Carcass "Symphonies Of Sickness"

Symphonies of Sickness is the second album by British extreme metal band Carcass. It was released through Earache Records on 4 December 1989. This is Michael Amott's favourite Carcass album.

With Symphonies of Sickness, Carcass moved away from the grindcore sound of Reek of Putrefaction, moving into a death metal style.

In February 2009, Symphonies of Sickness was ranked number 4 in Terrorizer's list of essential European grindcore albums.

The original CD release contained 16 bonus tracks taken from the Reek of Putrefaction 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's albums to tie in with their reunion. This version included the Symphonies of Sickness demo 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.

A limited edition (featuring the "gore" cover artwork) was once released containing 16 bonus tracks taken from the "Reek of Putrefaction" album. The total running time of this version is 76:58. The original "gore" cover, which was later banned and replaced by a "clean" cover, which was drawings of a human similar to those found in biology books. The exact same cover was used for "Reek of Putrefaction" except with a different color scheme. In 2002/2003 the gore covers were put back.

Sleeve art and layout by Gruesome Graphics Inc.

Pressing
- black vinyl, gatefold cover, white inner sleeve, featuring the gore artwork inside the gatefold.
- black vinyl, standard cover.
- red vinyl, standard cover, limited to 1000 copies.

CD - MOSH 18CD

A limited edition (featuring the "gore" cover artwork) was once released containing 16 bonus tracks taken from the "Reek of Putrefaction" album. The total running time of this version is 76:58.

The original "gore" cover, which was later banned and replaced by a "clean" cover, which was drawings of a human similar to those found in biology books. The exact same cover was used for "Reek of Putrefaction" except with a different color scheme. In 2002/2003 the gore covers were put back.

Recording information:

All lyrics and music severely decomposed, deranged, excreted by Carcass.
Recorded and mixed at "Slaughterhouse" Studios, July-August 1989. 

Co-produced by Carcass.