CORPSING – We Thrive On The Energy Of The Audience

» March 17, 2025
» Interviews

For over two decades, CORPSING has been pushing the limits of death metal, refusing to be confined by genre rules. With their latest EP, “Viewing the Invisible”, they return stronger than ever.

I caught up with guitarist Giuseppe Cutispoto to talk about the band’s evolution, their creative process, and what’s next.

First of all, basic courtesy requires me to thank you for taking the time to answer these questions.

Greetings Necrozine! I’m Giuseppe, guitarist from Corpsing, thank you for inviting me.

If someone stopped you on the street right now and asked, “Who is CORPSING?”, what would you say?

Corpsing are a death metal band from London which has elements of thrash/black and doom metal.

The band has undergone several lineup changes over the past 20 years, including the addition of new vocalist Levi “Leviathan” Jackson and bassist James McCormack. How have these changes affected the band’s dynamic and your creative process?

The addition of Leviathan and James has added a great dynamic and a solid base to the overall sound, and on a personal level, it has created a better vibe in the band, which is very important in order for the band to function. Recently we have also added a new drummer Mark Smith, who replaced Subash, who left the band shortly after the recording of the EP. Now with the addition of 3 great musicians we are even stronger than before and we have a lineup that will surely go on to do great things.

Your latest EP, “Viewing the Invisible”, features four powerful tracks. Can you tell us more about the creation process and the inspiration behind this release?

The writing for the EP was great creatively because everyone had an input, so it was a very good team effort. We like to approach things the traditional way; my brother Mick and I would bring riffs to the rehearsal studio and then we would all put the songs together and arrange them until we were comfortable with going to record them. Myself and Leviathan wrote all the lyrics, which was a great collaboration too.

On this EP, you collaborated with Luc Lemay from GORGUTS and Jason Mendonça from AKERCOCKE. How did these collaborations come about, and what impact did they have on the final sound?

Jason Mendonca is a dear friend of mine who I’ve known for nearly 30 years, he was very happy to contribute a guitar solo to the opening track of the EP, which was fantastic and added a great atmosphere to the song. Luc Lemay is one of my biggest influences and it was one of my ambitions to have him sing on one of our songs. I was very fortunate to get in touch with him and he was very keen to collaborate with us. We were absolutely floored when we received his contribution; he did a fantastic job with the vocals. We are truly honoured to have these 2 great musicians perform on our EP… an absolute treat for us and their fans!!!

The EP was mixed and mastered by Edd Amos at Warlock Studio in London. What was the recording process like, and how involved were you in the production?

The recording process was very smooth and enjoyable, once again we worked with Edd Amos who has worked with us on the last 3 Corpsing releases. Edd recorded all the guitars and bass, and is like the 6th member of the band… an important part of our sound, he always delivers quality results.

Vocals were recorded by Matt Jarman (of the band Void) at Bad Princess studios in London, which was great and very professional. Subash recorded the drums at his home studio. We were all very involved in the production process from the beginning to the end (with the exception of Subash, who left the band before the EP was mixed and mastered).

Your music blends elements of death, black, thrash, and doom metal. How would you describe the evolution of your sound from the band’s formation until today? Do you feel it has remained the same, or do you see any drastic changes?

We have never made the same album/EP twice, which is something I’m proud of. We never have a concrete plan of how it will sound… we just write what comes from within us, and if we are happy then we have accomplished our mission. There are no rules or formulas… anything is possible!!!

Which bands and musicians have had the biggest influence on your style and sound? Are there any unexpected sources of inspiration outside of extreme music?

We have an extremely wide range of influences, which not only comes from metal music, that is very refreshing and interesting. In the beginning of the band, it was mainly Florida style death metal and black metal that inspired us, but also non-metal music like flamenco, artists like Paco De Lucia, etc. The dissonant sound of VOIVOD and GORGUTS are also a big inspiration, plus all the classic metal bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, early Metallica, Slayer and thrash metal.

What themes do you explore in your lyrics on “Viewing the Invisible”? Is there a particular message or concept you aim to convey to the listeners that has remained consistent throughout your releases, or does the lyrical inspiration change depending on the time and context in which you create new material?

The main theme for the lyrics of the EP deals with the many aspects of the mind, the insidious thoughts and feelings of doubt and self-confidence.

The self-hate that sometimes haunts us from within, and the essence of survival and battles of survival that we go through in life, that take place behind the image we exhibit to the outside world on a daily basis. The cover depicts this perfectly, viewing the things that are invisible on the outside and the inside being the total opposite.

Parts of these lyrics were inspired by my battle with depression that I went through a few years ago, this has had a very healing effect on me, and hopefully people can benefit from the healing power of overcoming adversity via creativity.

Who is in charge of the band’s visual aspect, cover art, gig posters, and similar elements?

I put together all the promo stuff for the band, but I always get input from everyone because we are a team and everyone has to be happy and on the same page with everything. The cover artwork for the EP was created by Gary Ronaldson (Bite Radius Design) who brilliantly captured the themes that I mentioned in the previous question. Personally, I think it is a really striking piece of art and we are so grateful for it.

How would you describe the energy and atmosphere at your live shows?

We thrive on the energy of the audience which is always great, very positive and uplifting… the crazier the better!!! Our singer Leviathan is a true frontman that takes the music performance to another level. He has been known to pounce across the stage as he feeds and receives that energy from the crowd!

You wake up one day and realize CORPSING has become a mainstream pop band. What’s the first thing you do? 😀

Hunt down the person who is responsible for this horrendous crime!! 🙂

What can fans – and those who will hear you for the first time – expect from CORPSING in the near future?

Energy, passion and top quality death metal!!! Hopefully, in the form of a full-length album.

Speaking of fans, has your relationship with them evolved over the two decades, especially with the rise of social media? Where do you see yourself on social media? Do you find it helpful in any way whatsoever?

We are eternally grateful to everyone who attends the shows, buys merch and supports us in any way since the beginning… we always love interacting with people. Social media is a great way to interact with people from all over the world and a great tool to showcase our music to everyone.

TOP UK beers?

Guinness

Guinness!!!

“This is the end,” said THE DOORS once. Any message to the readers, fans, old and new?

Thank you very much for the interview, it was great to talk to you. I would like to thank everyone for their support, I hope you enjoy the new EP, and we look forward to coming to a stage near you in the future. Hail Necrozine!!!

Follow CORPSING:

Bandcamp: http://corpsingmetal.bandcamp.com/