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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Carcass disc, August 27, 2007
Carcass' sixth full length album, 1993's "Heartwork," was a very important album for two very different genres. It was one of the first and most important melodic death metal releases, but it has also become a vastly influential and world-renowned landmark for grindcore/death-grind metal. Countless grindcore bands (i.e. Dying Fetus, Aborted, and Impaled to name just a few) would go on to incorporate some "Heartwork"-style groove into their patented brutality.
"Heartwork"'s groovey riffs, memorable hooks, melodic parts (including harmonized notes and bluesy guitar soloing), and overtly conventional song structures made it a lot more commercially accessible than previous albums, thus launching Carcass into the mainstream. Of course, as a result, many longtime fans claimed that the group had "sold out" (this is also considered to be one of metal's first and most famous "sell-out" albums), but this was clearly a band on its way up, and a band that was obviously more concerned with expanding its dynamic range, sonic soundscape, and listening fanbase than just rehashing the same music to please old-school fans. And don't worry, "Heartwork" is still plenty heavy - it is filled with intricate, thrashy, white-hot riffs, muscular rhythms, technical, winding, Megadethian solos, complex yet precise blast beats, and wicked vocals. (In addition to laying down some black metal-inspired shrieks, vocalist Jeff Walker hisses and snarls like a possessed cat as he spews forth his lyrics like venom.)
"Carnal Forge" and "Embodiment" are two particularly catchy numbers and boast pounding rhythms with ultra-heavy, churning riffs, and the title track has blistering, rapid-fire power chords. Two of the other best and most brutal tracks are the thunderous, machine gun riffs on "Arbeit Macht Fleisch," and the scorching, awesome-sounding "Blind Bleeding the Blind." But, on the flip side, songs like "No Love Lost" and "Doctrinal Expletives" sound somewhat restrained due to their melodic, wailing solos.
What is "Heartwork"? A complete and total cuh-lassic. There's nothing more to it. It's just one of those albums that you need to own or you will forever be un-metal.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
DEATH METAL TURNING POINT!!!, June 28, 2006
I owned this cd few months later its release back in 1993 when I was deep into classic death metal (Entombed, Morbid Angel, Dismember, Sepultura, Death etc...). I consider "Heartwork" the turning point of my "career" as guitarist and, most of all, as death metal listener. I love "Necroticism" too as it's another great pice of death metal art, but I hate Carcass previous releases ("Simphony" and "Reek" are to death/grind oriented and they sound chaos to my ears!). Amott forcing his way through the song writing of the band is the real point that makes Heartwork their best album ever in my opinion. The swedish guitar player is a great artist with amazing musical/compositive tastes and amazing ideas! I'd describe his style as a cool mixture of classical and death metal riffs, just listen to "Death Certificate" (WHAT A SONG!!!) and "Embodiment", tracks where his influence is stronger, and you'll get my point of view. No weak episodes inside "Heartwork" mates, 10 intense songs...unforgettable moments listening to "This Mortal Coil", "Arbeit Macht Fleisch" and the title-track itself! Walker vocals are unique in the genre, they catch you by the balls...There's only one thing that don't allow Carcass to reach perfection: lyrics! I've read in other costumers reviews you often need a vocabulary...well, as I wasn't born english mother tongue it's difficult to me to understand and memorize their songs at once...That's not too serious, I mean I'd rate the band 4.9 out of 5 for that...eheheh...yet at the same time I must admit is something intriguing..."A grim myriad, a grey kaleidoscope, sterile, contrasting...cross index, cross dissected, cross referenced, contabescence..." YEAH!!! BUY IT AND DO NOT MISS AMOTT'S ARCH ENEMY!!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Your Death Certificate, April 2, 2006
Heart Work...is, simply put, probably the greatest death metal album ever recorded. In my opinion, these guys have achieved a genius combination of brutality, finesse, complexity, sophistication, technicality and emotionalism unmatched by any other band. They leave the rest in the dust and make them seem like children playing on Sesame Street. Don't waste your time, this album and Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious, is all you need really...toss the rest out. Death Certificate is all you need to know...and it's over. Literally.
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