Customer Reviews

Butchered at Birth

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I love reading reviews for Cannibal Corpse albums. These wars are just endlessly entertaining. On one side, we have the wannabe tough guys who fail to realize that this music isn't for everyone, and think that anyone who doesn't like them is just a spinelss wimp. On the other side, we have the bible-thumping conservative tightwads who think CC's very existence is the downfall of society, and that anyone who listens to them is a horrible person just because they like the music.

I, on the other hand, occupy a seemingly extreme minority on the issue: the middle ground. As an open-minded music fan, who listens to a little bit of everything, including a lot of extreme metal, I find Cannibal Corpse to be fun to listen to one or two songs at a time, but in large doses, they tend to be rather cheesy and monotonous. I mean, they have around 10 albums, all of which are pretty much the same thing over and over. Much like AC/DC, it's a good listen in small doses, but I can only listen to the same thing over and over for so long.

And, the lyrics, I think, are quite obviously not meant to be taken seriously, in either a positive or negative sense. I mean, anyone who goes out and disembowels someone just because they listened to a CC song obviously has serious problems. But, if you're somehow greatly offended by graphic subject matter, and think that anyone who likes the band for whatever reason is automatically the scourge of society, you're really not much better off. If you take the lyrics at face value, and just dismiss them as goofy over-the-top gore, they really shouldn't get in your way. Sure, the image is ridiculous, but it's really nothing to raise a big stink over.

And btw, on that subject, there is a review for a CC album on this site that condemns the lyrical matter, and then the guy turns around that says "this band and it fans should be slaughtered". That was hilariously ironic. Ok, so slaughtering people is acceptable, but writing songs about it is despicable? Riiight...

So yeah, anyway, that's that. Continue the battle please, by all means. :P

This CD is terrific: blunt vocals, unrelenting speed and pure anger. `Butchered' is served best with a steaming black cup of coffee an hour or so before a workout. This is perhaps the best of Cannibal's releases with Chris Barnes, even better than `Tomb' despite the lack of `Hammer Smashed Face.' And readers, please put aside the feigned outrage of the previous post from `metal fan' and others who post reviews and seem to never have listened to the discs or know any metal fans. I doubt any self-respecting metalhead would compare music to senseless shootings. It's a cheap copout and a lame excuse. Music doesn't cause crime, idiots do. Learn to spell and enter the real world.

This is Cannibal Corpse's best CD all the way! This album was a giant step up from "Eaten Back to Life". All of their new material is nothing compared to what this album was. Best songs on this album are Gutted, Covered with Sores, Vomit the Soul, & Innards Decay. All you people that say Cannibal Corpse sucks or that they ca'nt play have no idea what the hell real music is. Highly recommended for any true death metaller.

This may be the best way to describe this album. Brutal, unintelligible vocals(always a must-have for brutal metal), good fast-to-slow tempo changes, and ,of course, graphic depictions of carnage from the only group who could redefine the term "graphic art". This CD goes into the elite catagory of infamy because of its cover. The sales of this album are illegal in Germany, even though sales of all the other albums are not. Even here, various stores refuse to carry this album due to its graphic depiction of infanticide (that is baby killing for those of you unfamiliar with the word). As for the music, many people are wining about the vocals, even if they like the instumental part. They don't seem to understand that growled out vocals are essential to the music style. As for those who say CC has no talent, let's see someone like FONSECA or Beau Kendall growl like Chris Barnes. It's not easy. I can't even do it even though I'd really like to. And if you pay attention to the opening of "innards Decay", you will notice that it has some melodic actually. Plus, the speed of the songs changes a few times making it more listenable then various other bands, like Deicide. Plus Deicide lyrics have very little gore in them. They actually seem like nothing when you read CC lyrics, which actually hold no blasphamous or God-hating sentiment. Many people claim that Cannibal Corpse is a Satanic band when they see their art work,but these are people with no imagination who can't separate one form of contraversy from another. Many are people who don't know a thing about metal and insist on listening to the backstreet girls or n-stink. Listen to all the people here who know what they are talking about. And if you like BAB, get "The Bleeding". It is a little longer but has much of the same style riffing to it,as well as more solos. As for all the people criicizing CC for the Columbine shooting, they simply don't like them and are trying to place a guilt trip on them in a effort to publically humiliate them. It's naturally unsuccessful, because I have not seen any CC lyrics where they talk about killing some one with guns. It's always knives and beatings. As for those offended by the cover art, how can it be offensive if it does not offend, but rather enlighten, me?

This is one of my favorite Cannibal Corpse albums in my collection. I bought it sometime in the summer of 1994 along with Imperial Doom by Monstrosity which at the time, featured George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher on vocals who is now the lead singer of Cannibal Corpse. This might seem like a pretty odd, premature twist of fate but it's true. But as of now, the album I'm reviewing is back to the days of Chris Barnes. That album is this one which is called Butchered At Birth.

Now before I do my review, there is something important that must be addressed. There are 2 versions of the first 3 Cannibal Corpse albums. Those 3 albums are Eaten Back To Life, this one and Tomb Of The Mutilated and there are 2 different versions of these albums available right now. The first ones are the original versions. The second ones are reissued and remastered versions with original artwork and inner sleeve layout enhanced and the CD's have bonus live tracks that can be played on a regular audio CD player and QuickTime CD-ROM for your computer. The version of this album that I'm reviewing right now is the original version.

Now for my review. This CD is one of the band's best albums. The lyrics are as sick as they can be as well as the artwork and inner sleeve layout. The songs on the other hand are heavy and brutal as hell. They have a lot of killer riffs, solos, harsh vocals, pounding bass and blast beats. The production and the sound however is low-toned which makes the album sound heavier and more brutal. So this is an album for the old school, young, reckless and immature death metalheads with a hunger to listen to something extreme. Some of my favorite songs here are Meat Hook Sodomy, Living Dissection, Under The Rotted Flesh, Vomit The Soul, Butchered At Birth and Innards Decay. Buy this album and prepare to get butchered.

This is probably Corpse's most grinding, brutal cd. It's a classic Corpse album all the way. The cover art is just excellent, and the lyrics are also great in that Cannibal Corpse way. If you havent bought any Cannibal Corpse cd yet, go with this one. Corpse's newest cd is terrible, so go with this and their older stuff.

Cannibal Corpse is a classic and one of the most important acts in death metal. With extremely heavy guitars and bass and deep, very deep growls, and of course their extreme album covers, the band has paved the way for other artists of the genre to release their material. This album showcases all the elements that made Cannibal a cult band. If you don't like growls, heavy heavy guitars and/or bloody pictures, this is not the music for you.

If you're looking for the definitive Cannibal Corpse album, look no further. As for those who disagree, your probably not much of a metal fan to begin with.

Just kidding, I think that's obvious. This 1991 release is Cannibal Corpse's second album, coming right after their brutal debut "Eaten Back to Life". In my opinion, "Butchered" doesn't really improve or expand on Corpse's sound the way that the following "Tomb of the Mutilated" (their masterpiece) or "The Bleeding" did. That said, "Butchered" is still a required listen, especially for fans of the band. This albums seems to be more a practice in relentless speed and brutal delivery. I know what you're thinking - "all their albums are like that." - but I think "Butchered" is more so because it doesn't have the variation in tempo, chords, and even vocals that the other three Chris Barnes era albums have. "Butchered" has a problem with several songs running into each other and would require several listens to pick them apart. Again, this isn't necessarily a bad thing and those who care will end up knowing them when they hear them. In terms of vocals, Barnes' growl started to become much more gutteral and was a sign of the inhumanly low levels he would achieve on "Tomb". Then "The Bleeding" came out and many fans got want they were wanting - you could actually make out some of the things Barnes was saying and he also developed a new high pitched (for him) monster squeal (something he sort of started on "Tomb", but still different). In terms of the band, they get tighter and faster with each album. The drummer's machine-like speed is on display here, but still not the performance of "Tomb". The same can be said for the guitarists and bassist (who really gets to show some of his capabilities on "Tomb"). So I can recommend "Butchered at Birth", but fans will benefit from it more. If you're to buy one album only then I would say go for "Tomb of the Mutilated" which has the most popular song and for good reason - "Hammer Smashed Face". I haven't really said much about the controversial lyrics and album cover, but that is because I don't think it's that important. If Cannibal Corpse's sound wasn't interesting to me and all they had was outrageous album covers then I wouldn't bother to write this review. I'm not surprised that people are offended by this album cover, but I am surprised that anyone with any sense would blame this or any other band/album cover for the violence in our society. Talk about "growing up". I think whoever thinks that this band or any other has that much power should read a book or something. If you think that out of all the injustices and evils in this world the thing that makes people violent is the music they listen to then you have a lot of learning and experiences to have. Then again, maybe these individuals who hate Cannibal Corpse so much should keep on writing hateful reviews because that's what the band was going for and it only helps record sales - so keep up the good work.

this album is very good. I cant beleive someone would say that this band has no rythym. Well first off why is everyone complaining about the vocals? Chris Barnes has very unique vocals and you must understand its not just grouling. It does take talent to do that!!! Anyone who says this is "sick" or "childish" is very simple minded. The members of cannibal corpse are ovioulsly not trying to tell you to do this stuff or that they would do it themselves. In my opinion this music is just a horror movie, yet it isnt scary its just different. Look, if you want to continue listening to Blink 182 or something then go ahead, but you should really try listening to something a little different. You might actually like it. So before you listen to the other peoples opinions on this site, listen to the cd and try to look at it for what it is, and not for how offensive it may seem.