Metantoine: I added the poll!
I know that 'versus' threads are typically considered the purview of ignorant newbs on messageboards. But that's what I am. So bite me.
And I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I didn't see anything on the first several pages. And so...
Carcass and Entombed. Two masterful bands that pioneered the extreme outer fringes of metal well before many of their peers had even picked up their first guitars. But along the way, both bands dipped their proverbial toes into controversial musical wells - namely by releasing records steeped in a more traditional rock-and-roll songwriting structure while retaining signature death metal musical stylings, in the albums Swansong and Wolverine Blues respectively.
I feel like Wolverine Blues has become more well-received by Entombed's core fanbase, while Carcass' outing is more controversial, perhaps owing to the somewhat 'poppier' and more melodic structures of the tracks on Swansong. But those of us who are partisans of the latter record (and I admit to numbering myself among them) often feel that Swansong is pretty underrated by metal elitists who can't stand even the slightest taint of a 'sell-out' album. From the first bruising bass riffs of "Keep On Rotting...", I feel that the more melodious instrumentation on Swansong is actually productive to strong songwriting, keeping the band focused and perhaps helping them lose some of the excesses that I feel plagued its predecessor, Heartwork.
Don't take me as bashing on Entombed in any way. I love Wolverine Blues. It's definitely 'truer', and tracks like "Demon" demonstrate a strong mastery of the metal art form. But at the end of the day... it's Swansong I come back to again and again. It has an almost hypnotic rhythm to it that keeps me listening to it on repeat for hours.
