Swansong [Full Dynamic Range Remaster]

Carcass includes: Bill Steer (guitar).
When you help to found a genre as extreme as early U.K. grindcore, any move towards commercial viability is going to seem like a betrayal to some diehards. Carcass' final LP, SWANSONG, found itself subjected to that kind of scrutiny, as the band had slowly been morphing their sound, letting elements of hard-rock songcraft seep into the otherwise chaotic rush of gory imagery and blistering tempos. Like their previous trailblazing HEARTWORK and kindred spirit Entombed's WOLVERINE BLUES, Carcass had finally shifted their focus onto song dynamics. The hard groove and elastic riffing of Bill Steer and Carlo Regadas call to mind the tasteful speed metal of RUST IN PEACE-era Megadeth, but Jeff Walker's vocals are still clench-throated with bile, even if what he's saying isn't as gruesome as it used to be. Songs like "Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody" are heavy enough for diehards, but anthemic enough to fill stadiums.