Review: Carcass - Heartwork

Band: Carcass
Album: Heartwork
Year: 1993
Country: United Kingdom
Genre: Melodic Death Metal

Carcass started out as more of a grind band, and in fact are considered the founders of the goregrind genre. After their first two releases they moved on to what would be considered straight up death metal. Heartwork continues that progression further into a more melodic, simplified form of music. In fact this album itself is generally thought of as one of the first melodic death metal releases, and a classic of both death metal and melodic death metal.

Before I get to the band members themselves special mention needs to be made of the production. Firstly Heartwork has a very clean modern sound to it. So much so that even nearly 20 years later it sounds just as good as anything that is being released today. Having watched the documentary on the making of the album by the band you could tell much attention was paid to the guitar sound. It is one of the heaviest guitar tones I have heard and their hard work really paid off.

So it is mentioned in interviews that while writing the music for Heartwork the band had been listening to a lot of Iron Maiden. And it shows with their more prominent use of harmonized leads. Not to mention the solos seem to be even more influenced by that style than in their early days, probably due to Michael Amott's writing style. The songs run the gamut here, you have the more death'n'roll No Love Lost, the fast paced Heartwork, and everything in between.

I know people often like to claim that Ken Owen was a sloppy drummer, especially on Carcass' earlier efforts but he really pulls it together for a top notch performance here. I mean this is some of the tightest most on the spot drumming jobs in the business. While the blasts take a back seat they are still present just in places where they are more beneficial to the music rather than each song being chock full of them.

Jeff Walker does as good a job as ever with his vocals on Heartwork. The band may have spawned hundreds of clones and the same can be said for those who try to emulate Walker's high pitched rasp. Its interesting that while Bill Steer's deeper growls are non-existent on Heartwork I think it works to the albums advantage. It's kind of hard to imagine that style of vocals being used here and with this music, it just doesn't seem to fit. As for Walker's bass playing, well it's there and follows the guitars to a tee. Nothing real interesting but his vocals will always overshadow his bass skills.

Heartwork is easily one of my favorite Carcass/death metal/melodeath albums. Every song is strong and contains equal amounts of sweet melody and crushing aggression. Whether you like Heartwork or not, it's hard to deny the impact it has had one the genre. I for one believe that this is one of the defining albums of both death metal and melodic death metal.

Score: 9.5
Standout Tracks: No Love Lost, Heartwork, This Mortal Coil, Buried Dreams

Review: Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal

Band: Bolt Thrower
Album: Those Once Loyal
Year: 2005
Genre: Death Metal

Having been together since 1986 Bolt Thrower have survived the ups and downs of the metal scene. And through all this time they have relatively retained their core sound, often times being called the AC/DC of Death Metal. It was with their 3rd album, War Master, that they found their niche within the Death Metal community.

Since 1991 they have ever so slightly tweaked their sound with each new album but never strayed off the beaten path. So what do we get here? We have thrashy Death Metal with guttural vocals that sound brutal as hell, yet Karl Willets is fully understandable. The bass is completely audible on every song adding a low end to the music that is crushing, and the guitars while fast are also melodic. But we're not talking twin leads and Iron Maiden worship here. The riffs are catchy and memorable while still being punishing. Drumming is nothing overly special, but it is well done and plays its part.

Those Once Loyal is great album and holds together well. It starts off with At First Light, the best song on the album for me. An acoustic piece begins the track but its a short build up to the start of the song. The riffs here are monstrous and the solos are fun. The chorus is very memorable both musically and lyrically/vocally. This is definitely a must to listen to!

A couple songs later we have The Killchain, a continuation of a few songs the band had done on previous albums. Starting with World Eater on Realm of Chaos, Cenotaph on War Master, Embers on The lVth Crusade, and Powder Burns on Mercenary, that continue this pattern of having the same intro and outro riff that is heavy as hell. This string of songs creating a sort of on going song which is kind of a fun idea they came up with.

Those Once Loyal, the title track is another good one. The chorus especially has a lot going for it but so does the rest of the song. The band slows it down through parts though it doesn't hinder the fluidity of it all.

Another thing is the lyrics as usual deal with warfare and destruction in its various forms. This album specifically deals with themes of the First World War, At First Light being about soldiers ordered out of their trenches and into battle, Those Once Loyal talking about “traitors” who are by some seen as heroes, and Anti-Tank (Dead Armour) speaking of as the name suggests, tank warfare and things of the sort.

I wont go through every song because its just not necessary, they are all excellent! I have to say the band has succeeded in creating an album chock full of groovy masterfully crafted riffs. I love the fact that unlike a lot of bands Bolt Thrower decided not to mix the bass out of the album. In fact its mixed almost evenly with the rest of the music which shows their confidence in the skills of Jo Bench (who is also considered one of the first females to play in an extreme metal band).

This probably will go down as the bands best album and unfortunately, probably their last. They were so pleased with how TOL turned out that they didn’t feel they could surpass it so they decided to not even make another album. With an entire discography dedicated to the topic of warfare and a distinguished sound Bolt Thrower are going to go down as one of the less significant but most loved bands in Death Metal and its great of them to go out with a bang.

Score: 9/10
Standout Track: At First Light