Prior to Tomb of the Mutilated I hadn't really paid much attention to Cannibal Corpse, but then I heard their-at-that-time soon to become a hit "Hammer Smashed Face" in the radio and I was sold. This track also earned them a part in the Hollywood movie Ace Ventura - Pet Detective. After hearing the song in the radio it didn't take me very long to buy both Tomb of the Mutilated and the predecessor Butchered at Birth.

Somehow I've always found Tomb of the Mutilated to be more accessible than Butchered at Birth. I also think that it's an even more brutal effort than both Butchered at Birth and Eaten Back to Life. Tomb of the Mutilated wasn't exactly anything groundbreaking back then, but it certainly was the effort that cemented Cannibal Corpse's position as one of the most brutal outfits around. Many bands have been inspired the gory sickness and disturbing display of brutality on that effort. No doubt that Cannibal Corpse and definitely also Suffocation has been important inspirations in what later has been known as brutal US death metal.

To me Cannibal Corpse also reached their absolute high on Tomb of the Mutilated. Many will probably disagree, but I really don't think the band has been able to capture the same nerve and feel since. In many ways Tomb of the Mutilated is the perfect Cannibal Corpse album with its gut-churning guitars, its chunky bass, its deep guttural growls and its sick drumming. The effort was of course recorded in Morrisound Recording and produced by the at-that-time all present Scott Burns. The result was a clear, but heavy and chunky sound that would be an inspiration to others.

As with previous Cannibal Corpse albums the artwork on Tomb of the Mutilated naturally got censured in certain countries around the world including Germany - a very lame move in my opinion, but the cool thing about it is that it only made people more curious and that way it probably has benefited the band more than it has hurt them. To me Tomb of the Mutilated perfectly sums up the very essence of the Cannibal Corpse sound and therefore it also stand as my preferred record by the Americans.