top of page
Search
intothewellsabyss
Nov 4, 20223 min read

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness (1989)

FROM THE CRYPTS - CELEBRATING PAST ALBUM RELEASES in the HISTORY of HARD ROCK & HEAVY METAL…



On November 4, 1989, Carcass released their second full-length studio album Symphonies of Sickness. via Earache Records.


Until 2013's Surgical Steel, this album marked the last time the band had recorded as a three-piece.


Background:

With Symphonies of Sickness, Carcass kept some of the Grindcore sound of Reek of Putrefaction, although Symphonies contains a much improved production quality (courtesy of Colin Richardson). It also features more Death Metal structures and longer songs with more slow passages. Symphonies of Sickness was recorded and mixed at Slaughterhouse Studios between July and August 1989, and was co-produced by Carcass.


The original sleeve art and layout were created by Gruesome Graphics Inc.


The original CD release was a limited edition containing 16 bonus tracks taken from the Reek of Putrefaction album. The total running time of this version is 76:58. Some editions also contain Genital Grinder II and Hepatic Tissue Fermentation from the Pathological compilation. The album was reissued in 1996 with a censored outer cover proclaiming "Original artwork contained inside". It was later reissued in 2008, as part of the reissuing of all of Carcass's albums to tie in with their reunion. This version included the Symphonies of Sickness demo as bonus tracks on one side of a dualdisc, while the DVD side featured the second part of an extended documentary titled The Pathologist's Report Part II: Propagation. Later editions of this reissue contain the songs on a CD and the documentary on a separate DVD. This reissue was presented in a 12-panel digipak with full lyrics and artwork.


Note:

The original (banned) "gore" cover was later replaced by a "clean" cover, featuring artwork of a human similar to those found in biology books. The exact same cover was used for Reek of Putrefaction except with a different color scheme. In 2002/2003 the “gore” covers were restored.


The second half of the tour in support of Symphonies of Sickness saw the addition of second lead guitarist Michael Amott, whose previous work included the band Carnage. Amott was to later become a permanent member, playing on the second Peel Session and contributing material towards their third album Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious (1991) and performing only lead guitar parts on the album Heartwork (1993).


Critical Reception:

Ned Raggett of AllMusic gave Symphonies of Sickness a four star review praising the album's depth in comparison to its predecessor Reek of Putrefaction. Raggett singled out Exhume to Consume as the main highlight of Symphonies of Sickness and called it an all-time Carcass number. Greg Pratt of Decibel Magazine ranked the ten tracks from Symphonies of Sickness and picked Exhume to Consume as the best track from the album calling it a classic Death Metal cut.


Symphonies of Sickness is now considered a landmark in the Death/Grind sub-genre of Heavy Metal. In December 2018, it became the third Carcass album to be inducted into the Decibel Hall of Fame; the first two being Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious and Heartwork respectively. This accolade would reward 50% of the band's full-length discography a Hall of Fame entry. In the same year, Loudwire's Eduardo Rivadavia named Symphonies of Sickness as the best Gore-Grind album ever made in 2018. In February 2009, Symphonies of Sickness was ranked No. 4 in Terrorizer Magazine's list of essential European Grindcore albums.



Note: The reviews shared here are for historical reference. The views and opinions expressed within are not always supported (in full or in part) by Into the Wells. — E.N. Wells



Follow Us:

To read more about this release and more, subscribe to Into the Wells at: https://intothewellsabyss.wixsite.com/intothewells




2 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments

Post: Blog2_Post
bottom of page