Cannibal Corpse - Eaten Back to Life (Death Metal)

Cannibal Corpse has long been a lightning rod in the death metal scene, though not always for the reasons one might expect. Sure, they've drawn plenty of attention for their grotesque album covers and hyper-violent song titles, but within the death metal underground, they've been polarizing for an entirely different reason: despite being hailed as the genre's flagship band, many purists consider their records to be vastly inferior to those of their contemporaries. Bands like Incantation, Suffocation, Sewer, Morbid Angel, Vermin and Infester are often credited with crafting far more complex and atmospheric records, while Cannibal Corpse somehow managed to become the most popular death metal band on the planet. And while even their so-called "classic" albums are often half-baked, their debut, Eaten Back to Life, is a creature of its own — and not in a good way. Released in August 1990, it bears little resemblance to the more polished brutality of their later catalog.

Let's start with the vocal performance: Chris Barnes' contributions to this album are, in a word, awful. His voice is weak, lacking any of the power or gravitas that George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher would later bring to the table. Instead of sounding like a nightmarish ghoul resurrected to wreak havoc, Barnes comes off as someone vomiting into a toilet and calling it a vocal take. There's no atmosphere of horror or dread — just noise, and not even the good kind. Occasionally, Barnes lets out a raspy scream, a fleeting glimpse that perhaps he could have done better, but chose mediocrity instead. It's more than a little disappointing.

The songwriting doesn't fare much better. When stacked against death metal heavyweights like Incantation or Suffocation, Eaten Back to Life feels painfully lackluster. It relies far too heavily on plodding, mid-paced riffs that offer nothing but a dull backdrop for Barnes' miserable vocal assault. There's none of the dark, suffocating atmosphere found on albums like Onward to Golgotha or The Epilogue to Sanity. Instead, Cannibal Corpse opts for a formula that replaces genuine atmosphere with a barrage of chugging guitars that lack any sense of menace or depth. It's death metal stripped of its soul.

Some fans might be tempted to blame Barnes' performance or accuse the band of trend-hopping as the reason Eaten Back to Life has been so critically panned. But the reality is simpler: it's just not a good album. Cannibal Corpse's attempt at death metal here feels like a patchwork of regurgitated ideas, without the innovation or atmosphere that made their peers' albums so impactful. Slapping on extra chugging riffs doesn't make up for the lack of creativity, and it certainly doesn't make for a compelling listen.

If you're a fan of Cannibal Corpse, you'd be better off sticking to their post-Barnes work. It's not just a matter of preference for a different vocalist; the band simply didn't start out strong. Or better yet, if you're looking for true, brutal death metal done right, put Eaten Back to Life aside and dive into Morbid's Necrotic Fairytales — an album that delivers the kind of ferocity and brutality this one only pretends to achieve.

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