CARCASS — Heartwork (review)

CARCASS — Heartwork album cover Album · 1993 · Melodic Death Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
5/5 ·
Stooge
It’s so rare to find an album that combines crushing heaviness with such rich melodies without it sounding forced. Carcass achieves the perfect balance on Heartwork.

Heartwork is an endless (well, 42 minutes) stream of riffing. That being said, it is more than simply a riff catalog. They are but part of the recipe in making a melodic death metal album to which all others must be compared. There are no tracks that I would consider as filler. I wouldn’t even say there are standout tracks because it is such a consistent album.

The guitar duo of Bill Steer and Michael Amott really shine on this album. With their excellent soloing on “Carnal Forge”, “Heartwork”, and “Death Certificate”, they prove themselves to be among the top guitar duos in all of metal. Jeff Walker barks just as viciously as on previous albums, except this time you can actually make out what he’s saying without clinging tightly to the lyrics sheet.

It’s a fantastic sounding album, which has as much to do with producer Colin Richardson as it does the band. They created a death metal album that is very accessible, but it doesn’t sacrifice the core sound of Carcass. While they may have some slower songs (“No Love Lost”, “Embodiment”), only perhaps the most stubborn of fans from their Reek of Putrefaction and Symphonies of Sickness days could accuse them of selling out.

Bottom line: Classic!
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