CHRIS BARNES On Why His Former Bandmates In CANNIBAL CORPSE Wouldn't Play With Him Again: 'They Feel Threatened By My Presence'

In a new interview with Scott Penfold of Loaded Radio, former CANNIBAL CORPSE and current SIX FEET UNDER vocalist Chris Barnes was asked if he would be willing to perform with CANNIBAL CORPSE again if the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame started welcoming death metal acts and CANNIBAL CORPSE was being inducted. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Oh, yeah. I've always been ready to do that. They wouldn't do that, though, because that's just how they are. I mean, they wouldn't ask me and Jack [Owen, former CANNIBAL CORPSE and current SIX FEET UNDER guitarist] to go up on stage with them at all. They wouldn't. It wouldn't happen. They would exclude us from it. And they might invite us up on stage with them, but they would never want me and Jack to play a song with them or anything like that."

Asked why he thinks that is, Chris responded: "I think it's a part of they don't like me and they also feel… Not to be boastful or conceited at all — I'm just being truthful — they feel threatened by my presence as far as a vocalist and my contribution to the band. They've always tried to marginalize that. They've always tried to ignore it, and they've always just not been very kind to me as far as that has gone, because my contribution to the band has always been a shadow to what they've tried to keep going and take on themselves. And that's what they wanted to do. That's why I was fired from the band, which I'm fine with. I've never had a problem with that. I've never been bitter about that at all. I've just stated my story and the facts that I know, and I've always said it, that the greatest blessing that's come my way has been SIX FEET UNDER and my putting this band together because it was my way out of that band, 'cause I wasn't happy being in that band at a pretty early point. SIX FEET UNDER was the best thing that ever happened to me. Getting kicked out of CANNIBAL CORPSE was really — it was awesome when that happened. And Alex [Webster, CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist] will even tell you, when he called me up to tell me that I was out of the band, I kind of laughed a little bit. I was, like, 'That's awesome. Thank you,' basically."

Asked if "creativity" was the main reason he felt unhappy in CANNIBAL CORPSE, Chris said: "No. That was nothing to do with it at all. I mean, maybe in their minds, as far as the last recording session went, because I went on tour with SIX FEET UNDER instead of finishing that album the way they were commanding me to finish it, and they knew I was not going to; I was sticking to my guns as far as those songs that I had written. And I guess I didn't see that the way they wanted me to see it, so that might've been a creative difference. But for me, the most part was I just didn't wanna be around those guys. I had never had a problem with Jack. It was Alex, Paul [Mazurkiewicz, CANNIBAL CORPSE drummer] and Rob [Barrett, CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist] that I just didn't wanna be in the same room with. So that's really why I started SIX FEET UNDER. A lot of people were, like — the party line was it was a side project. It wasn't a side project for me — never once. It was really my escape pod. I went along with the party line, but it was never that for me. It was my way out."

In a September 2023 interview with Loaded Radio, Webster was asked about whether fans have asked to see CANNIBAL CORPSE and SIX FEET UNDER touring together, especially now that SIX FEET UNDER features two former CANNIBAL members. Alex said: "People have asked [about the two bands touring together], but I think SIX FEET just doesn't really tour that much. And we probably wouldn't do it. It's, yeah, like you said, sort of everything's cool, but it's sort of like, you do your thing, we'll do our thing. And it's fine."

Back in February 2025, Chris was asked by "The Garza Podcast", hosted by SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Chris Garza, if his replacement in CANNIBAL CORPSE, George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher, was "still blocked" from Barnes's social media. Barnes responded: "I haven't had him blocked. In fact, on Instagram, I follow him. And I don't know if he follows me, but at one point I confronted him because I saw a video on YouTube where during a live performance, he's poked at me pretty good. And I wrote him 'cause I was, like, 'Look, man, I never have said anything nasty about you at all. I don't know why you're doing this on stage about me.' And I said, 'We met and I thought everything was cool that one time. And listen, I'll give you my phone number.' … I said, 'If you wanna talk on the phone, I'll give you my phone number. We can talk it over.' And I sent him the link to the YouTube video, and magically it disappeared after that. But he never responded to me. He saw the message, 'cause it said 'seen.' But he wouldn't talk to me about it."

During "The Garza Podcast"chat, Chris admitted that he hadn't been impressed with George's execution of the CANNIBAL material which was originally written and recorded during his era with the band. Chris said: "I don't think he sings my songs very well. I don't. I think he walks through 'em. And on this [recent SIX FEET UNDER] tour, I poked back at him a little bit just because I felt like it was funny. But it was all in good humor."

Barnes added that Fisher has said some "insulting" things about him in the press, particularly as it relates to CANNIBAL CORPSE's early material.

"I saw a couple interviews with him where he said that he believed that my songs that I wrote are more his now," Chris claimed. "And that really upsets me. Because they'll never be his. He's a karaoke singer when it comes to my songs. He is. Those aren't his songs. He says they're his songs because he's sung them more times than I have. He didn't write 'em. He doesn't get publishing checks from 'em. Those are my songs. Those lyrics are from my brain. And for him to insult me that way, I take that really serious. And I think that that's so ignorant and just so — just wrong. I think it's wrong that he even signs the CDs or the album covers that he didn't perform on. I don't sign [CANNIBAL CORPSE's 1998 album] 'Gallery Of Suicide'. Why would I? I wasn't on it. So, hey, if he wants to settle it, like get in a race car on a track, see who can drive better. [Laughs] But I know he doesn't know how to drive, so I'd probably win that race too."

After Garza opined that Barnes and Fisher should get in a room and work things out, Chris said: "Listen, man, I tried to. I tried to. I've got no problem with him. Like I said, when I met him, I thought everything was cool, because we got into a room. We were at an IRON MAIDEN concert in one of the boxes. [Metal Blade Records founder Brian] Slagel kind of got us all together in the same room, and I was talking to him. I was having a good time talking about video games. I'm a 'Call Of Duty' guy; he's a 'Warcraft' guy — two different types of games."

Barnes continued: "I respect that he's been a great vocalist for the band for many years. I just don't like being poked at. I've never done anything to the guy… I have respect for him. It's just I wish people had a little more respect from that camp for me, but they have their reasons not to, so. I mean, I reached out to Alex the other day. Me and Jack thought it would be cool to have him come up when we played Portland to play bass on 'Stripped[, Raped And Strangled]' and 'Hammer [Smashed Face]'. But he passed. We knew he wasn't gonna do it, but I told him, I said, 'Those songs are so important to us all, I thought you might want to.'"

Barnes added: "I don't know what grudge they're holding against me, but they just don't like me. So, it's okay. Like I said, I'm happier, and I've been happier in SIX FEET UNDER than with those guys. I mean, those songs that I wrote with them, they are really important to me. That's why we still do a couple of 'em."

Barnes fronted CANNIBAL CORPSE from its inception in 1988 until his exit in 1995, one year after the release of the band's "The Bleeding" album.

After Barnes left CANNIBAL CORPSE, he formed SIX FEET UNDER, whose current lineup also includes another former CANNIBAL CORPSE member, the aforementioned guitarist Jack Owen.

In a Cameo video message requested by one of his fans, Barnes reflected on CANNIBAL CORPSE's "The Bleeding" (1994) album, saying: "In CANNIBAL CORPSE, with 'The Bleeding', those guys as musicians were really wanting to progress the band musically in a way. I could kind of say why — I think they were wanting to, in a way, prove themselves as well-skilled musicians. And I thought they always were, because it was always very interesting music, the arrangements and stuff in CANNIBAL CORPSE on the first three albums. But I think they wanted to really hyper focus their skills and weren't able to do that. And I just was along for the ride, man. I can write to anything. It was really challenging to me. And I really liked 'The Bleeding' too. I liked what we were doing with Bob [Rusay, former CANNIBAL CORPSE guitarist]. I didn't want Bob to leave the band, and I didn't want him to be forced out of the band, and neither did Jack. So it kind of was a strange thing with that whole situation, but it did bring about a good album with 'The Bleeding'. And 'Stripped, Raped And Strangled' is probably my favorite song that I've written. And 'Hammer Smashed Face' is probably the most successful song that I've written. But something about 'Stripped, Raped And Strangled', to me, it showed something with the band that never appeared again with any of their albums after that, even 'Created To Kill'. [Editor's note: 'Created To Kill' was the original title of CANNIBAL CORPSE's 1996 album 'Vile', which was partly completed before Barnes was dismissed from the band due to creative differences.] But that is a purposeful thing. I was told by one of the members I will never write another song like that, which I thought was a big mistake. So it's a special song to me in that way, and I love that song. I'll play that song forever."

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral (courtesy of Palmer Turner Overdrive for Metal Blade Records)