This album is surprisingly very good. It's not on par with 'Heartwork' in terms of quality, yet the accessibility of each song on this album more than makes up for it. Everything seems to stick in your mind after one listen, and although the melody or slight mainstream influences do show up more often than expected, it's definitely an underrated album for Carcass.

It's funny that the final album (at least for now...) from a band known for being pioneering in the realms of extreme metal, has hardly any extremity on it at all. It's an album that to view fairly, you really have to completely divorce the name "Carcass" from their iconic earlier extreme works. Which is probably too difficult for some people to do.

Whilst in hindsight, "Heartwork" has come in for a bit of a bashing also (at the time of it's release though, it garnered almost universal praise), it's certainly viewed even all these years later, as a better album than "Swansong". For me, "Heartwork" is a very important album, and major influence on the genres of "Gothenburg", and melodic death. As well as being a very consistent album with no fillers on it. This is the area where "Swansong" lacks a bit compared to it's predecessor. It lacks the influential status of "Heartwork", and unlike that album, it does contain some fillers which bring it down somewhat.

I do feel it's a touch underrated, and tracks like "Room 101", "Polarized", and "Generation Hexed" are certainly great songs, and immensely underrated ones in the metal world. Even taken as a standalone album, without the burden of the band's glorious legacy, "Swansong" lacks the consistency and overall clout to be called an underrated classic in it's own right. However, a few of it's songs are underrated classics. Which, coming from a band that was a sinking ship at the time of it's recording, is certainly no mean feat!

Great music to listening in traffic.

One of the few "sellout" albums that are actually good. Carcass was just trying something different here, there's nothing commercial in their sound. It's still Death Metal and still sounds like Carcass, but with a simpler songwriting and without the gory and medical content in the lyrics/artwork. What impressed me the most was the solos. They're very inspiring and have more feeling than the ones in Heartwork.

Enjoy every song on this album. Perfect rot n roll.

Very solid album, not much more to say, every song is good and it's quite a pleasant listen

I previously thought this one wasn't well liked but apparently it is lol

I like it too. Ofc it's simple but that's not that bad here. Nice death'n'roll I guess?

A perfect metal Album!

This album is possibly Carcass's most groovy, and I would say it's their easily their most accessible for listening too. It features some of their best and most grooviest riffs, and the lyrics and vocals are easier on the earrs. It's not as brutal as their early grindcore stuff, and the lyrics aren't as gorey or sick as those previous albums, it's also their most clean sounding production too, but it's not got the fast tempo, technical, or melodic side that Heartwork had, nor is it as groundbreaking or memorable as that album or Necroticism.

The album cover is a pretty bad one, and it's definitely not what fans would have expected after Heartwork, but it's still a very good album overall, it's very enjoyable, and I would also say it's their most overlooked album imho.

I really didn't care for this album at all the year it was released. After Necrotism and Heartwork it sounded like a downgrade to my young ears. Where were the changes? Where were the dueling leads? Where were the complex drum patterns? What the heck happened?

I just saw Carcass here in Seattle this week and...wow. I had the pleasure of seeing them a couple of times back in the very early '90s glory days and I really think they are a better live band now. Just flawless and jaw-dropping.

So I decided to revisit Swan Song having just seen the boys completely obliterate the stage. With almost two more decades of listening and metal under mine and everyone else's collective belt, I believe I misjudged this album.

Actually, I would go a step further and say this style of growly rot n' roll was pretty ahead of its time. I hear a good dozen or two bands every year that marry more standard rock arrangements with growl vocals, and I'd be hard pressed to find anyone doing it particularly better than Carcass did it here.

Nice to (re)discover a solid album from an all-time favorite band.

Written by The Galactician on 24.05.2022 at 01:50


Nice to (re)discover a solid album from an all-time favorite band.

I too never thought much of this album at first, but I really appreciate it now, just like most of Carcass's stuff, they've grown on me.

The fact that this is rated higher than reek and symphonies makes me cry.

Not as strong as heartwork but still very good

Definitely a good album, but after Symphonies, Necroticism and Heartwork this feels pretty tame.

Written by Metal Diogenes on 22.09.2024 at 19:15

Definitely a good album, but after Symphonies, Necroticism and Heartwork this feels pretty tame.

Agreed.

This is the most detached album after Carcass's glorious run. It's like I've always had a good run, but never find satisfying. It still sound hell a lot more crispier than Surgical Steel, but this is the final pitstop for Carcass