Carcass - "Swansong", 1996

In 1994, Carcass was on the verge of a potential commercial breakthrough; while the band lost some of its early grindcore fanbase with the release of the now-classic "Heartwork" in 1993 - an album featuring a more polished production, more essential song structures, and classic metal influences - on the other hand, it gained a new following, and the future looked bright, with major label Columbia/Sony signing it for what should have been its big follow-up record. As it happened with a couple of other death metal legends, Morbid Angel and Entombed, the move to a major ended up being a double-edged sword, and for Carcass in particular, it marked the beginning of the end; the recording sessions for what would become the aptly titled "Swansong" were afflicted by major executives trying to interfere with the artistic direction of the band, even daring to ask singer/bassist Jeff Walker to provide clean vocals or suggesting to have Terry Date (of Pantera's fame) remix the album. These requests were met with disdain by the band, prompting the Englishmen to revert back to their old label, Earache, to finally release the record. It saw the light of day in June 1996, when the band effectively had already split up amidst disillusionment with the music business and Bill Steer's growing disinterest towards metal.

While still commercially successful on release, "Swansong" received mixed reactions from press and fans alike; it's easy to see why, since it's pretty much a hard rock/classic metal record that retains only the low-tuning and the surgical guitar sharpness of the band's earlier material, as well as the typical Jeff Walker's vicious vocals. There are no obvious traces of death metal or grindcore, but at the same time, it still sounds unmistakably Carcass; after all, the band wasn't entirely new to this style, as evidenced by the non-album track "Rot 'n' Roll" from the "Heartwork E.P.". Some of the groovier temptations that could be found on the "Heartwork" full-length get fully realized on "Swansong", and those Thin Lizzy-meets-Iron Maiden twin guitar melodies that started to appear on the previous record are even more upfront here (the main riff on "R**k the Vote" would have made Steve Harris proud). 70s rock-infused riffs also abound, predating what the members of the band will further explore with the post-Carcass projects Blackstar and - to some extent - Firebird.

New entry Carlo Regadas (formerly of Devoid) on 2nd guitar is a good fit, and his solos pair well with Steer's; their taste for melodic and memorable leads really lifts the material up. The songs mostly move at a mid-tempo pace, such as on the initial double shot of "Keep On Rotting in the Free World" and "Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody", two rocking numbers that can be considered a calling card for the rest of the record; "Generation Hexed", the more menacing "Polarized", and "Go to Hell" follow a similar structure, although the latter was placed tactically at the very end of the tracklist, since its verses sound eerily similar to the ones of the opener. "Cross My Heart" follows suit, but it sounds fiercer, featuring some double kick-laden passages and tight guitar riffs that make it one of the heaviest songs on the record, not too far removed from some of the material featured on "Heartwork" (think of "Buried Dreams", "Embodiment", or "No Love Lost").

"Black Star", one of the two songs exclusively penned by Regadas, features a memorable, groovy main riff and a very 70s-sounding stoner metal chorus, leading to a middle part with twin guitar melodies and brilliant solos; "Child's Play" is another number where the groove and the very tight riffing drive the song before opening up into an unexpectedly catchy refrain. "Room 101" isn't far behind, but it comes off as a tad bland if it wasn't for one of those intriguing, evil-sounding main riffs that Steer is a master at; "Firm Hand", another Regadas song, showcases some more aggressive riffing paired with a pronounced melodic taste, crafting an effective mixture of lights and shadows, while "Don't Believe a Word" stands out for its doomy incipit before heading into a series of pounding, massive palm-muted riffs.

While the album would technically end here, in retrospect it's difficult to ignore the five outtakes that were recorded during the same sessions (and released on the posthumous "Wake Up and Smell the... Carcass" compilation the same year); as Jeff Walker himself stated at some point, they were as good as some of the album's material, if not better, and I used to regularly play 'em alongside "Swansong" whenever I listened to it, until Japanese label Toy's Factory finally released a version of the album including 'em on the same disc (plus the Japanese-only bonus track "Death Rider Da", nothing more than a short jingle for a radio program of the times).

"Edge of Darkness" would have been a great album opener, and it's so good that it's not surprising it made its live debut at a few of the band's live appearances in 1994 already, long before the album was released; it's a wonder why it was decided to leave it out of the final tracklist, maybe because the beginning sounded a bit like "Buried Dreams"? Whatever the reason, it's a fantastic song and a bona fide classic in itself. "Emotional Flatline" is another excellent track that mixes melodic death metal with the more rocking and classic metal riffing that only Carcass is able to master magnificently (including a middle section courtesy of Regadas, lifted from the song "Circle Of Hypocrites" by his old band Devoid), while the ferocious "Ever Increasing Circles" moves along circular, choppy riffs with undisguised viciousness. "Blood Spattered Banner" - featuring some harsh anti-American lyrics - and the sarcastic "I Told You So (Corporate Rock Really Does Suck)" might have been left out of "Swansong" because of the lyrical content, or maybe because they're some of the most openly rock-sounding tracks of the lot; the latter in particular features an infectious main riff and a memorable chorus, and it's a bit of an unsung classic.

Jeff Walker gets quite political throughout the lyrics - plus the occasional detours into personal matters - offering a cynical vision of life and society, as well as his proverbial pitch-black English humor. While normally I don't particularly appreciate such content within death metal, the album is so genre-shattering that a different lyrical approach was to be expected, and I can appreciate the singer being definitely a straight-shooter, not mincing words, and clearly not giving a damn about the consequences at that point. "Polarized" in particular comes off as a very misanthropic, nihilistic anthem that I can definitely relate to.

Overall, "Swansong" - including its five outtakes - is a record that I wholeheartedly love. While many people were quick at dismissing it as a forgettable death 'n' roll (how I loathe that tag) experiment along the lines of Entombed's "Wolverine Blues" or Gorefest's "Soul Survivor", it was a fantastic effort, regardless of how you want to label the music on it. The musicianship and production are top-notch, and the songwriting, while more linear and rock-oriented than the band's more celebrated albums, still oozes personality from every note, and you could tell it's Carcass from a mile away. While I wouldn't necessarily state that it's the best album of the band, it's just another great album by Carcass that I loved on release and that after all these years I still cherish as one of my favorite metal records ever.