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George Fisher (musician)
George Fisher (born July 8, 1970),[1] better known by his stage name Corpsegrinder, is an American death metal vocalist who is the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse, Paths of Possession and the supergroup Serpentine Dominion. Loudwire placed Fisher at number 7 on their list of the "Top 25 Extreme Metal Vocalists".[2] Early lifeFisher was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 8, 1970. He developed an interest in horror fiction and comic books at an early age.[3] He taught himself how to sing by attempting to emulate the vocal performances of his influences, such as Tom Araya of Slayer, Chuck Schuldiner of Death, Glen Benton of Deicide, John Tardy of Obituary, and Dave Vincent of Morbid Angel. He recalled, "My vocal coaches were basically all my records - any record that had the photo of the band or the lyrics on the back of the cover, I would line them up in my room." Fisher has stated that during his formative years, he was determined to learn the entirety of the lyrics to the albums and songs he was attempting to emulate. He recalled, "my friends were like, 'Man, you know all the lyrics and you sing them in time?' Even if I'm not singing them like they do. I guess it started coming around in my head, this is what I want to do."[4] Career
Early careerFisher formed his first band "Corpsegrinder" in 1988, before turning 18. The band was composed of people Fisher and a friend had met while partying in a hotel. The name "Corpsegrinder" comes from a song of the same name on Death's 1984 demo Reign of Terror, which Fisher would later adopt as his stage name. The band began playing shows in the Baltimore area during February 1988, playing Cro-Mags and Sacrifice covers.[5] In 1991, Fisher made his first official studio appearance on Suffocation's Effigy of the Forgotten; his vocals can be heard on the songs "Mass Obliteration" and "Reincremation". MonstrosityFisher received a call from Ted Hartz asking him to record vocals on a demo, after the latter had been fired from the band Exmortis. After some hesitation, Fisher decided to leave Corpsegrinder to join Hartz, feeling his bandmates in Corpsegrinder did not share his level of dedication for death metal.[6] Fisher performed lead vocals on Monstrosity's first two studio albums, Imperial Doom and New Millenium. He left the band to join Cannibal Corpse in 1995. Cannibal Corpse (1995–present)Fisher initially met Chris Barnes, Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz at a Cannibal Corpse show in Washington, D.C.[7] Fisher left Monstrosity in late 1995 and joined Cannibal Corpse, replacing Barnes on vocals in the band after Webster called Fisher and gave him the offer. Fisher reportedly screamed in excitement, which alarmed his mother. Fisher also claims he did not know he was an official member of the band until Vile was completed.[8] Fisher said, "I knew what I could do and what I could bring to the band. It would be a different style, for sure, but I only asked for fans to give me a chance and check out the record or a live show and be open-minded. I think they did that and I am grateful, and here we are." Mazurkiewicz said, "We're very adamant in our view that you can listen back to back and you can tell who's better."[9] Corpsegrinder (2022–present)Fisher released his debut solo album, Corpsegrinder, on February 25, 2022.[10] Other projectsFisher has also provided guest vocals for California deathcore band Suicide Silence on the song "Control" from their fourth album, You Can't Stop Me. Fisher also performed guest vocals on Job for a Cowboy's 2014 album Sun Eater on the song "The Synthetic Sea". In 2021, Fisher performed guest vocals for Boston metalcore band Ice Nine Kills on the song "Take Your Pick" from the band's album The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood. Fisher does occasional guest appearances in the animated series Metalocalypse where he voices the Metal Masked Assassin. He was also the inspiration for the character Nathan Explosion, the lead vocalist for Dethklok, who has a similar physical appearance and performance style to Corpsegrinder. ArtistryFisher is known for his death growls, high shrieks and rapid-fire vocal delivery style. His vocals have been described as sounding like "[his] larynx is being put through a garbage disposal."[11] He is also noted for the clarity and intelligibility of his vocal delivery.[12] Fisher has stated that his interest in metal music started with Black Sabbath. He later moved on to other British heavy metal bands such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Saxon, and then ultimately, extreme metal acts such as Venom, Slayer, Possessed, Kreator and Celtic Frost. He commented, "it just got heavier and heavier".[13] Additionally, he is an outspoken fan of metal bands such as Death, Morbid Angel, Napalm Death, Sodom, Dark Angel, Dethklok, Motörhead, Autopsy, Deicide, Dio, Mercyful Fate, Megadeth, and Metallica.[14][15][16] "I listen to a lot of straight edge stuff, you know, from the eighties."[16] He is a self-professed fan of live albums, citing Judas Priest's Unleashed in the East and Iron Maiden's Live After Death among some of his favorites, along with live releases by Sodom and Deicide.[17] Personal lifeFisher was born in Baltimore, Maryland.[18] He is married and has two daughters. Contrary to the subject matter of his music, Fisher's personal life (viewed largely through his Instagram page) has been noted to be "wholesome",[19] showing him as a father with his children at Walt Disney World and with large plush toys; he himself has noted an affinity towards winning plush animals from claw machine games, which he then often donates to charity.[20] He is a fan of the Washington Wizards and the Denver Broncos.[21][22] Fisher is apolitical and has never voted in an election;[23] however, he expressed support to NFL players taking the knee.[24] He is quoted saying, "Maybe some people wouldn’t like my opinion about things. I obviously have opinions about things happening in the world, but for the most part, I’m just not going to be an activist. I definitely believe that there are people who are wrong, and I believe that there are people who have been wronged."[25] He is irreligious, denouncing religion as "a scam".[26] Fisher has gained popularity through the size of his neck, which he has explained is due to a combination of headbanging and weightlifting when he was younger.[citation needed] Fisher is an avid fan of the online role-playing game World of Warcraft; he has a tattoo representing the Horde, one of the factions in the game, on his right forearm and added the phrase "Fuck the Alliance" to the liner notes of the 2006 Cannibal Corpse album Kill.[27][28] He also made an appearance at BlizzCon 2011 where he performed alongside Level 90 Elite Tauren Chieftain, a band made up of Blizzard Entertainment employees. Fisher was referenced in the game when Blizzard introduced a non-player character named "Gorge the Corpsegrinder" into the Wrath of the Lich King expansion in 2008. The character was later renamed to "Annihilator Grek'lor" in 2021, coinciding with the emergence of allegedly homophobic remarks about the Alliance faction made by Fisher in 2007. Neither Fisher or Blizzard have commented publicly on the matter.[29] Discography
References
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.  Wikiquote has quotations related to George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher.
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