Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction

Nothing Gives Me Greater Pleasure Than A Bowl Full Of Chyme

#81) Carcass - Reek of Putrefaction (1988/2008)

 1. Genital Grinder
 2. Regurgitation if Giblets
 3. Maggot Colony
 4. Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)
 5. Carbonized Eyesockets
 6. Frenzied Detruncation
 7. Vomited Anal Track
 8. Festerday
 9. Fermenting Innards
 10. Excreted Alive
 11. Suppuration
 12. Foeticide
 13. Microwaved Uterogestation
 14. Feast on Dismembered Carnage
 15. Splattered Cavities
 16. Psychopathologist
 17. Burnt To A Crisp
 18. Pungent Excruciation
 19. Manifestation On Verrucose Urethra
 20. Oxidised Razor Masticator
 21. Mucopurulence Excrtor
 22. Malignant Defecation

Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Demo (1987/2008)

 23. Genital Grinder (Intro)
 24. Regurgitation of Giblets
 25. Festerday
 26. Limb From Limb
 27. Rotten to the Gore
 28. Excreted Alive
 29. Malignant Defecation
 30. Fermenting Innards
 31. Necro-Cannibal Bloodfeast
 32. Psychopathologist
 33. Die In Pain
 34. Pungent Excruciation
 35. Face Meltaaargh

so after doing my last post about Napalm Death i decided to dedicate my next few posts to the Carcass discography. this is their first album, released in '88 and reissued in 2008 as a series of reissues to coincide with their reunion tour. the Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Demo is their first demo and is included as bonus tracks. also included with each reissue is a dvd, called The Pathologist's Report, containing new  interviews with the band members talking about each album and some archival footage, but more on that later.

with their first few albums they were credited as being pioneers of grind, especially death/gore grind, though each album after this saw them move more and more into death metal territory and find them eventually becoming one of the founding fathers of melodic death metal. these guys are definitely one of the most influential extreme metal bands.

they were originally formed in 1985 in England by guitarist Bill Steer and drummer Ken Owen as a D-Beat band called Disattack. after releasing a demo in '86 their bassist and vocalist quit. they recruited a singer named Sanjiv and Jeff Walker on bass, changed their name to Carcass and recorded the Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment demo in '87. Sanjiv left the band after this and Walker, Owen and Steer recorded Reek as a 3 piece with all members sharing vocal duties.

the album sounds pretty terrible. according to the band the engineer sucked and they didn't have enough time to mix the album properly before they needed to get it to the label so they were stuck with it. despite the bad mix you can still hear the beginnings of the innovation the band would later become known for. even with the bad sound and graphic artwork and lyrical content John Peel named it his favorite album of 1988.


the bonus dvd, The Pathologist's Report Part 1 - Incubation, is great.  they talk to Jeff, Ken and Bill about how they all met, the recording of the album and things like that and it's highlighted with some photos and clips of live footage from around that time.

bad sound aside, this was a great album. i'm kinda glad i waited this long to listen to it though because this reissue was the way to go. it was pretty rad being able to listen to the album and then hear the band talk about it. definitely worth checking out.

Napalm Death - Scum

One Day Soon I Hope You Die

#77) Napalm Death - Scum (1987/2012)

 1. Multinational Corporations
 2. Instinct of Survival
 3. The Kill
 4. Scum
 5. Caught...In a Dream
 6. Polluted Minds
 7. Sacrificed
 8. Siege of Power
 9. Control
 10. Born On Your Knees
 11. Human Garbage
 12. You Suffer
 13. Life?
 14. Prison Without Walls
 15. Point of No Return
 16. Negative Approach
 17. Success?
 18. Deceiver
 19. C.S.
 20. Parasites
 21. Pseudo Youth
 22. Divine Death
 23. As the Machine Rolls On
 24. Common Enemy
 25. Moral Crusade
 26. Stigmatized
 27. M.A.D.
 28. Dragnet
 29. Multinational Corporations
 30. Instinct of Survival
 31. The Kill
 32. Scum
 33. Caught...In a Dream
 34. Polluted Minds
 35. Sacrificed
 36. Siege of Power
 37. Control
 38. Born On Your Knees
 39. Human Garbage
 40. You Suffer
 41. Life?
 42. Prison Without Walls
 43. Point of No Return
 44. Negative Approach
 45. Success?
 46. Deceiver
 47. C.S.
 48. Parasites
 49. Pseudo Youth
 50. Divine Death
 51. As the Machine Rolls On
 52. Common Enemy
 53. Moral Crusade
 54. Stigmatized
 55. M.A.D.
 56. Dragnet


this is the 2012 "full dynamic range" remaster of Napalm Death's 1st full length. tracks 1 -28 are the remaster while 29 - 56 is a bonus rough mix of the album.
these guys have a long confusing history with members dropping in and out so i'm not gonna get into it too much but to give you an idea the lineup that recorded this album isn't the same as the lineup that formed the band, the lineup changed almost completely 12 tracks into the album and though the band is around today, it features no members who played on this album.
tracks 1 -12 feature Nik Napalm (the only founding member) on vocals and bass, Justin Broadrick (who would go on to form the amazing bands Godflesh and Jesu among others) on guitars and vocals and Mick Harris (who has done a million things) on drums
tracks 13 - 28 feature Lee Dorian (who went on to form Cathedral) on vocals, Jim Whitely on bass, Bill Steer (who was in also in Carcass  at the time) on guitar and Mick Harris on drums and also providing some vocals.

the album is noteworthy for having a song (You Suffer) in the Guinness Book of World Records for world's shortest song at 1 second. and to continue the Carcass connection, the album cover was desinged by Jeff Walker, the bassist and vocalist for Carcass. there's not really a lot to say about this album that hasn't already been said.  it was a game changer.
as for the remastering i can't really say if it's better or worse than previous editions of this album because this is the only version i've heard but i will say that i preferred some of the "rough mixes" to the remastered ones. maybe some day i'll find an older copy of the record and compare it to the remaster but for now this will do. it's a shame i didn't listen to this album sooner but better late than never i guess.