There are very few bands that can can create the unified chaos and fury that Carcass can. "Symphonies of Sickness" creates such precise melodies and frantic beats it is impossible to stray from. The lead singer has a voice that rivals Barry White in it's baritone and Luciano Pavarotti in it's distinct flamboyance.This is one hell of a record.

When this came out 20 yrs ago or so I can remember Metal Forces (now Terrorizer zine) giving this album a 30 out of 100. The reviewer called this garbage, not talent and an embarrasment. Why the zine would have someone review the album who was not a death metal fan is beyond me. Anyway this was a step up from the primitive Reek of Putrefaction album and saw the band still creating some amazing gore/grind w/more death metal influences in the songs. This is my fave Carcass cd, super brutal, but so catchy. Whether it's exhume to consume, ruptured in purulence-they all rule, even to this day. Great remaster, making the songs sound clearer and heavier, as well as louder!!. Amazing packaging. The demo songs from the album are of poor quality, but a good insight into the development of the songs. Saw them on this tour open for death, carcass ruled, opened w/genital grinder-and then bursted into exhume to consume.

Carcass is one of my favorite bands. They managed to create one of the most sickning, extremely brutal music out there, goregrind. Using doctor terms, extremely sludgy (heavy) grind riffs, constant blast-beats, dual puked vocals makes this more extreme than anything Cannibal Corpse ever did. With this album and Reek of Putrefaction, they spawned a lot other goregrind bands such as: Regurgitate, Exhumed, Pig Destroyer, Impaled, and many of others. So if you are wanting music at its most extreme, purchase Symphonies of Sickness and Reek of Putrefaction.

If you were a latecomer to Carcass, and think Heartwork was their crowning glory, then steer well clear of this. It will rip your face off, semi-digest and regurgitate the pieces, and then reassemble them in an unrecognisable mess. And a mess this is, on the first listen. However, you will be drawn back to this album again and again out of sheer morbid curiosity, similar to rubbernecking at a serious motor accident. Later listens show beneath the white noise, Carcass created some incredibly catchy riffs. The gargled vocals are sublime- instantly recognisable and incoherent at the same time. And the lyrics? They are not for the weak stomached, as the graphic and detailed descriptions of all things sick and depraved, and downright unspeakable will have you wretching. A symphony of sickness, pure and simple.

carcass has never failed to put out great ear numbing metal! this is by far the best(yet most underrated) carcass release. it has everything a metal fan would desire out of a grindcore album. get this, it wont dissappoint!