Heartwork

When Heartwork came out alot of death/grind fans panned the album, which I thought was wrong, the album had a cleaner sound, but no less heavier sound. The band was getting more popular and because they incorporated some slower parts the album really was not commercial by any stretch of the imagination. Songs like carnal forge, This Mortal Coil the awesome title track or the best song on the album Arbeit Macht Fleisch grinded pretty hard, just had more melody. The riffs were simply killer and still are. I can remember Headbanger's ball playing the Heartwork video each week along w/Morbid Angel's rapture video-good times. Anyway again Earache has released a monster remaster and the sound packs so much more heaviness and loudness than the original. Lyrics reprinted on the multi fold out digipack and the dvd has the 4th part documentary. Extra disc includes demos of the album, nothing too special in that dept. Anyway Heartowrk was the album that platooned the band even further and was the last great record for the band. Unfortunatley the band tarnished the name a bit w/the release of Swansong, their last release which really was lame. Heartwork still stands up today and has aged well as a death/grind release.

Back in 2008 Carcass released what might look on paper to be the "ultimate" editions of their albums. In the case of Heartwork, that set included the album (of course), a disc of impressive demos, and a DVD with an entertaining interview with the band all contained in an expansive package with liner notes, etc. Unfortunately, the label succumbed to the whims of the time and remastered the audio in the package with the most unforgiving of makeovers. This was during the peak of the so-called "loudness wars" and Earache was aiming to win. The album and demos sounded *awful*. A few years later, in an attempt to right their wrongs, Earache issued many of the albums remastered during this period in a series they proudly labeled "full dynamic range." And they sounded fantastic. Unfortunately, these packages omitted all of the bonuses included in the earlier deluxe editions. Is it a huge loss to not have the Parr Street Demos in better sound? Maybe not, but it's frustrating for die-hard fans. Finally, here we are in 2021, and Earache is once again reissuing these albums - last year most of the catalog was reissued under the "MMXX Edition" campaign, but Heartwork was not released until May 2021. All of these editions have the "full dynamic range" masterings, thankfully, and any bonus tracks that might have been issued before. Swansong in "full dynamic range" is especially appreciated as even the original issue back in 1996 was a loud, compressed mess. Now we get Heartwork as we were meant to hear it - that full dynamic range reissue along with the two bonus tracks from the Heartwork EP (This is Your Life and Rot N Roll) AND the Parr Street Demos, AND all with that fabulous full dynamic range sound quality. The difference in sound quality between the 2008 version of the demos and the 2021 version is drastic. The earlier release is bright and harsh while the full dynamic range version is, well, "pleasant" (in terms of metal, understand.) The unfortunate con of these releases is the packaging. In short: it sucks. It's a digipak, which is fine, but that's ALL it is. Just a piece of cardboard, folded over, with two CD trays inside. No booklet, no liner notes. Just a tiny list of credits. The others are this way as well. These packages stink. They already had the material from the 2008 editions. Why not just use that for these reissues so we can at least get the liner notes?

... in my opinion, of course. Carcass has a lot to be proud of. They were the pioneers of 3 metal subgenres: grindcore/goregrind, death metal and melodic death metal. With each album they were getting better as musicians and as songwriters. With each album they were changing their style. Now that's what I like. Death did the same too. I like things that change and progress. Some bands/artists change for the worse. But Carcass and Death were only getting better. Heartwork has plenty of blastbeats, which is what I loved about their first 2 albums. Necroticism lacked blastbeats. Ken Owen just got better and better with each album. Jeff Walker's vocals are as aggressive as ever. Bill Steer's guitar work is the highlight of the album. Very tasteful solos and riffs are as fiery as ever. Bill Steer and Chuck Schuldiner are my two favourite metal guitarists ever. Highlights: Buried Dreams, Carnal Forge (that solo! that freaking solo!), No Love Lost and This Mortal Coil.

Great

Why does it matter if they changed their sound, I personally didn't like their earlier goregrind style anyway. This CD really hits the spot if you want something heavy. I like the black metal like harsh vocals. It took me a few listens to really appreciate this album, at first the guitar might seem a little repetitive, but they mix it up during the songs. My favorite is Arbeit Macht Fleisch. Lots of hardcore riffs and they don't overdo it with the solos.

If Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, and Chopin were to get together and record a death metal album, I think it would sound something like "Heartwork." To be sure, "Heartwork" bears many of the marks of a death metal album: it's heavy, it's aggressive, it's typically pretty fast, and the vocals are harsh. However, this album goes down a lot easier than the typical extreme metal album, thanks to Carcass's top-shelf musicianship and doses of rhythm and melody. Probably what I like most about "Heartwork" is that the music is techncial and the arrangments are complicated, but at the same time it manages to be pretty catchy, with plenty of memorable songs. "Carnal Forge" and the title track blaze along at about mach 3, while "No Love Lost" and "Embodiment" grind it out with slower tempos. My favorite here, though, would have to be the heavy and complex "Doctrinal Expletives," which winds its way through multiple tempos and features some inspired guitar work. Jeff Walker's vocals, in contrast to the guttural grunts used by the typical death vocalist (not that grunting is all bad), are a black-metalish rasp that flows very well with the music. It's really guitarists Bill Steer and Michael Ammott that make this album, though. They contribute plenty of catchy riffs and harmonies, and the solos are far more melodic than the typical death metal fare. I saw this album described once as Obituary meets Iron Maiden, and I think that's a pretty apt description. If you want to hear something that's extreme but still accessible, look no further. And be sure to check out Mike Ammott's current band Arch Enemy, who rule as well.

Arrived in one piece, early!! Very excited to listen to this absolute classic album!

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