Musical Ramblings: Classic metal review
Yes, it's been another crazy and frustrating week and that means I've had another week of cranking some old metal in order to soothe my soul. This week, I'll look at two discs 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 hospital procedures and creepy 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 music behind it.
Songs like “Inpropagation,” the classic “Corporal Jigsore Quandary,” and my fave 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.”
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 took a really 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. Have fun…and remember to pick up that medical dictionary to get the most out of the band!
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 hospital procedures and creepy 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 music behind it.
Songs like “Inpropagation,” the classic “Corporal Jigsore Quandary,” and my fave 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.”
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 took a really 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. Have fun…and remember to pick up that medical dictionary to get the most out of the band!
