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Reek of Putrefaction

 
Album Review: Reek of Putrefaction [Reissue]

  • Artist: Carcass
  • Rating: StarStarStar
  • Release Date: 1988
  • Type: Lyrics are included with the album
  • Genre: Rock

Review

The title alone. Anyone taking the lyrical content here even slightly seriously -- and that includes the bandmembers -- clearly needs to be taken away by the nice men in the white jackets. Thoughtfully, complete lyrics are provided -- thus, a verse from "Vomited Anal Tract": "Your vagus implodes, as nausea strikes/Savaging your body in terminal retch/Violent spasms and decaying enzymes/Engulf your throat as you belch." That this or anything else on the album is completely impossible to understand otherwise is part of the insane fun, of course, which is why Carcass is both one of the best and funniest bands around. Musically everything is basically just one step away from Napalm Death's early sound, if even that far, but there's something just that much more engagingly nutty about what Carcass do. It might be the way that Bill Steer's guitar solos sound like they're turning themselves inside out every time he plays one (with blood dripping from exposed musculature and so forth, no doubt). Alternately, it might be how Ken Owen matches early Mick Harris for sheer frazzle with drums played so fast everything sounds more like a wash of static than anything else. Whatever it is, Reek of Putrefaction consists of songs so immediate and there that trying to analyze them in depth is practically impossible -- you accept it and let yourself go from the start or you never ever want to hear anything like it again. There are occasional moments of calm -- "Genital Grinder," which starts things off, begins with a low bass rumble and a great, chunky riff, a smart way to draw folks in before the final slaughter. Top everything off with the barked, whined, and yelped vocals of the threesome in full unintelligible glory, and Reek succeeds thoroughly and completely at what it does. ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
Genital Grinder [Instrumental] Carcass (1:32)
Regurgitation of Giblets Carcass (1:24)
Maggot Colony Carcass (1:37)
Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore) Carcass (2:55)
Carbonized Eyesockets Carcass (1:11)
Frenzied Detruncation Carcass (:59)
Vomited Anal Tract Carcass (1:45)
Festerday Carcass (:22)
Fermenting Innards Carcass (2:35)
Excreted Alive Carcass (1:21)
Suppuration Carcass (2:19)
Foeticide Carcass (2:46)
Microwaved Uterogestation Carcass (1:24)
Feast on Dismembered Carnage Carcass (1:27)
Splattered Cavities Carcass (1:54)
Psychopathologist Carcass (1:18)
Burnt to a Crisp Carcass (2:43)
Pungent Excruciation Carcass (2:31)
Manifestation of Verrucose Urethra Carcass (1:02)
Oxidised Razor Masticator Carcass (3:12)
Mucopurulence Excretor Carcass (1:09)
Malignant Defecation Carcass (2:14)

Credits

Carcass (Producer), Carcass (Main Performer), Paul Talbot (Producer), Paul Talbot (Engineer), Paul Talbot (Mixing), Paul Talbot (Re-Recording Engineer), Mike Ivory (Engineer), Digby Pearson (Executive Producer)
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Wikipedia: Reek of Putrefaction
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Reek of Putrefaction
Studio album by Carcass
Released July 1988
Recorded December 1987-March 1988 at Ritch Bitch Studios
Genre Grindcore
Goregrind[1]
Length 39:41
Label Earache
Producer Carcass
Paul Tabot
Professional reviews
Carcass chronology
Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment (1987) Reek of Putrefaction
(1988)
Symphonies of Sickness
(1989)
Censored cover

Reek of Putrefaction is the debut album by the British extreme metal band Carcass. It was released by Earache Records in 1988.

Contents

Production

Reek of Putrefaction was recorded in four days at a small studio in Birmingham. According to Bill Steer, the studio's engineer "ruined" the record, especially its drum tracks. Carcass had only had a few hours available of mixing, so they had to release the LP as it was to meet the label's deadline. The band were "everything but happy" with the end result, declared Steer.[2]

When the master recording was first sent to the pressing plant, the original vinyl LP had to be pressed at lower volumes, because the bass frequencies were so low (sometimes reaching 25 Hz) that they were in danger of rendering higher frequencies inaudible.[3]

Overview

When released, Reek of Putrefaction reached #6 on the UK Indie Chart, establishing Carcass as one of the pioneers of the grindcore genre.[4] The late BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel declared it his favorite album of 1988, in an interview for British newspaper The Observer.[5]

The original album cover consisted of a collage of autopsy photographs collected from medical journals.[5] Reek of Putrefaction was re-released in 1994 with a "clean" cover.[6] In the year 2002 / 2003, the album was reissued with a censored outer cover proclaiming "Original artwork contained inside".

Track listing

# Title Length
1. "General Grinder"   1:32
2. "Regurgitation of Giblets"   1:24
3. "Maggot Colony"   1:37
4. "Pyosisified (Rotten to the Gore)"   2:55
5. "Carbonized Eyesockets"   1:11
6. "Frenzied Detruncation"   0:59
7. "Vomited Anal Tract"   1:45
8. "Festerday"   0:22
9. "Fermenting Innards"   2:35
10. "Excreted Alive"   1:21
11. "Suppuration"   2:19
12. "Foeticide"   2:46
13. "Microwaved Uterogestation"   1:24
14. "Feast on Dismembered Carnage"   1:27
15. "Splattered Cavities"   1:54
16. "Psychopathologist"   1:18
17. "Burnt to a Crisp"   2:43
18. "Pungent Excruciation"   2:31
19. "Manifestation of Verrucose Urethra"   1:02
20. "Oxidized Razor Masticator"   3:13
21. "Mucopurulence Excretor"   1:09
22. "Malignant Defecation"   2:14
2008 Reissue Bonus Tracks*
# Title Length
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"    
  • These tracks are taken from the demo "Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment"

2008 Reissue

The album was re-released in 2008 as part of an ongoing series of Carcass reissues to tie in with their reunion. The main album with the demo "Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment" is presented as one side of a Dualdisc, while the DVD side features the first part of an extended interview/documentary titled The Pathologist's Report Part I: Incubation. Later editions contain the album/demo on a CD and the documentary on a separate DVD. The album is presented in a 12-panel digipak with full lyrics and artwork and is sealed in a white 'medical' bag with clear sticker, ensuring the controversial cover art is hidden.

Credits

Notes

  1. ^ Widener, Matthew. Carcass Clones. http://web.archive.org/web/20080116115258/http://www.decibelmagazine.com/features/dec2005/carcass_clones.aspx. Retrieved 2009-02-27. 
  2. ^ "Carcass - Perverted Sickos". Rock Hard. June 1990. http://www.goddamnbastard.org/carcass/interviews/rockhard40.html. Retrieved 2008-04-27.  Archived at Sex. Money. Food.
  3. ^ Merle, Laurent (1990). "THE GLAMMER, BILL, IS SPEAKING". Peardrop. http://www.goddamnbastard.org/carcass/interviews/peardrop.html. Retrieved 2008-04-27.  Archived at Sex. Money. Food.
  4. ^ "Carcass: Bio". Metal Maniacs. http://www.goddamnbastard.org/carcass/interviews/bio.html. Retrieved 2008-04-27.  Archived at Sex. Money. Food.
  5. ^ a b Mudrian (2004), page 132.
  6. ^ See the British 1994 rerelease, available on the "References" section below.

References

  • Carcass (1994). Reek of Putrefaction. [CD]. Nottingham, UK: Earache Compact Discs, Cassettes & Records.
  • Mudrian, Albert (2004). Choosing Death: the Improbable History of Death Metal and Grincore. Los Angeles, CA: Feral House.

 
 
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Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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