Musical Ramblings: Going classic with Carcass
This week, I'll look at two discs that I've touched upon in this paper before from one of the most well known death metalers of the late 80s/early 90s: Carcass.
Necroticism
Descanting the Insalubrious (1991, Earache)
Be warned: if you want to understand anything on this CD, you'll need a medical dictionary. For this release (and their two previous ones), the lyrics were crafted using a medical dictionary to perfectly describe medical procedures and absurd operations (or so I think). The lyrics aren't really that important in this release…what is important is the delivery of the vocals and the pounding death metal music behind it.
Songs like “Inpropagation,” the classic “Corporal Jigsore Quandary,” and my favourite on the disc, “Carneous Cacoffiny,” showcase why Carcass were so inspirational. The B-tuned crunching guitars that most bands hadn't experimented with, the on and off blast beats of Ken Owen and the unique vocal delivery of bassist, Jeff Walker continue to this day to have a lasting imprint on the evolution of metal.
Heartwork
(1994, Columbia/Earache)
Every single time I listen to this CD, I think to myself, “Is there a bad song on this thing?” I search and search for something to nit pick with this release but can never find a single thing. While Necroticism is rawer in the production area, Heartwork beefs everything up: the lyrics, the vocals, the music, the production and the overall structure of the songs.
The bone crunching first chords of “Buried Dreams” will prepare you for what you're about to be exposed to and lead you slowly to one of the best songs ever written by Carcass: the title track, Heartwork. It's death metal, but this song drives like some of the best rock tunes out there. For those of you who aren't into this kind of music, if you can try and appreciate the vocal delivery, you may actually dig it.
If you have to pick between the two discs as an introduction to Carcass, I suggest that you pick up or sample Heartwork. The band released the CD, Swangsong, afterwards and went in a different direction. More melody and less death metal elements made long time fans scratch their heads, but it was a good CD nonetheless. For more information on Carcass, check out http://carcass.goddamnbastard.org/discog.html or check them out on Wikipedia. Have fun...and remember to pick up that medical dictionary to get the most out of the band!
On an exciting side note, the band has agreed to get back together to play a couple of festivals next summer. We probably have no chance in hell to see them on North American shores, but I hope that they have cameras everywhere they go in order to capture a live Carcass show. In addition, the band and/or Earache Records is/are going to be reissuing all of Carcass' releases. No information has been given about specifics on the extras, timelines or the order of the releases, but I guess if you want to sample Carcass, do so but maybe hold off on buying the discs to see what the re-releases will bring.
Necroticism
Descanting the Insalubrious (1991, Earache)
Be warned: if you want to understand anything on this CD, you'll need a medical dictionary. For this release (and their two previous ones), the lyrics were crafted using a medical dictionary to perfectly describe medical procedures and absurd operations (or so I think). The lyrics aren't really that important in this release…what is important is the delivery of the vocals and the pounding death metal music behind it.
Songs like “Inpropagation,” the classic “Corporal Jigsore Quandary,” and my favourite on the disc, “Carneous Cacoffiny,” showcase why Carcass were so inspirational. The B-tuned crunching guitars that most bands hadn't experimented with, the on and off blast beats of Ken Owen and the unique vocal delivery of bassist, Jeff Walker continue to this day to have a lasting imprint on the evolution of metal.
Heartwork
(1994, Columbia/Earache)
Every single time I listen to this CD, I think to myself, “Is there a bad song on this thing?” I search and search for something to nit pick with this release but can never find a single thing. While Necroticism is rawer in the production area, Heartwork beefs everything up: the lyrics, the vocals, the music, the production and the overall structure of the songs.
The bone crunching first chords of “Buried Dreams” will prepare you for what you're about to be exposed to and lead you slowly to one of the best songs ever written by Carcass: the title track, Heartwork. It's death metal, but this song drives like some of the best rock tunes out there. For those of you who aren't into this kind of music, if you can try and appreciate the vocal delivery, you may actually dig it.
If you have to pick between the two discs as an introduction to Carcass, I suggest that you pick up or sample Heartwork. The band released the CD, Swangsong, afterwards and went in a different direction. More melody and less death metal elements made long time fans scratch their heads, but it was a good CD nonetheless. For more information on Carcass, check out http://carcass.goddamnbastard.org/discog.html or check them out on Wikipedia. Have fun...and remember to pick up that medical dictionary to get the most out of the band!
On an exciting side note, the band has agreed to get back together to play a couple of festivals next summer. We probably have no chance in hell to see them on North American shores, but I hope that they have cameras everywhere they go in order to capture a live Carcass show. In addition, the band and/or Earache Records is/are going to be reissuing all of Carcass' releases. No information has been given about specifics on the extras, timelines or the order of the releases, but I guess if you want to sample Carcass, do so but maybe hold off on buying the discs to see what the re-releases will bring.
