Hammer Smashed Face

Hammer Smashed Face
EP by Cannibal Corpse
Released	March 23, 1993
Recorded	1993 – Niagara Falls, New York
Genre	Death metal
Length	26:17
Label	Metal Blade
Producer	Dennis Fura, Cannibal Corpse
Cannibal Corpse chronology
Tomb of the Mutilated (1992) Hammer Smashed Face (1993) The Bleeding (1994)
Single version cover
Cover for the single version of Hammer Smashed Face.

Hammer Smashed Face is the first single by Cannibal Corpse, released in 1993 through Metal Blade Records. There are two versions of the release, a single version that features the title song "Hammer Smashed Face" with two covers of songs by Black Sabbath and Possessed, and the EP version which includes the three tracks of the single version along with two original Cannibal Corpse tracks. The single version and the EP version both have different cover artwork.

Critical reception

"Hammer Smashed Face" is one of the band's most popular songs, mainly due to a shortened version appearing in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.^[1] Since it is included on Tomb of the Mutilated, it was banned from Germany until June 2006, when it was played at a 2006 performance at Essen.

When asked if he had a favorite Cannibal Corpse album, singer Chris Barnes described the Hammer Smashed EP as "one of the underrated ones".^[2] Barnes also hailed the group's cover of Black Sabbath's "Zero the Hero" as "one of the greatest".^[2] The song itself is included on Kerrang!'s 25 Extreme Metal Anthems.

Track listing

EP version
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hammer Smashed Face"	4:04
2.	"The Exorcist" (Possessed cover)	4:37
3.	"Zero the Hero" (Black Sabbath cover)	6:35
4.	"Meat Hook Sodomy"	5:47
5.	"Shredded Humans"	5:12
Total length:		26:17

Single version
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hammer Smashed Face"	4:04
2.	"The Exorcist" (Possessed cover)	4:37
3.	"Zero the Hero" (Black Sabbath cover)	6:35
Total length:		15:17

Popular culture

• An abridged version of the song "Hammer Smashed Face" appeared in the film, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, while Jim Carrey was present at a death metal concert featuring Cannibal Corpse. Carrey is a fan of the band, and was the one to recommend that they appear in the movie.
• The title "Hammer Smashed Face" is referenced frequently, among other Cannibal Corpse titles and lyrics, in the television show Metalocalypse by Nathan Explosion. A one-time character also refers to it, and in the same episode, a character is killed by being smashed in the face with a hammer identical to the one on the cover of the EP.
• The song was released as downloadable content for Rock Band.

Personnel

Cannibal Corpse

• Chris Barnes – vocals
• Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums
• Jack Owen – guitar
• Bob Rusay – guitar
• Alex Webster – bass

Production

• Produced by Scott Burns (record producer), Dennis Fura and Cannibal Corpse

References

1. J. Purcell, Natalie (2003). Death Metal music: the passion and politics of a subculture. McFarland. p. 66. ISBN 0786415851.
2. Morgan, Anthony (June 2007). ""Ghosts of the Undead" - Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes delivers ten bludgeons of his philosophical hatchet with seventh record Commandment". Lucem Fero. Retrieved 2008-05-30.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics