When it comes to death metal, there are so many bands that get overlooked or have forever been lost in the shuffle. While the Florida death metal scene was booming with legends in the making as well as in Europe, another band was about to make it’s footprint in the metal community. Now, I don’t want to get into the entire history of the band, but I will say that, aside from being an early pioneer in the death metal scene, Cannibal Corpse is easily one of the most recognized death metal acts in the world. They may not have a catalog of diverse, overly technical of releases, but to their credit, they play the music their comfortable with and play it well.
As for their debut album, “Eaten Back to Life”, this may not
be their best album, certainly not with Chris Barnes on vocals, but I enjoyed
it for it was. This is n early slab of raw, US death metal, that although may
not exhibit the same excellence that Death or Deicide was accomplishing at the
time, the potential of what was to come can be heard. The fast chugging riffs
are boundless on this album as well as many tremolo style riffs that would
serve in lieu of any real harmonies. The drums pound away at blistering speeds,
giving off an almost thrash vibe. Barnes’ vocal (we’ll save the drama for now)
are not as low and guttural as they would soon become, but he manages to paint
the image of gore, blood and guts just fine.
This is worth a listen for the historical aspects alone, but
those who enjoy a simplistic, relentless assault of blast beats and growls, you
won't be disappointed. Make no mistake, this is not a masterpiece, but it is a
landmark album.
Highlights: "Shredded Humans" "Mangled"
"Buried in the Backyard"
Rating: 3.5
