Symphonies of Sickness
Encyclopedia
Symphonies of Sickness is the second album by the British extreme metal
band Carcass
. It was released through Earache Records in December 1989.
The band's style progressed since Reek of Putrefaction
. The sound became more characteristic of death metal
, Bill Steer
's guitar technique improved, Jeffrey Walker
's bass and vocals became much more prominent in the mix and Ken Owen
changed his style of drumming completely, implementing a new style of double-bass drumming absent from the band's earlier offerings.
In February 2009, Symphonies of Sickness was ranked number 4 in Terrorizer
s list of essential European grindcore albums.
album. 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 reissuing of all of Carcass' albums to tie in with their reunion. This version included the demo Symphonies of Sickness 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.
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
band Carcass
Carcass (band)
Carcass are an extreme metal band from England, who formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen, due to health reasons....
. It was released through Earache Records in December 1989.
The band's style progressed since Reek of Putrefaction
Reek of Putrefaction
Reek of Putrefaction is the debut album by the British extreme metal band Carcass. It was released by Earache Records in 1988.-Background:...
. The sound became more characteristic of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, Bill Steer
Bill Steer
Bill Steer is an English guitar player, and a founder of British Metal band Carcass...
's guitar technique improved, Jeffrey Walker
Jeffrey Walker
Jeffrey Walker is a bass guitarist and vocalist from Windle, St Helens, UK. He is best known for his work with the death metal / grindcore band Carcass for which he is also the main lyricist. Before Carcass, he played in the punk band the Electro Hippies. After the demise of Carcass, he went on to...
's bass and vocals became much more prominent in the mix and Ken Owen
Ken Owen
Ken Owen is an English drummer. He was born in Billinge, and grew up in Gayton, Merseyside. He is best known as one of the founding members of Carcass, for which he also handled some of the vocals. After the band broke up in 1995, he started Blackstar, along with two other Carcass members...
changed his style of drumming completely, implementing a new style of double-bass drumming absent from the band's earlier offerings.
In February 2009, Symphonies of Sickness was ranked number 4 in Terrorizer
Terrorizer Magazine
Terrorizer is an extreme music magazine published by Dark Arts Ltd. in the United Kingdom. It is released every four weeks with thirteen issues a year and features a 'Fear Candy' covermount CD, a twice yearly 'Fear Candy Unsigned' CD, and a double-sided poster.-1993:Terrorizer published its first...
s list of essential European grindcore albums.
Releases
The original CD release contained 16 bonus tracks taken from the Reek of PutrefactionReek of Putrefaction
Reek of Putrefaction is the debut album by the British extreme metal band Carcass. It was released by Earache Records in 1988.-Background:...
album. 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 reissuing of all of Carcass' albums to tie in with their reunion. This version included the demo Symphonies of Sickness as bonus tracks on one side of a dualdisc
DualDisc
DualDisc was a type of double-sided optical disc product developed by a group of record companies including EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Sony/BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and 5.1 Entertainment Group and later under the aegis of the Recording Industry Association of America...
, while the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
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
Digipak
Digipak is a patented style of CD, DVD or BD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI World Ltd., an Atlas Holdings company.-Features:...
with full lyrics and artwork.
Track listing
Personnel
- Jeff WalkerJeffrey WalkerJeffrey Walker is a bass guitarist and vocalist from Windle, St Helens, UK. He is best known for his work with the death metal / grindcore band Carcass for which he is also the main lyricist. Before Carcass, he played in the punk band the Electro Hippies. After the demise of Carcass, he went on to...
– vocals, bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Bill SteerBill SteerBill Steer is an English guitar player, and a founder of British Metal band Carcass...
– vocals, lead guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker... - Ken OwenKen OwenKen Owen is an English drummer. He was born in Billinge, and grew up in Gayton, Merseyside. He is best known as one of the founding members of Carcass, for which he also handled some of the vocals. After the band broke up in 1995, he started Blackstar, along with two other Carcass members...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, vocals