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Obviously, 1991 brought about the grunge revolution. But it was also known as the year death metal came of age.Late in 1991, perhaps during Winter Break, several of my friends came over to my house. They'd listen to music; watch (rented) VHS tapes; wrestle with each other; do the marathon video game sessions; raid the fridge; play with my mid-80s G.I. Joe, Transformers, and Robotech toys; order take-out; pee and bleed all over the toilet; and crash wherever there was available space.
We were baking frozen pizza, when Melissa blurted out, "I can't believe we sat through the whole thing."
She was referring to Cannibal Corpse's now-classic 1991 album, Butchered At Birth. With that album, you kind of expected the worst. But my friends discussed why Butchered At Birth was relatively easy to get into. First of all, the guitars were down-tuned, and the band kept the screechy solos to a minimum. Then, Producer Scott Burns made the drums somewhat back in the stage, with enough compression, so that they have rounder transients. The drum sound was more of a blunt tap, than an explosive POP or BANG. Lead singer Chris Barnes had that lower-pitched, sludgy, "monster growl," not the banshee screaming the bigoted audiophiles assumed would be the case. Butchered At Birth was mercifully short, clocking in at some 36:34. Finally, my friends agreed that this wasn't meant to be taken seriously, or be "critically acclaimed." Indeed, Cannibal Corpse themselves said that it was supposed to be the musical equivalent of a slasher film.
Across the street at Japantown Bowl, many of the teams perused Cannibal Corpse's song titles, and fought over which to use/adopt as a team name.
I don't recall the date, but several of my friends and I saw Cannibal Corpse headline at Oakland's The Omni. With the lights still low, the band walked on stage. Before Cannibal Corpse could break into song, the crowd went wild. Perhaps taken aback by the crowd's enthusiasm, Chris Barnes laughed in his regular speaking voice. He gathered himself, cleared his throat, and then in his Cookie Monster voice, growled, "Too many sick peopllllllllllllllle!"
When I'd go back to Santa Cruz (I was a junior at UCSC), there was a tiny record store at the end of the Pacific Avenue mall, not far from the Metro Center. I'd see teenagers ask for Butchered At Birth on vinyl LP. The owner asked, "For the sound?"
The kids shrugged.
The owner ventured a guess, "For the artwork?"
The kids offered a mild yes.
One kid spoke up, and said that he needed the LP, for the larger print, so he could "read the lyrics!"
-Lummy The Loch Monster
Edits: 09/29/16Follow Ups:
Thanks! for sharing- Lummy.
I have always hated the fact that Metal, as a whole, is broken down into sub-genres.
very cool story. Closest band I saw live was Incantation.
Very nice- bullethead
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