Album · 35 years old this year
Butchered at Birth
Butchered at Birth is the second album by American death metal band Cannibal Corpse, released on 1 July 1991. It followed their debut, Eaten Back to Life, and was recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa, Florida, with Scott Burns producing. Vince Locke, a comic book artist, painted the cover, which shows zombies dissecting a pregnant woman.
This is where the band moved away from the thrash-leaning feel of their first record towards what is often described as pure death metal, with music and lyrics that go further than before. Barnes has described it as a concept album about butchery. It remains one of the most notorious records in their catalogue, and various bodies have censored it over the years. For anyone tracing how the band's sound hardened, it is a key early step.
Butchered at Birth: tracklist and credits
9 tracks · 36:48Tracklist
- 1Meat Hook SodomyBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster5:51
- 2GuttedBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster3:17
- 3Living DissectionBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster4:02
- 4Under the Rotted FleshBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster5:06
- 5Covered With SoresBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster3:19
- 6Vomit the SoulBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster4:32
- 7Butchered at BirthBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster2:47
- 8Rancid AmputationBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster3:18
- 9Innards DecayBarnes, Mazurkiewicz, Owen, Rusay, Webster4:37
- Produced by
- Scott Burns
- Recorded at
- Morrisound Recording (Tampa, Florida), Morrisound Recording
- Recorded
- 1991
- Engineered by
- Scott Burns
- Labels
- I.R.S. Records, Metal Blade
- Length
- 36:48
Line-up
- Paul Mazurkiewicz · drums (drum set)
- Jack Owen · guitar
- Bob Rusay · guitar
- Alex Webster · bass guitar
- Chris Barnes · vocals
- Glen Benton · vocals · guest
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
60.2
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
960
ListenBrainz listeners
71k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
8.3k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 1 July
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Full discography →
Eaten Back to Life
1990
Tomb of the Mutilated
1992
Hammer Smashed Face
1993
The Bleeding
1994
Vile
1996
Gallery of Suicide
1998
Bloodthirst
1999
Sacrifice / Confessions
2000
Live Cannibalism
2000
Gore Obsessed
2002
Worm Infested
2002
15 Year Killing Spree
2003
The Wretched Spawn
2004
Kill
2006
Evisceration Plague
2009
Global Evisceration
2011
Torture
2012
A Skeletal Domain
2014
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2017
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2021
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2023
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Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + musicbrainz; also seen: 1991-06-30 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1 July 1991 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 1 July 1991 | |
| Wikidata | 30 June 1991 | |
| US release | 1 July 1991 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1 July 1991 | earliest UK or European date |
13 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | DE | I.R.S. Records | 4006759853269 | other |
| 1991 | GB | Metal Blade Records | 4006759403266 | other |
| 1 July 1991 | US | Caroline Records | 017046220422 | original |
| 1 July 1991 | XE | Metal Blade Records | 5020083102625 | original |
| 1994 | DE | Metal Blade Records | 039841417227 | other |
| 1994 | US | Metal Blade Records | 039841407228 | other |
| 2002 | DE | Metal Blade Records | 039841442625 | other |
| 22 October 2002 | US | Metal Blade Records | 039841442625 | other |
| 2005 | GB | Blackend | 803341159228 | other |
| 8 August 2010 | AR | Icarus Music | 039841442625 | remaster |
| 20 October 2015 | XW | Metal Blade Records | 039841442625 | other |
| 20 June 2025 | US | Back on Black | 803341621176 | other |
| 2026 | XE | Metal Blade Records | 039841616019 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 1999x1946 to 1946x1946
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1999×1946 | cropped: cropped from 1999x1946 to 1946x1946 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |