Former Cannibal Corpse guitarist Jack Owen recently opened up about his dissatisfaction with one particular album from his time with the band. He shared his candid thoughts in an interview with Made In Metal.
Owen specifically addressed his feelings about the band’s 1991 release “Butchered At Birth.” He explained the production and creative challenges that make it difficult for him to revisit.
“Yeah. Maybe the Cannibal Corpse album ‘Butchered At Birth’ that came out in 1991,” Owen said. “The production could be a lot better and the writing process was a little more stress filled, I think.”
Owen elaborated on the band’s mindset during the album’s creation and how it affected the final result.
“We were trying to make up for sounding simple on the first album, so we overwrote a little bit,” he continued. “So, yeah, I think that’s the only one that’s hard for me to listen to, to this day… Of the first four [Cannibal Corpse] albums, it’s the one that’s probably number four out of those four — for me, anyway.”
Owen, who is currently with Six Feet Under, discussed the possibility of re-recording the album to address these longstanding concerns.
Owen’s current reflections shed new light on what was already a turbulent period in Cannibal Corpse’s history. This era was marked by internal tensions and creative disagreements that would ultimately reshape the band’s lineup.
Wikipedia documented that the production issues Owen mentions were compounded by significant internal band conflicts during the “Butchered At Birth” era. The recording process became particularly contentious when the band made the controversial decision to have Owen record both guitar parts instead of splitting them with Bob Rusay. This choice contributed to growing fractures within the group.
The tensions during this period extended beyond the studio. Owen found himself caught in the middle of escalating conflicts during the album’s supporting tour. These disagreements were further exacerbated by uncertainties in the band’s financial management under then-vocalist Chris Barnes, leading to the band splitting into opposing camps.
The frustration reached such levels that drummer Paul Mazurkiewicz and bassist Alex Webster channeled their anger into their songwriting. They composed “Hammer Smashed Face” as a way to vent their frustrations with the situation. This creative outlet would ironically become one of the band’s most recognizable tracks.
The recording disputes were so severe that one party involved in the process later recalled the studio atmosphere: “So, we get into the studio and they all say, ‘We want Jack to do both guitars on the album.’ I was like, ‘Fuck that! This is a band.’ When they had Jack do both guitar parts, the whole thing broke. It was the final straw. People need to know I wasn’t able to record my own fuckin’ music.”
