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Eaten Back to Life
Studio album by Cannibal Corpse
Released	August 17, 1990
Recorded	May 1990
Studio	Morrisound (Tampa, Florida)
Genre	Death metal
Length	36:21
Label	Metal Blade Space Shower Music (JPN)
Producer	Scott Burns
Cannibal Corpse chronology
Cannibal Corpse (demo) (1989) Eaten Back to Life (1990) Butchered at Birth (1991)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal	5/10

Eaten Back to Life is the debut studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse. It was released on August 17, 1990, through Metal Blade Records.

The violent nature of the subject matter has caused controversy and bans in multiple countries.

Background and recording

With their debut, the band sought to further develop the extreme lyrics and imagery of other early death metal bands like Carcass and Death. Founding guitarist Jack Owen half-joked that the album's gruesome song titles were conceived before the band had written any music. The band would record instrumental demo tapes that vocalist Chris Barnes would then take home and write lyrics to.

The album was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, where many other influential early death metal releases were produced. Bassist Alex Webster specifically cited the band's appreciation of albums like Altars of Madness by Morbid Angel and Leprosy by Death as having inspired the choice of studio. They were able to make friends and connections within the burgeoning Tampa death metal scene and would ultimately relocate there. Webster and Mazurkeiwicz recorded bass and drum tracks simultaneously. Many songs were done in one take, as the band did not yet have the budget to spend long hours in the studio.

The album cover was created by horror comic book artist Vince Locke, who the band would continue to collaborate with in the future. A statement can be found in the album's liner notes, dedicating it to the memory of Alferd Packer.

Composition

Dubbed "death metal for dummies," the sound on Eaten Back to Life has been described as "the soundtrack to a serial killer's abhorrent lair," and blatantly employs many of the genre's trademark characteristics. The album employs growling vocals, "grinding" guitar riffs, chromatic melodies, tempo changes and blast beats. According to music journalist T Coles, "with the sonic standard now set, the band leant much further into the heavy double bass and palm muting that would define the genre." The drumming has been described as "the relentless pound of meat hammers in the abattoir." The album is noted for its apparent thrash metal influence as opposed to the explicit death metal sound of the band's following releases. Guitarist Jack Owen cited the works of Exodus, early Sepultura, Celtic Frost, Napalm Death and Dark Angel as influences present on the album. He said, "we were into thrash and triplet playing on the guitar". Chris Barnes' vocal performance on the album has been described as sounding like "Satan on a diet of razor blades and paint thinner." The album's lyrics have been described as "ludicrously over the top."

Reception

Leslie Mathew of AllMusic gave the Eaten Back to Life an underwhelming retrospective review, lamenting the album's lack of variety and "interesting guitar work".

Track listing

All music written by Cannibal Corpse.

Personnel

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

Additional personnel

• Glen Benton – backing vocals on "Mangled" and "A Skull Full of Maggots"
• Francis M. Howard – backing vocals on "Mangled" and "A Skull Full of Maggots"
• Pat O'Brien – lead guitar on live bonus track
• George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher – vocals on live bonus track

References

1. Matthew, Leslie. "Eaten Back to Life – Cannibal Corpse". AllMusic. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
2. Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
3. "Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life 1990". Metal Storm. December 20, 2004. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
4. Falina, Melanie (February 2004). "Cannibal Corpse Just Wants to Sing About Ripping Apart Human Flesh in Peace". Chicago Innerview. Innerview Media, Inc. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
5. "Cannibal Corpse songs banned in Russia". RAPSI. November 2014. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
6. ^ "33 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Release 'Eaten Back to Life'". Loudwire. August 17, 2023.
7. ^ "Eaten Back to Life - Cannibal Corpse | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
8. "Go back in time with Chris Barnes to the "Eaten Back to Life" album". October 28, 2020.
9. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (August 2022). "32 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Pile on the Gore With 'Eaten Back to Life'". Loudwire. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
10. Dick, Chris. Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces. Da Capo Press. p. 152.
11. ^ Coles, T. Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 56.
12. ^ Eaten Back to Life - Cannibal Corpse | Album | AllMusic, retrieved January 2, 2025
13. Coles, T. Death Metal. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 56.
14. "RichardMetalFan Interviews! Ep. 240: Jack Owen of Six Feet Under". YouTube. March 27, 2024.
15. "Blood, guts and Jim Carrey: How Cannibal Corpse became death metal's first million selling band". March 13, 2024.

• 1990 debut albums
• Cannibal Corpse albums
• Metal Blade Records albums
• Albums produced by Scott Burns (record producer)
• Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording
• Obscenity controversies in music
• Works about Alferd Packer
• Death metal albums