Best of Carcass

This is the perfect collection to sum up Carcass's excellent career. Wake Up And Smell The...Carcass was a great album, but was a compilation of rarities and studio outtakes, and not necessarily a fitting end to the band's recording career. This 2-CD set released in Japan sums up the career of one of history's great death metal acts using studio material, outtakes, and a few live cuts.

CD One features tracks from the band's studio releases, meaning there is something for every Carcass fan, no matter what era of the band's history they favor. Rot 'N Roll from the Heartwork EP is included (although This Was My Life was not for some reason). The only noticeable absence are tracks from the Tools Of The Trade EP. Pyosisified:Still Rotten To The Gore or Tools Of THe Trade would have made the collection complete.

CD 2 features collected rarities from the band's career. The five outtakes from Swansong are included, as well as the four Radio One cuts. What makes this CD indispensable are the five live tracks. The first three are from a show supporting the Necroticism album and successfully capture the band's live presence. The last two are much more valuable to the diehard Carcass fan as they are from the Heartwork tour and therefore feature Mike Hickey on guitar. This may explain why the songs seem to be played at a slightly slower than normal speed!

All in all, an excellent collection, and a great way to document the history of Carcass!