Swansong was the final studio album by Carcass. This was supposed to be their major label debut having been signed by Columbia records following the success of Heartwork, but disputes with this record company left them to return to Earache, and it was released through them on 10 June 1996 (UK). Though (or perhaps because) the album continued the progression towards more melodic music seen on Heartwork, it was seen as a "sell out" by many of the band's fans. Some reviewers stated "Carcass were not meant to sound like this", but at the same time applauded Metallica for their change in direction on the Load album. However, it gained many new fans, reaching No. 46 on Billboard magazine's Heatseakers chart. The band had always shown a sense of humour in their song titles, and Swansong made this more obvious with titles such as "Keep on Rotting in the Free World" and "Generation Hexed". A limited edition of this album was released as a brain-shaped CD, with a bonus 2-track CD 'Somnus Pecunia Cibus'. The reason for the bonus disc was to include "Go to Hell", which wouldn't fit on the brain shaped CD (Made by Nimbus Manufacturing in Wales, UK) due to the 'cutting' into the disc required for the brain shape. This delayed the release of the disc by a week (originally planned for 3 June 1996, the same day as Metallica's Load), so an extra track, "Emotional Flatline" was included as an apology for the delay.
Track listing
"Keep on Rotting in the Free World" (Walker) – 3:42
"Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody" (Steer/Walker) – 4:17
Over the CD, you can see the "unfinished pyramid et al" from the Great Seal of the United States, but it reads "carcass" instead of "annuit coeptis", "somnus pecunia cibus" instead of "novus ordo seclorum" and "MCMXCV" instead of "MDCCLXXVI".
The Japanese release features a bonus track "Death Rider Da", with producer Colin Richardson on vocals.
