guess I would've never thought I'd be doing it at this age, when we first started. You look at people, when you're 20 years old, and, of course, a 60-year-old, that's your grandfather."