Carcass - Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious
Earache Records
Death Metal with Grindcore influences
8 songs (48:03)
Release year: 1991
Earache Records
Reviewed by Khelek
Archive review

Carcass is another one of those bands that really needs no introduction. They have been around the extreme metal scene since the late 80s and since that time they have produced some of the best, most influential stuff out there in the realm of grindcore and death metal. Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious is the band's third album and saw them writing some of their most complex material up until that point, and perhaps of all time. Most songs are longer than on their previous albums, between five and seven minutes or so, but this does not keep them from remaining interesting and easy to listen to. Indeed, this is one of the few death metal albums I enjoy listening to in one sitting from beginning to end.

Inpropagation starts the album with a bouncy yet brutal death metal feel. The vocals of Jeff Walker are quite good; raspy and brutal yet also understandable. The guitar work from the young Michael Amott is excellent of course, and is a nice addition to veteran Bill Steer. The production for this album is surprisingly clear, with a touch of fuzz that brings out the distorted guitar riffs. It seems to mostly focus on the guitars and vocals, with a lot of the heavy drum work also smashing its way to the forefront. The length of this track is pretty epic, but it manages to keep me interested the entire time by switching up the riffs and throwing in some intricate guitar layering. Another thing the first track does, at least in the opening, is create this sort of creepy, otherworldly atmosphere, which continues in many of the other tracks through distinctive guitar work and samples. The next track, Corporal Jigsore Quandary, starts out with these weird samples as well, before rhythmic drum beats pound in. This song is definitely a bit more rhythm driven than the first one, with the pounding double bass drums of Ken Owen being the primary focus and simple, chugging riffs backing them up. However, towards the end there is some really catchy guitar grooves, but these are mostly repetitive and tedious after the first few bars. The vocals in this track are also interestingly done. Many do not know that there are actually two people doing these vocals, with Jeff Walker and Bill Steer both contributing different styles of growls. Symposium Of Sickness is almost 7 minutes, yet it stays brutal and fast the whole time with melodies seeping in and wrapping everything in wah-induced guitar screams and shrieks. I especially enjoy the instrumental stuff at the end which consists of some very catchy guitar layering and excellent solo work by both Amott and Steer. The riffs are just so catchy and so heavy in songs like Pedigree Butchery that you can really just sit there and listen to the music and just relax OR headbang, it can really go either way because it's possible to appreciate this band's awesome sense of musical harmony and melody. Even so they still create something brutal and heavy enough to make people go crazy in a mosh pit. Lavaging Expectorate Of Lysergide Composition can have this effect too with all the rhythm that is created, it's almost like some sort of trance music. Pedigree Butchery also has a bit of a calmer interlude thrown in towards the end that I really like. It's really little things, little touches like that, which keep me coming back to Carcass again and again.

An extremely influential part of this music is the complex way the songs are arranged. This idea of putting intricate guitar leads in the beginning of songs was only first beginning to take hold, and these guys did it better than anyone. I have already mentioned the guitar layering and the way the drumming complements the music perfectly, but it is things like this that make Carcass such a timeless act with songs and albums that never get old. Ultimately this album along with a select few others helped set the standard for top quality extreme metal. If you consider yourself a fan of death metal, this should be a staple in your musical diet.

Killing Songs :
All of them, personal favorites are Symposium Of Sickness, Pedigree Butchery, Carneous Cacoffiny, Lavaging Expectorate Of Lysergide Composition
Khelek quoted CLASSIC
Other albums by Carcass that we have reviewed:
Carcass - Torn Arteries reviewed by Goat and quoted 80 / 100
Carcass - Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel (EP) reviewed by Goat and quoted no quote
Carcass - Surgical Steel reviewed by Goat and quoted 85 / 100
Carcass - Symphonies Of Sickness reviewed by Goat and quoted CLASSIC
Carcass - Reek Of Putrefaction reviewed by Goat and quoted 75 / 100
To see all 7 reviews click here
2 readers voted
Average:
 94
You did not vote yet.
Vote now

There are 12 replies to this review. Last one on Wed Feb 24, 2010 9:12 am
View and Post comments