Corpus Christi

CORPUS CHRISTI, with a name that translates into "The body of Christ" in Latin, it's no surprise that you could find these kids in Sunday school teaching the youngsters how to circle pit just as easily as quoting scripture. But luckily these boys are more interested in gnar shredding than they are in starting a parish with rattlesnake kissing Christians. We sit down with them to find out what keeps the good ole southern boys on the road and out of the ministry.

So tell me did you dudes all have older brothers who forced you to listen to SLAYER cassette tapes in desperation to make you the coolest sunglasses wearing, denim jean jacket sporting little bros ever, or did you grow up on POISON, MOTLEY CRUE, and QUIET RIOT like the rest of us and decide to drop the Glam and add more balls to the mix.

(Laughs) The Clockwork Orange-style, SLAYER conditioning is out. But that would make for an interesting experiment! We all came to metal on our own, though. All of us had subtle nudges here and there, but let's face it: for guys like us, this music is unavoidable. It just goes together like T-bone steak and awesome. On a personal note, i think POISON and CRUE suck!! QUIET RIOT? OK, but only because of Randy Rhoads and "Cum On Feel The Noise."

So here's what happened, when I first got assigned this task to interview CORPUS CHRISTI I thought this would be easy, But to my conclusion there is also a band called CORPUS CHRISTII, which lead to me doing about a half hour of homework on them that I didn't need to do. On top of this similar name play my bewilderment grew when I learned that you bros are a Christian band and those dudes are a Satanic band. Were you aware of this fine mess?

I had completely forgotten about that band, let alone the fact that they were Satanic, until about 2 months ago when out bass player saw a comment on some message board from a dude who was furious because we were not CHRISTII"s comeback. I hadn't given it any thought prior to that, and not much since. Oh well... That's a bummer you ended up researching the wrong band though.

Now onto important questions. How did you homeboys come to be brothers in arms and enter the game of metal Childhood friends? Craigslist ad? UNEARTH message board? Did you all enter the same pit at a black metal era UNDEROATH show and throw synchronized windmills and go...wait a sec, this just feels right?

Your questions are making my night. We all knew each other from other Cincy bands. I've know Will (vox) and Phil (bass) for 11 years now. Jon (guitar), I met about 5 years ago when out previous bands played a few shows together. And Justin (drummer)...well, he was a kid we thought had a lot of potential so we stole him from his first band. On the funny side of things...Phil, Will, and myself actually did see the black metal era UNDEROATH live... more than once. Will still has a shirt and he and Phil both still have that record. All like, 3 songs and 46 minutes of it. We have their sticker from that era on our cash box too. What an interesting change that's been. And yes... It did just feel right.

What it the most metal things you dudes have ever done or been a privy to? We are all expecting something along the lines of crashing a burning blimp in the face of a thousand foot titanium deathbot whose engine runs on the souls of the damned, just before the monstrosity stomps the White house out of existence ( I watch a lot of Metalocalypse). But we will also accept something along the lines of hot sauce chugging or somebody jumping off something they shouldn't have jumped off of.

We played a show in a tornado last year... if that counts. We were in Ohio in the spring and the closer we got to the venue the worse the weather was. It was like something out of Storm Chasers. We were standing out back before our set when two funnel clouds tried to touch down a few times... less than a half mile away. Then a bolt of lightening struck a transformer and sent up this really weird purple-colored glow for a second. We went on and when we came to the first stop in our set, we heard this weird feedback and heard it again after the next song. Turns out it wasn't feedback at all... it was the city's tornado sirens going off. It didn't let up either. On the drive home outta nowhere, we hydroplaned our rig entirely off the road and back on again, before we knew what it what hit us. Jon was completely freaked out of his mind, Will and I laughed so hard it made my face hurt, and we had mud and grass stuck everywhere on the underside of that rig. Just another day at the office.

Playing metal will tire you out, this is just a fact of life, it burns calories like nobody's business. This being said with all the double bass, gallops, and gnar shredding that you boys are responsible for , where do you all like to fuel up for as far as food goes while on the road? Do you pack sack lunches, survive out of gas stations, or stalk any and every Taco Bell you lay eyes on? - Hails and Horns Magazine - July/August 2009

What expectations are set for a kid whose dad is a Christian preacher? Some kids in that situation rebel against their parents and others would just follow in their footsteps. Jarrod Christman, guitarist and clean vocals for the band Corpus Christi, did a little of both by rebelling a bit and discovering metal. Now he is living and sharing his faith through the same type of music that led him down that rebellious path.

Corpus Christi, which is rounded out by Jon Pauly on guitars, Phil Smith on bass, vocalist Will Henry and Justin Evans on drums, is the spawn of a few friends who had similar interests in God and the darker side of music. Christman says that the grew up listening to bands like Queen, U2, and everything Metallica and Guns N' Roses, but it wasn't until the grunge era passed that he found his true passion for music- extreme metal.

It was through some friends, fellow preachers' sons, that Christman was introduced to bands like In Flames, Zao, Sacrifice, At The Gates, Dark Tranquility, and Emperor. Eventually Christman's love for God and extreme metal, led to him dropping our of college and concentrating on music full time. That is when Corpus Christi entered into the world like a bomb.

Though they are relatively new to the meal scene, they have built a strong foundation by using (and sometimes over-using) technology, namely MySpace and YouTube. "We try to send out MySpace bulletins to the point of annoyance. I'm not going to apologize for trying to promote my band," Christman said.

With their debut, The Darker Side of White, released by Victory Records, Corpus Christi has gone from a local Cincinnati band to a national act. To top things off, the record was produced by Ken Susi of Unearth, perhaps helping the masses to see that these boys are legit. Though there may be similarities to the producer's band as well as others, Corpus Christi does not sound like a copycat. The Darker Side of White is a brutal testament to Jesus Christ (lyrically as well as musically), yet still subtle enough to blend into the world without people thinking the band is comprised of a bunch if Bible thumpers, which Christman says is a common misconception of Christian bands.

The track, "Parade of Scars", ignites the album with full-on metalcore fury with tons of double bass and galloping guitars to go along with the mostly screamed vocals. On the other hand, "Fight For your King" has what Christman describes as more of a rock/metal feel, which may draw some comparisons to the band Atreyu.

Which a record deal and a solid album in tow, these guys have to be planning for future rock stardom, right? Wrong. Their preparations for the future...take it one day at a time and remain thankful for what they have achieved thus far. "A lot of younger bands get into this business and think that there is a lot more rock star than there really is. It is not glamorous. On our last tour we rode into a Wal-Mart parking lot (to sleep in the van for the night) and it's 3am and freezing, we are all hungry and dirty and I looked at the other guys and said, "You know what? We may be in a Wal-Mart parking lot, but we don't have to be at work tomorrow, we could NOT have a record deal, we could NOT be touring, this isn't too bad. "Christman laughs. An optimistic outlook separates these guys from the rest of the pack


*Please contact for a PDF of the full article - HM Magazine - Issue #137

CHRISTCORE ASSAULT: Yes, the metalcore and deathcore genres are over saturated t to the point of complete homogenization and teetering on the brink of collapse into true banality, but there are still a few new bands out there offering up something strong enough to make the grade. And Ohio's Corpus Christi just about makes it past the gun towers with The Darker Side of White. With a sound akin to that of Caliban, they come at the listener with a ton of ruthless chuggery and the kind of irresistible widescreen choruses that ensure the tracks lift of the ground in all the right places. There is a very clinical production style to the record that might have killed them dead, but instead it has managed to crystallize their hard edges and make their precision assault similar to Fear Factory at their Demanufacture best. The band is outspokenly Christian, but this should not necessarily put off those from a secular background, because at the end of the day, an ass kicking riff is an ass kicking riff, and there is no reason why this should deter anyone form moshing themselves stupid. Added to that the sing-along ability of the whole thing- they know their way around a catchier than hell melody and implement them ruthlessly- means you'll probably be humming along whether you like it or not.


*Please contact for a PDF of the full article - Outburn Magazine - Issue 49