Tomb of the Mutilated by Cannibal Corpse

Tomb of the Mutilated, Cannibal Corpse's third album, came out on Metal Blade on September 22, 1992, recorded at Morrisound Recording in Tampa with Scott Burns producing. It was the last record by the Buffalo band's original lineup of Chris Barnes, Jack Owen, Bob Rusay, Alex Webster and Paul Mazurkiewicz, and even that is a stretch: the band has said Burns kept Rusay off the rhythm tracks and Owen redid some of his leads. Rusay was fired after the release and Rob Barrett stepped in.

The songs are tighter and more controlled than before, with riffs that circle back like hooks, and the mix shoves Webster's bass right up front. Barnes gurgles from somewhere under the floorboards, the lyrics go about as gruesome as the genre gets, and Vince Locke's cover was graphic enough that a censored version exists. "Hammer Smashed Face" became the band's signature set-closer, even landing in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective with a band cameo, and the album is now held up as a death metal landmark.

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