Surgical

CARCASS Giving People What They Want

Joseph Schafer of Invisible Oranges recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker of reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Invisible Oranges: To me, "Surgical Steel" sounds at its heart to be a very sad record. Walker: You think? Invisible Oranges: I think so. Walker: If anything, "Heartwork" and "Swansong" were, lyrically, very serious. This is a throwback to the old days of CARCASS, where it was very lighthearted. But this is cool because you're extracting something from this album. Which is fine. I'm not here to dictate how people should perceive or enjoy this album. People who look at the lyrics and titles and think what the fuck they want are ultimately fragile and stupid. There's no real agenda here, no real issues, nobody's trying to brainwash anyone. I'm not Barney Greenway [NAPALM DEATH]. You can look at it at whatever level you like. You can view the lyrics as throwaway, or look very deep into it, and that's fine. People keep asking me what the chorus is, the numbers on "The Dark Granulating Satanic Mills", and I'm not going to say. I've heard some interesting theories as to what those numbers are about, and that is far more interesting than the reality. Invisible Oranges: Would you describe to me the moment when you realized you were happy doing CARCASS again. Walker: The first rehearsal. I was just happy to be playing with Bill [Steer, guitar] again. He's a far superior musician to me, and a far superior human being as well. It was cool to be back where we started. Invisible Oranges: It really seems like, retroactively, CARCASS is the relationship between you two. Walker: Yes, you could argue that. If I hadn't met Bill, Bill would have achieved musically, but I don't think CARCASS would have existed, so in that sense you're right. But the central songwriter of CARCASS has always been in flux. In the old days it was Ken [Owen, drums] who wrote a hell of a lot of the riffs. If you look at "Reek", we had an equal three-way split. On "Symphonies", Bill started doing more, and I did more of the lyrics. "Necroticism" is 95 percent Ken and Bill. Mike [Amott, guitar] came in at the end with one riff. "Heartwork" was all Bill and Mike's riffs. So as you can see the core of the band is constantly changing in terms of who's writing the riffs. On "Surgical Steel", it's all Bill who's coming up with the riffs. The more I think of it, you can't really call the band mine and Bill's because in the past so much of it really was Ken. Ken cast a long shadow on this album, and his ghost is in the drumming, is in the lyrics and the songtitles. And he even tracked some backing vocals. He's still there in spirit very much. Invisible Oranges: That's sort of poetic considering the way he is mixed into the record, his vocals are lower, so he almost literally is a ghost in the songs.

CARCASS: Entire ‘Surgical Steel’ Album Available For Streaming

"Surgical Steel", the new album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, can be streamed in its entirety in the YouTube clip below. "Surgical Steel" will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). "Surgical Steel" will be available on several collectible formats, which can now be ordered with or without an exclusive t-shirt design here. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION, LIQUEFIED SKELETON). CARCASS' first studio LP since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen. In a recent interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think." He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good."

CARCASS: Part One Of ‘Surgical Steel’ Track-By-Track Breakdown

Part one of a track-by-track breakdown of "Surgical Steel", the new full-length album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, can be seen below. Watch guitarist Bill Steer and drummer Dan Wilding explain the songwriting process for the songs "1985", "Thrasher's Abattoir", "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System"and "A Congealed Clot Of Blood". "Surgical Steel" will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap(MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). "Surgical Steel" will be available on several collectible formats, which can now be ordered with or without an exclusive t-shirt design here. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION, LIQUEFIED SKELETON). CARCASS' first studio LP since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen. In a recent interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think." He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good." Regarding the direction of the forthcoming CARCASS album, Walker previously stated: "We've taken stylistic cues from all the albums because it's in our blood, but it's no rehash or mess of ideas. I think it sounds almost like the missing link between the third and forth albums but with some groove in there. I've jokingly christened some parts 'trad blast' and some 'death sleaze'… don't think for a minute this is just some nostalgic throwback album — we're setting up another 17 years of ideas for other bands to copy and clean up on. [laughs]" "Surgical Steel" jewel case track listing: 01. 1985 02. Thrasher's Abattoir 03. Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System 04. A Congealed Clot Of Blood 05. The Master Butcher's Apron 06. Noncompliance To ASTM F 899-12 Standard 07. The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills 08. Unfit For Human Consumption 09. 316L Grade Surgical Steel 10. Captive Bolt Pistol 11. Mount Of Execution "Surgical Steel" digipak track listing:

CARCASS: ‘Surgical Steel’ Box Set Packaged As First-Aid Kit

"Surgical Steel", the new full-length album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH,SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap(MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). "Surgical Steel" will be made available in the following formats: CD, CD-Digi, Double-LP Black, Double-LP White (pictured below) and Nuclear Blast Mail Order Edition (pictured below). The "Surgical Steel" Mailorder Edition is limited to 666 units and is packaged as a first aid-kit. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION,LIQUEFIED SKELETON). CARCASS' first studio LP since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen.

CARCASS: First ‘Surgical Steel’ Trailer Released

A one-and-a-half-minute trailer for "Surgical Steel", the comeback album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, can be seen below. The CD will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT,EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON,