Carcass
Swansong

THE REVIEW

Why have all (or almost all) of the late Carcass's albums been reviewed on Debaser, except for "Swansong"? Why was this album panned by critics and the band's loyal fans? What's wrong with it? Putting aside rhetorical questions, the fact remains that the work I'm about to review has met with widespread disapproval, which I consider unjust and (why not) short-sighted. Indeed, this LP was experienced by all fans as a shameful betrayal as it ventures into new territories, offering a sound much more laden with melodies than they had ever done in the past: as a result, the attempt to obliterate it (yes, I admit, the Anglicism is a quote from Napalm Death) by the bewildered crowds. What I'd like to point out to our friends from the "show-off metalheads" category is that Carcass had already accustomed us to their flip-flops and that, moreover, the quality of the product is not inferior to that of the previous ones. How could you forget that it was precisely them, who invented Grind, that in 1991 they released "Necroticism: Descanting The Insalubrious," a manifesto of Death metal, and that still they in 1993 released "Heartwork," which already had little to do with Death. Why be surprised if in 1996 (after a year from the end of the recordings) they thus released this "Swansong," which offers metal-rock, played well to boot? However, I don't just want to refer to those who know this CD, so I will speak of it briefly.

The album is composed of twelve songs, as already mentioned, much more melodic compared to the band's standards: don't expect a Swedish-style Melodic Death album because otherwise you're way off track. In fact, "The Swan Song" is very similar to violent rock and maintains only the guitar distortion and Jeff Walker's unmistakable singing (also on bass) from metal. The lineup appears maimed since Ammot (guitarist) had left the band in favor of Arch Enemy (and here I prefer not to comment): to be fair, his absence is not felt so much, and Steer (the other guitarist) proves to know how to handle it excellently on his own. The guitar lines are, as usual, very powerful without giving up the melodic component, present without exception in all the songs: it's highly appreciable that the riffing, while tied to much softer and rock-like sounds, does not lose the complicated structures of their original genre. The result is an intricate rock that breaks the clichés of the genre and becomes, for once, something interesting and musically more fertile; it is not indeed the classic brash and dissolute hard rock, but a heavy, highly considered, and almost reflective rock. Paradoxically, it has analogies with an album from the same year, even though belonging to a very different genre, "Load" by Metallica. Of course, this album is heavier, but the mood recreated, between decadence and anger, is very similar: another point of contact is the sounds (making the due proportions), which are never too dark and oppressive yet not serene and light-hearted. The drumming, like the guitar patterns, tries to adapt the Death metal component to decidedly soft songs, resulting in an original outcome where technique is weighed and creates a very interesting structure. The bass, however, becomes more static and less incisive, but Walker does not disappoint, and with his raspy, dirty voice, he gives the whole that bit of aggression that keeps it far from accusations of softness.Excellent production, full, rounded, and very suited to the type of music played.

Apart from the musicians' technique, flawless even if not overly virtuosic, I don't understand how one could lay charges against an album with songwriting like this: the compositions are crafted with great wisdom, bringing together riffs born of a fervent mind and not giving up a significant impact feeling. Songs like "Room 101" with their disenchanted and cynical progression leave no doubt about the album's emotional charge: the lyrics are no longer the trivialities of pathology manuals, they are scornful and resigned visions of a crumbling world that Carcass has chosen to express with melody instead of violence. What I mean is that one should not stop at judging music as such but at what it evokes: and under this perspective, the three Englishmen have not deserted, quite the opposite. Surely there is no longer the headbanging impact of the early works, but this is not a valid reason to renounce "Swansong," which, although no longer Death metal, remains a good CD.

This is an album that can either be liked or leave one perplexed, especially for those familiar with the band's early works: I certainly belong to the former category and see in it not only a valid product but also an easy way to approach the world of Death. The idea of blending rock melodies with metal elements may be criticizable, but the result is good.