We're CANNIBAL CORPSE and that's what we're about - zombies and blood. But the new stuff... out new album... it's gonna be the first death metal concept album... [It's] got some really good songs on there. Two of my favorites are "Innards Decay" and "Rancid Amputation". So the lyrics have definitely progressed into more sickness. We outdid ourselves on a lot of the songs and I think, compared to the last album y'know, they're just so much heavier. The music is twice as fast and three times as heavy.... Some bands think they have to kind of compromise their sound to get more people to listen to 'em but our philosophy is death metal is gonna be popular [or] it's not gonna be popular at all and if people can't accept it then we don't want those people as fans.
Chris Barnes / Cannibal Corpse interview, Curious Goods #5, 1991
CANNIBAL CORPSE released their second album, Butchered at Birth, on this day in 1991 through Metal Blade.
Loosely conceptual, it's like things are tied in between songs. The beginning introduction finishes it off. Backwards it says feed off the carcasses of babies. I put myself in different points of view in different songs. In the introduction it's me telling how it really is. The lp is pretty visual, it's all there. You don't have to ask any questions. That's how I write. I get a title in my head and write a little story.
Chris Barnes / Cannibal Corpse interview, NGF #6, 1992
We had about twice the budget for the 2nd album, I'm not sure for the exact figure. It took two weeks to record the album, we did it with Scott Burns again. I think it turned out much heavier and the guitar sound is better.
Alex Webster / Cannibal Corpse interview, Mettalic Butcher #4, 1992
No endorsements yet, but uh Paul plays a Tama drumset with Paite cymbals, um Bobby uses Marshalls and he's got a Gibson Flying V. Jack's got a fuckin' guitar that came from hell probably, I don't even know what the fuck kind it is, man. He plays on a Crate stack, Alex plays on Peavey with a Fender Precision bass, and I use a Telex microphone and JBL speakers, ha ha.
Chris Barnes / Cannibal Corpse interview, Deathcheese #1, 1991
Let's see... the art is pretty brutally sick - a couple of zombies butcherin' up a mother and hangin' some kids to dry in the background on meathooks. Basically, it represents those two quotes that are inside the cover by Albert Fish and Baron Gilles de Rais - that and the serial killing and mass murders that's been going on for centuries. It's not a new thing and that these two guys on the cover are a couple of the most brutal serial killers, child killers, in history. Just, kinda, resurrected them from the grave and they're just fillin' their stomach.
Chris Barnes / Cannibal Corpse interview, Pit #8, 1992
It's not really banned. They couldn't release it with the cover on the outside so they did, on the albums at least; I haven't seen the cassettes of CD's - they put all the artwork on the inner sleeve, and the outside cover was just the logo on a red background. Y'know it works out good like that I guess 'cuz you get all the artwork on the inside without a logo on it so you get the full effect. It would've been nice to have it on the outside over there, but its still selling pretty good.
Chris Barnes / Cannibal Corpse interview, Pit #8, 1992
It seems like in the US we're gonna do something a little different. We're gonna put out another version that'll be available at all the big record stores that won't carry the brutal artwork on the cover. But there will be something on the inside where the kids can send away for the artwork and the lyrics, and their names will be on this thing to fight censorship automatically, because (the censors) can't keep doing this shit. It's ridiculous.
So the label felt it'd be best just like all over the Europe give it read and put the actual artwork inside, which is so far working but even in the States we're still having problems and we may even change it in the States but so far it's still original artwork and Europe it's like...they feel they don't like the butchery. Haha...
Bob Rusay / Cannibal Corpse interview, Mettalic Butcher #4, 1992
...if you write to us we can probably get you a lyrics sheet. It wasn't included in Europe but it's included in the United States. I guess it's just the record companies figured it was too offensive for them.
Alex Webster / Cannibal Corpse interview, Mettalic Butcher #4, 1992