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Carcass: Surgical steel

27/09/13 || Ironpants

“Numbing torturous troubadours
Of this melodious dirge
Ostentatious triumphalism
Impressarios of despair”

Well, this is a rather redundant review. There isn’t one true death metal head out there that has missed out on this album. If there is…surprise! And wake the fuck up sleepyhead!! This may be one of the most awaited albums in years, and with only a few days after release it is topping different charts around the world.

I could say just about anything about this album, people have already made up their mind. I for one have been acting like a malfunctioning dildo, vibrating from anticipation but sometimes just stopped with an empty stare since the teaser video for “Captive bolt pistol” was released. Carcass is one of my all time favorite bands, and I like all their albums, even if I consider “Swansong” being a somewhat lost case, I still listen to it once and again. For me, they have been a band, that even if they have changed their style through their career, my brain has nicely adapted to their chosen style without major discomfort. Why is that, one might ask? I have no idea myself, but it must have something to do with the underlying concept, the soul or the heart? Even if this is attributes that are long lost in my aging body, the soul lost eons ago and the heart blackened forever, Carcass has remained as a companion through the years.

You are already reading the hints and clues on where this is going, so lets get down to business. You feel right from the beginning when the intro “1985” takes it first tone where this juggernaut is going, it´s a rather epic opener, and I got goosebumps when I heard it. But it is also misleading in a way, cause the two first real songs on the album, “Thrasher´s abbatoir” and “Cadaver pouch conveyor system” are sending a message to all the non-believers out there that are already whining about “…they are only spinning the melodeath wheels for cash”. Both of those songs are raw and energetic, with grind parts and fighting spirit to the max. Walker is spewing out his trademark snarls and it feels like acid pouring over your naked body.

You might also have opinions about the band members on this comeback album? Steer and Walker is of course obligatory, and some people are whining about Amott not participating. I truly believe that the album gains from not having Amott on it. Yeah, sure he meant a lot for Carcass sound during “Heartwork”, but he isn’t even an original member, and all you who like Carcass more grind-orientated parts out there should praise your god of choice, cause I think that the album would have been more easy-going with him on it. Now we are being served songs that actually bare traces of early Carcass instead of a never ending string of some melodic harmony riffing, which I am 100% sure there would much more of if Amott had joined forces with the band. Don’t get me wrong, I love “Heartwork”, but it has
already been done.

The drummer of choice isn’t much to cry about, cause the options there are limited for obvious reasons. I think it´s rather natural to choose a “youngster” that can handle the duties with respect. Even if Owen´s style is/was quite unique with the kind of “I play because I can”-mode and contributed to their sound, the replacer Wilding plays true to Carcass style and bearing the legacy well, but also adding some flare with a modern approach.

Of course they also stay true to their characteristic names for the songs. “316L grade surgical steel” and “Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 standard” are just a couple of examples. It´s brilliant. Odd, but brilliant. Both above titles are about different kinds of steel used in medical environments. And both songs are also kind of different. “316L surgical steel” is more leaning against their later death´n´roll style with a tasty hard rock riff as a companion through the song. “Noncompliance…” on the other hand starts out with some kind of Egyptian sounding riff before going into a hectic grind-part. Both songs are very good, and I just lean back and enjoy when I hear them.

The ending song “Mount of execution” is over 8 minutes long and sort of a homage to their British heritage with nods towards the NWOBHM, and after four minutes the song falls over to some riff-fest with classic heavy metal soloing, that to be honest turns this song into the weakest track on the album.

All in all, this album is overall great, but I was hoping for a little more early Carcass influence and a little less rock riffing, but you get some of that early touch here and there. Much of that I think come from the drummer himself that blasts his way in some songs I guess the older gentlemen wasn’t really expecting? There´s nothing to be critical about really, I can’t imagine any other band that could gather after some 15-16 years or so and just continue where they stopped? You get a little bit of everything on this album, and if they will make some more albums, we can hope for even more caustic death metal from one of the greatest bands in history.

8,5

Information
Released: 2013
Label: Nuclear Blast
Website: Carcass Facebook
Band
Jeff Walker: vocals, bass
Bill Steer: guitar, vocals
Dan Wilding: drums

Tracklist
01. 1985
02. Thrasher´s abbatoir
03. Cadaver pouch conveyor system
04. A congealed clot of blood
05. The master butcher´s apron
06. Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 standard
07. The granulating dark satanic mills
08. Unit for human consumption
09. 316L grade surgical steel
10. Captive bolt pistol
11. Mount of execution

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