Former Cannibal Corpse vocalist Chris Barnes has opened up about his departure from the legendary death metal band. He revealed that leaving to focus on Six Feet Under was one of the best decisions of his career. In a recent interview, Barnes discussed a hypothetical Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction scenario, claiming he would be ready to perform but doubting his former bandmates would allow it.
“I’ve always been ready to do that. They wouldn’t do that, though, because that’s just how they are,” Barnes stated. “They wouldn’t. It wouldn’t happen. They would exclude us from it. 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.”
Barnes attributed the tension to what he perceives as insecurity from his former bandmates regarding his vocal contributions and stage presence. “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,” he explained. “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.”
Despite the circumstances surrounding his exit, Barnes expressed no bitterness about the split. “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,” he said. “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.”
Barnes’ comments reflect a long-standing narrative about his 1995 exit from Cannibal Corpse. This event marked a significant turning point in both his career and the band’s history. The split occurred one year after the release of their album The Bleeding. It has been a subject of differing accounts between Barnes and his former bandmates for nearly three decades.
