CARCASS — Swansong (review)

CARCASS — Swansong album cover Album · 1996 · Death 'n' Roll Buy this album from MMA partners
3/5 ·
Time Signature
Tomorrow belongs to Carcass...

Genre: heavy metal

"Swansong" is a fitting title because it's the last album by Carcass. While "Heartwork" with its primarily melodeath sound and non-gory lyrics, constitutes somewhat of a departure from the Carcass that people knew, "Swansong" is an absolutely radical departure from anything associated with Carcass. There are no multiply layered guitars, the music is simple and typically follows the verse-chorus pattern. Gone are the gory lyrics, which have been replaced with politically oriented ones. Gone are the blast beats, the death metal elements and any other trait of extreme metal (apart from the snarling vocals).

And that's probably why most people dislike this album. However, it is not as bad as I thought it would be. I was positively surprised the first time I heard it, and most of the tracks have some catchy grooves and melodic parts which I appreciate a lot. While the music is far from brutal and the sound somewhat polished, it still has a punch which augments the simplicity and the rock-sensibility of many of the tracks well.

It's a radical departure from the Carcass style, but for a band who were constantly looking to redefine themselves, "Swansong" is in a sense the epitome of the Carcass aprroach to music. Drummer Ken Owen has even described it as the ultimate Carcass album. That may be so, but it's not my favorite Carcass album, but I think it's a fine metal album as such.

I think that fans of traditional metal and Black Album-era Metallica as well as people who like hard rock without necessarily being into metal might enjoy this album, but death metal fans and other extreme type of metal will probably not like it - well, maybe fans of melodic death metal will like it.
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

Hin helga kvöl Atmospheric Sludge Metal
SÓLSTAFIR
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Cycles of Suffering Black Metal
BURIAL OATH
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Suns of Perdition - Chapter IV: To Shadow Zion Black Metal
PANZERFAUST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Facilis Descensus Averno Death Metal
SAEVUS FINIS
Buy this album from MMA partners
Merciless Crossover Thrash
BODY COUNT
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

DAWN OF REVENGE - Sanctuary [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Farewell [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Curtain of Death - [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - Vengeance [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
DAWN OF REVENGE - I Need You [official music video]
DAWN OF REVENGE
Bosh66· 5 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed