Carcass: Swansong (1996)
Although they’ve since reformed to tour and record one of the very best comeback LPs in extreme metal (2013’s Surgical Steel), it’s now been 25 years since the pioneering Carcass delivered the final chapter of their original, hyper-influential run, via the knowingly-titled Swansong.
A driving force in Britain’s grindcore movement, Carcass had made their name with the unrelenting sonic fury and unbelievably disgusting (but usually taxonomically correct!) lyrics of seminal albums like Reek of Putrefaction (1988) and Symphonies of Sickness (1989).
But they transitioned into deathgrind with 1991’s Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious and death metal proper with ‘93’s Heartwork -- leading to the inevitable debates about “selling out” (and everyone’s different definitions thereof), even though I myself think both LPs were amazing in their own right.
So when Swansong arrived after lengthy delays, packed with increasingly conventional ‘Rot ‘n’ Roll’ arrangements and topped with articulate, even humorous lyrics, some grindcore purists lost their ever-loving minds; others simply decided to “Keep on Rotting in the Free World.”
With axe-men Bill Steer and Carlo Regadas trading scorching leads all the way, the band's technical mastery and newfound melodic sensibility came through like never before, and songs like “Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody,” “Dark Star” and “Room 101” recalled latter-day Coroner, or even early ‘90s Megadeth.
Other memorable numbers like “Child’s Play,” “Generation Hexed” and “Go to Hell” highlighted the quartet's keen sense of dynamics, but songwriting standards dipped on the remaining songs, and there was no denying the fact that Carcass were now just another death metal band, albeit a great one.
Ultimately, Swansong presented such a drastic musical evolution -- or de-evolution, depending, on who you ask -- that all attempts to qualify it in relation to Carcass’ prior achievements inevitablyends in a hopeless quandary.
On the one hand this is the easiest, safest gateway into the band’s oft-challenging discography; on the other, you could argue it’s the least ideal, because it barely hints at the wanton yet controlled savagery of Carcass’ most important, groundbreaking early works.
p.s. -- A few of these words were adapted from my All-Music Guide review of Carcass’ Swansong.
More Carcass: Reek of Putrefaction, Symphonies of Sickness, Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious, Heartwork, Surgical Steel, Torn Arteries.
