A Russian court has issued a ban on Cannibal Corpse’s music and artwork, denouncing the death metal band’s potential to “damage the mental health of children”.
On 28 November, Ufa’s Oktyabrsky district court approved prosecutors’ requests that Cannibal Corpse’s album artwork and any Russian translations of their lyrics be banned from distribution across the country, according to news agency RIA Novosti. To explain the ruling, officials cited the songs’ “descriptions of violence, the physical and mental abuse of people and animals, murder and suicide”.
Cannibal Corpse’s music has been banned before: Germany and Australia both had injunctions on their music, at least until 2006. Back in 1995, Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole claimed the New York state band “undermined the character of the [American] nation”. But despite songs with titles such as Stripped, Raped, and Strangled, any ban on Cannibal Corpse’s recordings seems a little futile: as with most death metal bands, their lyrics are often indecipherable.
Hence the nature of Russia’s ban: fans can apparently listen to the music, they just can’t translate its alleged lyrics or look at any accompanying illustrations. According to Rapsi News, prosecutors are still working out how they will implement and enforce their ruling.
Cannibal Corpse had a previous encounter with Russia’s renascent Christian orthodoxy during a tour earlier this year. Despite booking eight concerts in the country, only two were able to go ahead as planned. The cancelled dates included shows in Moscow, St Petersburg and Ufa. “In Ufa the power was turned off shortly before the show (we were told because the venue was late on rent),” Cannibal Corpse said in a statement. “In Moscow and St Petersburg we were told that we did not have the correct visas and that if we attempted to perform the concert would be stopped by police and we would be detained and deported.”
Musicians including Lady Gaga and Madonna have also faced protest or censorship during recent Russian concerts. There are multiple reports that the government is using access to artist visas as a means of enforcing conservative values.
A Skeletal Domain, Cannibal Corpse’s 13th studio album, was released in September.
