{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} {{Infobox album | name = Eaten Back to Life | type = studio | artist = [[Cannibal Corpse]] | cover = Eatenbacktolife.jpg | alt = a zombie in a graveyard gruesomely tears off his flesh with his teeth as his organs explode outwards | released = August 17, 1990 | recorded = May 1990 | studio = [[Morrisound Recording|Morrisound]] (Tampa, Florida) | genre = {{flatlist| * [[Death metal]] * [[thrash metal]]<ref>https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/</ref> }} | length = 36:21 | label = * [[Metal Blade]] * Space Shower Music (JPN) | producer = [[Scott Burns (producer)|Scott Burns]] | prev_title = Cannibal Corpse (demo) | prev_year = 1989 | next_title = [[Butchered at Birth]] | next_year = 1991 }}
{{Music ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1score = {{rating|2.5|5}}<ref>Matthew, Leslie. [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=eaten-back-to-life-mw0000309728|pure_url=yes}} "Eaten Back to Life – Cannibal Corpse"]. ''[[AllMusic]]''. Retrieved June 7, 2013.</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Martin Popoff|Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal]]'' | rev2score = 5/10<ref>{{cite book |last1=Popoff |first1=Martin |author-link1=Martin Popoff |title=The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties |publisher=[[Collector's Guide Publishing]] |year=2007 |location=[[Burlington, Ontario]], [[Canada]] |isbn=978-1-894959-62-9 |page=70}}</ref> }}
'''''Eaten Back to Life''''' is the debut studio album by American [[death metal]] band [[Cannibal Corpse]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metalstorm.net/pub/review.php?review_id=793 |title=Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life 1990 |work=[[Metal Storm (webzine)|Metal Storm]] |date=December 20, 2004 |access-date=August 5, 2010}}</ref> It was released on August 17, 1990, through [[Metal Blade Records]].
The album was recorded at [[Morrisound Recording]] in [[Tampa, Florida]] and was produced by [[Scott Burns (music producer)|Scott Burns]]. The album contains five [[re-recorded]] songs that were previously released on their 1989 demo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon|date=2023-08-17 |title=33 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Release 'Eaten Back to Life' |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref> The album's cover artwork was created by comic book artist [[Vince Locke]], and depicts a zombie mutilating and cannibalizing itself.
Unlike the band's later albums, ''Eaten Back to Life'' features a sound that is rooted in [[thrash metal]], drawing influence from bands such as [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], [[Sepultura]] and [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]]. Despite its primitive sound, it is now considered to be an essential release in the development of the death metal genre. The album's penultimate track "A Skull Full of Maggots" is a fan favorite, and remains a staple in the band's live set. Additionally, in recent years the album has appeared in [[popular culture]].
==Background and recording== Cannibal Corpse formed in [[Buffalo, New York]] in 1988. With their debut, the band sought to further develop the extreme lyrics and imagery of other early death metal bands such as [[Carcass (band)|Carcass]] and [[Death (metal band)|Death]].<ref name="loudwire.com">{{cite web |date=August 17, 2023 |title=33 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Release 'Eaten Back to Life' |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/ |website=[[Loudwire]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Falina |first=Melanie |date=February 2004 |title=Cannibal Corpse Just Wants to Sing About Ripping Apart Human Flesh in Peace |url=http://www.chicagoinnerview.com/archives/feb04_cannibal_corpse.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311003400/http://www.chicagoinnerview.com/archives/feb04_cannibal_corpse.htm |archive-date=March 11, 2009 |access-date=June 7, 2013 |work=Chicago Innerview |publisher=Innerview Media, Inc}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=November 2014 |title=Cannibal Corpse songs banned in Russia |url=https://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20141128/272676781.html |access-date=March 14, 2023 |publisher=RAPSI}}</ref> According to bassist [[Alex Webster]]: "We saw that a lot of [[Florida death metal|bands in Florida]] seemed to have more of a darker, [[Antireligion|anti-religion]] thing going on [such as with [[Morbid Angel]] and [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]]], so we decided to do the [[Graphic violence|gore thing]] with the art and lyrics."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon |title=Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/florida-death-metals-gory-rise-groundbreaking-reign-definitive-oral-history/ |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Revolver |language=en-US}}</ref> Founding guitarist [[Jack Owen]] half-joked that the album's song titles were conceived before the band had written any music.<ref name="allmusic.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/eaten-back-to-life-mw0000309728 | title=Eaten Back to Life - Cannibal Corpse | Album | AllMusic | website=[[AllMusic]] }}</ref> The band would record instrumental demo tapes that vocalist [[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]] would then take home and write lyrics to.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://disposableunderground.com/cannibal-corpse-interview-with-chris-barnes-from-the-vault/ | title=Go back in time with Chris Barnes to the "Eaten Back to Life" album | date=October 28, 2020 }}</ref> Founding guitarist Bob Rusay composed the guitar riffs to "A Skull Full of Maggots."<ref>Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years</ref> Drummer [[Paul Mazurkiewicz]] recalled: "It was just friends getting together playing music that we loved. [...] That's as simple as it was and that's how it starts: you're not thinking of anything in the future, you're just thinking, 'Let's get together, make some cool music that we enjoy.' When Cannibal formed we were definitely looking to take it to the next level, but we were still just playing music we liked."<ref name="Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim!">{{Cite web |title=Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/cannibal_corpse-staring_through_eyes_of_banned |access-date=2025-01-23 |website=Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim! |language=en}}</ref>
The album was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, where many other influential early death metal releases were produced. Webster specifically cited the band's appreciation of albums like ''[[Altars of Madness]]'' by [[Morbid Angel]] and ''[[Leprosy (album)|Leprosy]]'' by [[Death (metal band)|Death]] as having inspired the choice of studio. They were able to make friends and connections within the burgeoning [[Florida death metal|Tampa death metal scene]] and would ultimately relocate there.<ref name="Loudwire">{{cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon |date=August 2022 |title=32 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Pile on the Gore With 'Eaten Back to Life' |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/ |access-date=March 14, 2023 |publisher=Loudwire}}</ref> Webster and Mazurkiewicz 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.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dick |first1=Chris |title=Precious Metal: Decibel Presents the Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=152}}</ref>
[[Glen Benton]] of [[Deicide (band)|Deicide]] performs guest vocals on the tracks "Mangled" and "A Skull Full of Maggots."<ref name="Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim!" />
==Music and lyrics== Referred to as "death metal [[For Dummies|for dummies]]" and a "Neanderthal version of death metal," the sound on ''Eaten Back to Life'' has been described as "the soundtrack to a serial killer's [[wikt:abhorrent|abhorrent]] lair," and employs many – if not all – of the [[Death metal#Characteristics|genre's trademark characteristics]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Citation |title=Eaten Back to Life - Cannibal Corpse {{!}} Album {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/eaten-back-to-life-mw0000309728 |access-date=2025-01-02 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tepedelen |first=Adem |title=10 Essential Gore-Metal Albums |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-essential-gore-metal-albums/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Revolver |language=en-US}}</ref>
According to Greg Pratt of [[Exclaim!|''Exclaim'']], "''Eaten'' showcases an early stage of the band, not quite as extreme as they would become, incorporating more heavy [[Thrash metal|thrash]] elements into their sound as opposed to the straight-up no-nonsense death metal the band would adopt on their next album and continue to run with for the rest of their career."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/music/article/cannibal_corpse-staring_through_eyes_of_banned |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim! |language=en}}</ref> The album employs [[death growl|growling vocals]], "grinding" [[guitar riffs]], [[chromatic]] melodies, [[tempo changes]] and [[blast beat]]s.<ref name="allmusic.com" /><ref name="loudwire.com" /> According to music journalist T Coles, "with the [[wikt:sonic|sonic]] standard now set, the band leant much further into the heavy [[double bass drumming|double bass]] and [[palm muting]] that would define the genre."<ref name=":0" />
The drumming has been characterized as sounding like "the relentless pound of meat hammers in the [[abattoir]]." Guitarist [[Jack Owen]] cited the works of [[Exodus (band)|Exodus]], early [[Sepultura]], [[Celtic Frost]], [[Napalm Death]] and [[Dark Angel (band)|Dark Angel]] as influences present on the album. He said, "we were into [[Thrash metal|thrash]] and triplet playing on the guitar". [[Chris Barnes (musician)|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."<ref>{{cite web |date=March 27, 2024 |title=RichardMetalFan Interviews! Ep. 240: Jack Owen of Six Feet Under |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuky7k6Ajmg |website=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Coles |first1=T |title=Death Metal |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |pages=56}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite web |date=March 13, 2024 |title=Blood, guts and Jim Carrey: How Cannibal Corpse became death metal's first million selling band |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/cannibal-corpse-death-metal-history-interview-2012}}</ref> Topics explored on the album include [[Maggot|maggots]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=DiVita |first=Joe DiVitaJoe |date=2015-09-28 |title=10 Best Cannibal Corpse Songs |url=https://loudwire.com/10-best-cannibal-corpse-songs/ |access-date=2026-02-06 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref>
== Artwork == The album cover, which depicts a zombie [[Mutilation|mutilating]] and [[Human cannibalism|cannibalizing]] itself, was created by horror comic book artist [[Vince Locke]], who the band would continue to collaborate with in the future.<ref name="Loudwire" /><ref name="Cannibal Corpse │ Exclaim!" /> Monsieur De Suede Pompeux of ''[[Metal Hammer]]'' wrote: "Eaten back to life. It’s a statement that resonates, reverberates and renovates. Is it possible to eat yourself back to life? That’s the question that the artist poses here – coming from the brink of death (or possibly even death itself), the subject has enabled himself to continue living by eating his own intestines, and as I’m sure you can agree, that makes complete sense in every possible way."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pompeuxpublished |first=Monsieur De Suede |date=2015-03-20 |title=Analysing some more of metal's goriest album covers |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/analysing-some-more-of-metal-s-goriest-album-covers |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=Louder |language=en}}</ref> A statement can be found in the album's liner notes, dedicating it to the memory of [[Alferd Packer]].<ref name="Loudwire" />
In the ''[[Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years|Centuries of Torment]]'' documentary, Locke joked that "Chris Barnes hunted [him] down" to collaborate.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPot3rP53o&t=3153s |title=Cannibal Corpse - Centuries of Torment - DVD 1 - History (OFFICIAL) |date=2013-11-20 |last=Metal Blade Records |access-date=2025-01-23 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
==Reception and legacy == ''Eaten Back to Life'' is now considered by many to be an essential album in the death metal genre. John Weiderhorn of ''[[Loudwire]]'' called the album "a raw and powerful collection of tunes that [has stood] the test of time."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon|date=2023-08-17 |title=33 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Release 'Eaten Back to Life' |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral |access-date=2025-01-10 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref> Adem Tepedelen of ''[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]'' wrote in 2006: "Cannibal Corpse became a gore-metal franchise with the release of their now-mandatory, splatter-flick-inspired debut."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tepedelen |first=Adem |title=10 Essential Gore-Metal Albums |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/10-essential-gore-metal-albums/ |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=Revolver |language=en-US}}</ref>
In 2020, Chris Krovatin of ''[[Kerrang!]]'' wrote: "As far as death metal debuts go, ''Eaten'' is an incredible record, full of wily guitars and Chris Barnes' patented hoarse growl, and for fans of that classic Scott Burns sound, this record can’t be beat. But in the long line-up of Cannibal Corpse’s discography, Eaten is more about how much promise you can hear on it than it is about death metal mastery."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-09-22 |title=Cannibal Corpse: Every Album Ranked From Worst To Best |url=https://www.kerrang.com/every-cannibal-corpse-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=Kerrang! |language=en}}</ref>
In 2023, Jon Weiderhorn of ''[[Loudwire]]'' wrote: "At the time of its release, ''Eaten Back to Life'' was one of the sickest, most demented death metal albums ever released. Of course, over the next five years Cannibal Corpse would release even faster, more disturbing songs and accompanying art work that would land them in the crosshairs of conservative, God-fearing Americans, politicians looking to gain points with scared parents and anyone unsettled by genuinely sick s--t. While it wasn’t the goal, the controversy helped Cannibal Corse sell more records and increase their following. Still, despite their influence Cannibal Corpse were too brutal to cross over into the mainstream." Weiderhorn also stated the belief that the album was "the perfect gateway to the underground" due to its thrash metal sound.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-17 |title=35 Years Ago: Cannibal Corpse Release ‘Eaten Back to Life’ |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-eaten-back-to-life-album-anniversary/ |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref>
In 2024, Joe DiVita of ''Loudwire'' wrote: "One of the most enthralling things about the death metal’s pioneers and their debut records is hearing the genre itself being molded, wrought from thrash as each band put their stamp on what this new thing was becoming. ''Eaten Back to Life'' helped change extreme music forever. Chris Barnes vividly graphic, brutal lyrics were and still are deranged, establishing a lyrical blueprint other acts have spent decades imitating."<ref>{{Cite web |last=DiVita |first=Joe DiVitaJoe |date=2024-03-19 |title=Cannibal Corpse Albums Ranked From Worst to Best |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-albums-ranked/ |access-date=2025-09-06 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref>
Some reviews were less positive. Leslie Mathew of [[AllMusic]] gave the album an underwhelming retrospective review, criticizing the album's perceived lack of variety and "interesting [[Heavy metal guitar|guitar work]]".<ref name="allmusic.com" />
=== Kourtney Kardashian controversy === In 2021, Barnes called [[Kourtney Kardashian]] a "[[Poseur|poser]]" after a photograph of her wearing a Cannibal Corpse shirt while out with then-fiancee and [[blink-182]] drummer [[Travis Barker]] made headlines.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-03 |title=Kourtney Kardashian Wears Cannibal Corpse T-Shirt Out With Travis Barker |url=https://loudwire.com/kourtney-kardashian-cannibal-corpse-t-shirt-travis-barker/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-09-05 |title=Ex-Cannibal Corpse Vocalist Slams 'Poser' Kourtney Kardashian |url=https://loudwire.com/cannibal-corpse-poser-kourtney-kardashian/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref> The shirt was a long-sleeved ''Eaten Back to Life Shirt'', which had the band's original logo. The shirt was later revealed to have belonged to Barker himself. Barker responded to Barnes' comments, saying: "To speak on that, that's the lamest shit ever. Obviously my fiancée doesn't listen to Cannibal Corpse, but I do. I grew up loving them. For [someone] to mention that in a negative light — fucking lame, you know? She's wearing it because she's cold. She's not claiming she knows every song. But I do! I bought every album, and I learned how to play every album."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-17 |title=Travis Barker Weighs in on Kourtney Kardashian's Cannibal Corpse T-Shirt Controversy |url=https://loudwire.com/travis-barkers-weighs-in-kourtney-kardashian-cannibal-corpse-shirt-controversy/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref>
Alex Webster was quoted as follows regarding the controversy: "I remember I’d see these classic shirts. You’ll see a [[Motörhead|Motorhead]] shirt or [[Ramones]] shirt or [[Slayer]] logo shirt, [[Iron Maiden]] shirt, [[AC/DC]] shirt… Those kinds of things you’ll see in pop culture, not just in the music scene. [...] For us to start dipping into that a little bit... That was something I always kind of hoped would happen. I think anyone in a band [would want to] have that kind of growth in your career. To be able to really just be no one universally, in a way. It’s something you can kind of hope for, but you can’t really plan on it happening. So I think just by us having been around for a long time, it’s sort of gotten there over the years. Every now and then, there’ll be this weird pop culture kind of reference to us that you wouldn’t expect. And it can be it can be with merch or something like that. And to be fair, we’ve just been lucky in that way."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-10-05 |title=What Does Alex Webster Think of That Time a Kardashian Wore a Cannibal Corpse Shirt? |url=https://loudwire.com/alex-webster-weighs-in-kourtney-kardashian-cannibal-corpse-shirt/ |access-date=2025-09-05 |website=Loudwire |language=en}}</ref>
==Track listing== All lyrics written by [[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]], except where noted. All music written by Cannibal Corpse. {{Track listing | total_length = 36:21 | title1 = Shredded Humans | lyrics1 = {{flatlist| * Barnes * [[Jack Owen]] }} | length1 = 5:11 | title2 = Edible Autopsy | lyrics2 = | length2 = 4:32 | title3 = Put Them to Death | lyrics3 = | length3 = 1:50 | title4 = Mangled | lyrics4 = {{flatlist| * Barnes * [[Paul Mazurkiewicz]] }} | length4 = 4:29 | title5 = Scattered Remains, Splattered Brains | lyrics5 = {{flatlist| * Barnes * Owen }} | length5 = 2:34 | title6 = Born in a Casket | lyrics6 = | length6 = 3:20 | title7 = Rotting Head | lyrics7 = {{flatlist| * Barnes * Owen }} | length7 = 2:26 | title8 = The Undead Will Feast | lyrics8 = {{flatlist| * Barnes * Owen * [[Alex Webster]] }} | length8 = 2:49 | title9 = Bloody Chunks | length9 = 1:53 | lyrics9 = | title10 = A Skull Full of Maggots | length10 = 2:06 | lyrics10 = | title11 = Buried in the Backyard | length11 = 5:11 | lyrics11 = }}
{{track listing | headline = Bonus track | title12 = Born in a Casket | note12 = live | lyrics12 = | length12 = 3:34 }}
==Personnel== '''Cannibal Corpse''' *[[Chris Barnes (musician)|Chris Barnes]] – vocals *Bob Rusay – guitars *[[Jack Owen]] – guitars *[[Alex Webster]] – bass *[[Paul Mazurkiewicz]] – drums
; Additional musicians *[[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 (guitarist)|Pat O'Brien]] – lead guitar on live bonus track *[[George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher]] – vocals on live bonus track
; Technical personnel * [[Scott Burns (music producer)|Scott Burns]] – production, engineering * [[Vincent Locke]] – cover art, Eaten Back to Life logo * Chris Barnes – Cannibal Corpse logo * Mike Mulley – photo * Brian Ames – graphic design
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Cannibal Corpse}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaten Back To Life}} [[Category:1990 debut albums]] [[Category:Cannibal Corpse albums]] [[Category:Metal Blade Records albums]] [[Category:Albums produced by Scott Burns (record producer)]] [[Category:Albums recorded at Morrisound Recording]] [[Category:Obscenity controversies in music]] [[Category:Works about Alferd Packer]]
[[hu:Tomb of the Mutilated]]