Tomb of the Mutilated is the third studio album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on September 22, 1992, by Metal Blade Records.
Tomb of the Mutilated | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | September 22, 1992 | |||
Recorded | June 1–15, 1992 at Morrisound Recording, Tampa, Florida | |||
Genre | Death metal | |||
Length | 35:11 | |||
Label | Metal Blade | |||
Producer | Scott Burns | |||
Cannibal Corpse chronology | ||||
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Alternate cover | ||||
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It is the band's final album to feature their original lineup, as founding guitarist Bob Rusay was fired and replaced with Malevolent Creation guitarist Rob Barrett after the album's release.
Background and recording
editThe album was recorded at Morrisound Recording studios in Tampa in Feburary 1992. The material on Tomb of the Mutilated is considered to be faster and more complex than its predecessors.[1] Bassist Alex Webster recalled that the band's increasingly technical approach to songwriting made the album's sessions the most challenging they had endured at that point, saying:
I think when you listen to the album, and compare it with the first two, you can hear the progression. The songs on "Tomb..." were the fastest and most technical we had done at that time [...] but it was this technical push and the challenging music it created that made "Tomb" a fan favorite.[2]
Tomb was also the band's first album in which they had the budget to work longer hours in the studio with producer Scott Burns. Webster commented further, "Many fans have told me that "Tomb..." is their favorite album because the production is so heavy. There is no doubt that Scott helped Cannibal Corpse a great deal with the excellent production work he did on this album."[3]
Vocalist Chris Barnes single-handedly penned all of the album's lyrics, with Webster recalling that the band "placed no limits" on him throughout the process.
"He’d come to us with the most vile, repugnant stuff and we’d be like, ‘Sure! Why not?’ We were trying to make the most extreme and aggressive music we could, so why not have the most antagonistic lyrics too?"[4]
Because the liner notes on Butchered at Birth feature quotations from American serial killer Albert Fish, he is often incorrectly credited with being the voice at the beginning of "Addicted to Vaginal Skin". However, the taped confession heard at the beginning of the song most likely belongs to the "Genesee River Killer" Arthur Shawcross.[5]
Reception and legacy
editReview scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | link |
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 8/10[6] |
Rock Hard | 8.5/10[7] |
Tomb of the Mutilated has received positive reviews from critics, both contemporarily and retrospectively. Heavy metal webzine Kicked in the Face praised the album's musicianship but criticized the tone of Barnes' vocals and Scott Burns' production.[8] Metal Storm praised the album's songwriting, production and progression over its predecessor, but criticized the one-dimensional nature of the album's lyrics.[9]
In a retrospective review of the album, Vincent Jefferies of Allmusic wrote:
"Listeners unfamiliar with the belching vocal style and pummeling drum and guitar attack typical of death metal probably won't understand what separates this or any other record that adheres so stringently to the genre's formula, but learned fans have come to appreciate Tomb of the Mutilated as a solid, if not important, offering [...] Cannibal Corpse somehow managed to outlast many of their more critically accepted contemporaries due in no small part to early career efforts like Tomb of the Mutilated, with its powerful musical focus."[10]
Dom Lawson of Metal Hammer wrote that the album is "bulging with moments of stomach-churning horror, ranging from the cross-your-legs revulsion of I Cum Blood through to the provocatively over-the-top Entrails Ripped From A Virgin’s Cunt.[11]
Following the release of the album, the opening track "Hammer Smashed Face" quickly became the band's signature song. In 2005, Tomb of the Mutilated was ranked number 278 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[12]
In popular culture
edit"Hammer Smashed Face" was featured during the band's cameo appearance in the 1994 comedy film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective starring Jim Carrey.[13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Paul Mazurkiewicz has stated that the band is frequently told by fans that they were introduced to the band and (death metal in general) through the film, adding "if you worked out an average, it would probably be one person a day".[19]
Jim Carrey was a fan of the band and requested they appear in the film. Mazurkiewicz recalls:
They took us over to the [actors’] trailers, and Jim comes over to us wearing his Ace Ventura garb, going, “Oh my god! Cannibal Corpse! It’s so great to have you guys here!” Then he starts rattling off lyrics and tells us he wants us to play “Hammer Smashed Face.” It was insane.[20]
After the band had shot scenes for Ace Ventura, they were offered another cameo in the film Airheads, though this offer was revoked when the producer learned the band had already done a cameo for Ace Ventura.[17] The song was also added as downloadable content for the Rock Band video game series.[21][22] The song "I Cum Blood" is also featured in the video game Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.[23]
Track listing
editAll lyrics written by Chris Barnes. All music written by Cannibal Corpse.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Hammer Smashed Face" | 4:02 |
2. | "I Cum Blood" | 3:40 |
3. | "Addicted to Vaginal Skin" | 3:29 |
4. | "Split Wide Open" | 3:01 |
5. | "Necropedophile" | 4:05 |
6. | "The Cryptic Stench" | 3:57 |
7. | "Entrails Ripped from a Virgin's Cunt" | 4:14 |
8. | "Post Mortal Ejaculation" | 3:35 |
9. | "Beyond the Cemetery" | 4:52 |
Total length: | 35:11 |
No. | Title | Length |
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10. | "I Cum Blood (live)" | 4:13 |
Total length: | 39:24 |
Personnel
edit- Cannibal Corpse
- Chris Barnes – vocals
- Bob Rusay – lead guitar
- Jack Owen – rhythm guitar
- Alex Webster – bass
- Paul Mazurkiewicz – drums
Additional musicians
- Pat O'Brien – lead guitar on live bonus track
- George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher – vocals on live bonus track
- Production
- Produced, engineered and mixed by Scott Burns
References
edit- ^ "Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated review".
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20210729153225/https://tombofthemutilated.net/Alex-Webster-Tomb-Of-The-Mutilated.html [bare URL]
- ^ "Alex Webster on "Tomb Of The Mutilated"". web.archive.org. July 29, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "Blood, guts and Jim Carrey: How Cannibal Corpse became death metal's first million selling band". March 13, 2024.
- ^ Cannibal Corpse FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2007). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 3: The Nineties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-894959-62-9.
- ^ Albrecht, Frank. "Rock Hard review". Rock Hard. Retrieved June 1, 2013.
- ^ Cannibal Corpse – Tomb Of The Mutilated review Archived November 1, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated review".
- ^ "Tomb of the Mutilated - Cannibal Corpse | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic.
- ^ "Blood, guts and Jim Carrey: How Cannibal Corpse became death metal's first million selling band". March 13, 2024.
- ^ Best of Rock & Metal - Die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten (in German). Rock Hard. 2005. p. 103. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
- ^ "Blood, guts and Jim Carrey: How Cannibal Corpse became death metal's first million selling band". March 13, 2024.
- ^ Cannibal Corpse Fanbase (March 6, 2023). How Cannibal Corpse Filmed in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Retrieved September 6, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Ramptonpublished, Mike (July 26, 2021). "A deep dive into Cannibal Corpse's appearance in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective". louder. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ West, Thomas (January 21, 2023). "Ace Ventura's Death Metal Cameo Is Actually A Sweet Story". ScreenRant. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Pasbani, Robert (February 11, 2015). "CANNIBAL CORPSE Almost Turned Down Working with Jim Carrey on Ace Ventura". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ Pasbani, Robert (October 12, 2017). "Never Before Seen Photos of CANNIBAL CORPSE On Set on Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Surface". Metal Injection. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ a b Bennett, J. (February 10, 2015). "We Interviewed Cannibal Corpse About That One Time They Were in 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'". VICE. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ https://metalinjection.net/at-the-movies/cannibal-corpse-almost-turned-down-working-with-jim-carrey-on-ace-ventura
- ^ "Buy "Hammer Smashed Face" - Cannibal Corpse | Xbox". www.xbox.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "'Hammer Smashed Face' - Cannibal Corpse". store.playstation.com. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
- ^ "GRAND THEFT AUTO IV - The Lost and Damned - Music: Soundtrack, Radio, Songs". www.gta4.net. Retrieved September 6, 2024.