Carcass is recognized as pioneers in the grindcore genre. Their early work was also associated with tags like "splatter death metal" and "hardgore," owing to their macabre lyrics and gruesome album covers. Moreover, their 1993 album Heartwork contributed to their status as pioneers of melodic death metal.
The band frequently explores animal rights issues in their lyrics, and some members follow vegetarian or vegan lifestyles.
Studio albums
Reek of Putrefaction (1988)
Symphonies of Sickness (1989)
Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)
Heartwork (1993)
Swansong (1996)
Surgical Steel (2013)
Torn Arteries (2021)
Death Certificate
Carcass Lyrics
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Born and die, institutionalized, a bleak epitaph, an apalogue so sad
Cross indexed, cross dissected
Cross referenced, contabescence
Cross indexed, cross bisected
Cross referenced, certificate of death, certified dead
Digitalized, statistical obituary, your only legacy, your final resting place
The lyrics to Carcass's "Death Certificate" paint a grim picture of societal institutionalization and the dehumanization of death. The opening line, "A grim myriad, a grey kaleidoscope, sterile, contrasting," sets the tone for a bleak commentary on the ways in which death is treated as a cold, calculated process rather than a deeply emotional event for those left behind. The chorus emphasizes this notion, with the repetition of the phrase "certified dead" and the emphasis on bureaucratic processes like being cross-indexed and cross-referenced. The line "your only legacy, your final resting place" speaks to the ways in which technology has reduced our legacies to mere data points and statistics.
The song overall critiques societal structures that treat death as a sterile event that exists only for the benefit of the ruling class, particularly given the emphasis on "institutionalization" and "certificate of death." Through these lyrics, Carcass is commenting on the ways in which death can be dehumanized and made to feel meaningless, particularly when it is treated as an industrialized process rather than a deeply personal event.
Line by Line Meaning
A grim myriad, a grey kaleidoscope, sterile, contrasting
Life is a collection of dull and depressing experiences that lack color, vibrancy, or vitality.
Born and die, institutionalized, a bleak epitaph, an apalogue so sad
We are born into a society that controls us, and eventually die within institutions that govern our existence with a final legacy that is filled with sorrow and despair.
Cross indexed, cross dissected
Our lives are systematically analyzed and compared to others for data processing.
Cross referenced, contabescence
We are identified by our name, and our death is recorded as a statistic for future referencing.
Cross indexed, cross bisected
Our lives are further examined and classified under specific categories for statistical purposes.
Cross referenced, certificate of death, certified dead
Our death is confirmed and certified through official documentation that serves as our final proof of existence.
Machine coded, reduced to hard memory, in a data base
Our lives are digitized and stored as binary code in a computer database.
Digitalized, statistical obituary, your only legacy, your final resting place
Our only remaining legacy is a digital record of statistics documenting our existence, which serves as our final resting place.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: J. WALKER, M. AMOTT, W. STEER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind