Cannibal Corpse is an American death metal band from Buffalo, New York, formed in 1988. The band has released eleven studio albums, one boxed set, and one live album. Though they have had little radio or television exposure, a cult following began to build behind the group with albums such as 1991's Butchered at Birth and 1992's Tomb of the Mutilated and reached over one million in record sales worldwide in 2003,[1] including 558,929 in the United States, making them the top-selling death metal band of all time in the US, and second worldwide.[2]
The members of Cannibal Corpse were originally inspired by thrash metal bands like Slayer, Kreator, and Sodom, as well as other death metal bands like Morbid Angel and Death.[3] The band's lyrics and its album art (most often done by Vincent Locke), which draw heavily on horror fiction and horror films, are highly controversial. At different times, several countries have banned Cannibal Corpse from performing within their borders, or have banned the sale and display of original Cannibal Corpse album covers.