CARCASS - Surgical Steel (2013)

This deserves its own thread, no? Was gonna say my most anticipated metal album of the year, but fuck it it's my most anticipated album full stop. Even if it's shit I'm sure it will be so in an interesting way.

Song titles:

The Master Butcher’s Apron
The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills
A Congealed Clot Of Blood
A Wraith In The Apparatus
316l Grade Surgical Steel
Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
Captive Bolt Pistol
Intensive Battery Brooding
None Compliance To Astm F899-12 Standard
Mount Of Execution
1985/Thrasher’s Abattoir
Unfit For Human Consumption
Zochrot
Livestock Marketplace

song titles in character

Pre covers?

Intensive Battery Brooding

That's the quintessential Carcass song title, right there.

"The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills"

i think i mentioned on the metal thread that this is my favorite collection of words right now

I wish one of the songs was merely titled "Jeff Walker's Teeth"

hope it sounds like this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_Yvj3SqeLo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dokIQOKxKSc

wow, nice. to me this sounds like a solid sonic follow-up to Heartwork.

which I think is a fine thing - no need to revisit the older sound since they were clearly gravitating away from it towards the end, but gladly away from the Swansong sound.

Will take me a few listens to decide on whether this is just merely 'good' or great.

wow at the ending

Great to hear a bit of Bill Steer on the mic again.

Great overall. It kind of most reminds me of a Symphonies cut, but with the confidence and technique of later Carcass.

typed and retyped stuff here but i'm just really thrilled, so i'll just go w/ that

It's great to have Carcass back in 2013. between getting to see them at MDF and getting a new release, this feels like a belated dream come true.

Non-Compliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard

Well of course they're in non-compliance--this standard has been revised 2 times since then. They need to reference ASTM F899 - 12b Standard Specification for Wrought Stainless Steels for Surgical Instruments

Going to see them next month at BA, hope they'll be able to squeeze one or two new songs in the setlist.

Pity, the new one's been taken down. I'm doubly excited now having heard it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjvHn1IlK5c

crying a little

In a good way?

totally! joy cry

shit is perfectly "progression from heartwork" all of my dreams come true

music to my ears. part of me wondered if they were going to go 'backwards' to their grindier days, which would have been the wrong decision.

instead we're retconning Swansong out of existence yayyyyyyyyyyyy.

Er, I kind of like Swansong. This sounds much better though.

oh i totally dig swansong but yeah that doesn't diminish how great this sounds to me

my issue is not with death 'n roll, which I actually like quite a bit of, but that I didn't think it worked for a band like Carcass.

stoked for this release. considering that by the time I first heard a note of Carcass, they had already disbanded, this is a treat.

the problem with Swansong in my eyes is how out of sync the themes and subject matter are with the complexion and rationale of the band. they were still very much a socially conscious entity, but lyrically speaking everything was watered down to the point of ennui. that said, there are some cracking riffs on there; it's just difficult to appreciate it as part of the Carcass canon.

really, really looking forward to this new one. i'm hearing both the technical ascendancy of Necroticism and the production of Heartwork in the teaser.

sweet bass neck inlays

there are some cracking riffs on there

This is what I like most about it; the opening to Black Star is up there with the all-time great Carcass riffs.

It's funny, the song structures and production on Swansong are very much geared towards a more mainstream audience, then you throw in Walker's alienating to all but the core audience vocals. The whole thing is rendered half-arsed as both a mainstream hard rock album and an extreme metal album.

I for one still really enjoy its grooves though.

i guess they're officially previewing "captive bolt pistol now"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSsrKl6HtAw

hits the spot

I like the shot in the vidoe of Jeff Walker (I think) drinking from a Symphonies of Sickness mug. The track is solid too!

Early reviews are glowing.

yeah, Decibel loved it.

it showed up on Amazon. clicking the Pre-Order button never felt so grand.

Invisible Oranges called it perhaps their best album.

think this is extra special for me because "Heartwork" was the third death metal cd I ever owned (first two were Six Feet Under's "Warpath" and Cannibal Corpse's "Gallery of Suicide"). Saw it sitting there in a CD Warehouse, as an 17 year old just getting into metal, and picked it up on a hunch, fell in love with it.

got into the back catalog as well, but they're really one of the first death/grind acts I ever followed, so it's great to have em around in 2013 since by the time I got into them, they'd already split.

think this is extra special for me because "Heartwork" was the third death metal cd I ever owned

First for me!

Except I had it on cassette, haha

I think a large portion of my early metal listening was dictated by what I could fucking find in CD WArehouse or the now non-existent "Blockbuster Music".

: )

Leaked. Dammit, I have to go to work.

this will make you more efficient

three listens in a row, i have nothing but esteem for this thing

want to write small poems about/to each of the riffs

CAAAARCAAAASSS

All I have to say for now.

Will take me awhile to decide if the songwriting is as good as on Necroticism or Heartwork, but this is definitely proper.

this record is making every other record i thought was a good record this year sound boring

infinite, human, con, flict

Quite stimulating in their own way.

agreed with the EP being slight but I still dig it, but def not essential like Surgical.

is it selfish that I already crave another full-length

like not that I'm burnt out on Surgical but like more Carcass is usually not a bad thing. i've done the maths.

http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/bill-steer-says-next-carcass-album-should-arrive-by-end-of-2017/

Really no idea which direction they're going to progress in after SS.

Torn Arteries is coming out at last this Sept

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIH9FkzGXeQ

01 Torn Arteries
02 Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1)
03 Eleanor Rigor Mortis
04 Under The Scalpel Blade
05 The Devil Rides Out
06 Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited
07 Kelly’s Meat Emporium
08 In God We Trust
09 Wake Up And Smell The Carcass / Caveat Emptor
10 The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing

kelly’s meat emporium

Walker has fully reached the dad pun phase of his song naming career.

as a vegetarian i appreciate the cover

Was gonna say, love the artwork (even as a committed omnivore).

"eleanor rigor mortis" is, if nothing else, a great halloween theme costume concept

anyway both new songs are very fun, presumably some meatier cuts to come

Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door

Whatever for?

There's a "visualizer" for the new song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdcfhccjk78

I'm assuming the super tidy production style they've favored for the last little while is a turnoff for some people who desire EDGE but in the context of current metal I find it refreshing

ppl will always find a way to complain about carcass, meanwhile they continue to rock

folks. it is almost time.

before we go there, can i just say i cannot believe it's been 8 years since Surgical Steel. feels like half that at most.

my life is flying by. :(

seriously. like it's half the length of time of their previous hiatus!

IT'S TORN ARTERIES time.

here's my track by track review.

Torn Arteries - HOLY FUCK there's a lot going on here! delightfully this is a lot more nutbar on the fretbar than anything on last year's underwhelming EP. there are some tasty harmonized leads.

a nice little 90s alt rock Foo Fighters riff shows up shortly

Dance of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1) - another snarling melodic riff. this feels like a cousin to "Congealed Clot of Blood" from previous album.

much more restrained than previous track. but earwormy as hell

Eleanor Rigor Mortis - awwww yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis. delightfully thrashy opening riff slows way the fuck down into a churning slow assed, heavy riff. great layered vocals between Bill/Jeff.

lovely harmonized guitar riff with that delightful Steer tone. middle section is mega-catchy but not in the cheesy way some melo-death groups do. and every lead is delicious.

OOOOOOOOOOOH now a new riff just showed up and I like it a lot!!!

fuuuuuuuck 3 songs in and I'm already so excited.

Under the Scalpel Blade - heard this one when it dropped in 2019. still love it.

again, just a cornucopia of ideas. too many good moments to pick from. middle section feels so arena rocky, I love it.

this is like a candy bar of a song except I'm not throwing up.

The Devil Rides Out - mid-tempo crunchwrap, hooking its talons into a nice groove. Walker/Steer's vocals are unsettling af here, but the song is very pleasant albeit it gets very moody, like visiting an elderly grandma's house and hearing someone duct-taped and screaming in the other room and hoping against hope that you imagined it, and gradually finding out that no, grandma has a prisoner after all.

what I love is they have definitely not regurgitated Surgical Steel. it's similar, obviously, but this is a more patient album, it plays with space more, and it is not as obsessed with speed as its predecessor.

there are also more ideas to each song, this is definitely a "room with many doors" song as someone on ILX once put it (via a thread).

holy fuck the ending riff is amazing, I needed 30 more seconds of it.

Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment - beautiful classical guitar gives way to chugging.

this song has a traditional heavy metal underbelly, like it's as if Angel Witch crashed the party and also spiked the punch with some of its own ingredients.

Steer just seems to be having fun from a guitar standpoint. and man do his vocals sound gross af here.

ok, moshy breakdown riff in the middle. hi. how are you?

I swear to god, there are way more elements per song than on SS, like a party where the guests never stop streaming in but they're all delightful so you don't care.

ok we're back to the Angel Witch-cum-death riff. yayyyyyyyyyyyyyy

i'm not drunk i'm just so happy for this album

fuck the song is still going

mid-song calm riff coulda been on a fucking Christopher Cross album and then they went back to the face melting

9:42 - longest Carcass song ever?

Kelly's Meat Emporium - I know this was released months ago but I deliberately didn't listen to keep it a surprise.

more of a bite-sized immediate track, love the main riff and the thunderous drums underneath it. less surprises lurking around the corner, a little more "first three tracks of Surgical Steel" energy.

In God We Trust - opening riff is practically doom metal. then it goes to fist pump tempo pretty instantaneously.

this almost feels Sabbathy at times, but faintly.

a beautiful clean arpeggiated riff featuring another beautiful melodic solo from Steer, lord he's just giving it all on this album.

ok there are hand claps on the song, i am dead. like i'm talking "That Thing You Do" handclaps.

Wake Up and Smell the Carcass/Caveat Emptor - this starts out like a fuckin' Sword song.

sinister riff takes over with octavized lead guitar over it, then we're back to the Sword.

for some reason Jeff Walker is enunciating a lot more on this track.

wow this got hyper melodic real fast, and then goes from an arena-rock riff to a mosh pit crunch-riff instantaneously.

I am describing this album terribly. it is fantastic.

ok now i can't tell if this is gonna slow down extremely or get mega fast.

oh fuck it did the former and it's heavy af. yes.

The Scythe's Remorseless Swing - 70s hard rock riff begins this one, could appear on Jesus Christ Superstar.

Jeff Walker is doing a pirate voice, perhaps unintentionally.

ok i give up, i have run out of ways to describe what I'm hearing, I just really like this song.

I didn't dislike a song on the entire album.

i can't wait to relisten to this shit.

my rating, out of 10, is 300.

I'm about to listen. The consensus of the early write-ups seems to be 'good not great', but Neanderthal has given me hope...

ok there are hand claps on the song, i am dead.

There was one review I skimmed bemoaning the handclaps, but I am down with handclaps in metal.

i love “eleanor rigor mortis” title on down

The Devil Rides Out

Not a cover of the Whitchery song I take it?

So it's good! Not quite delivering the "fuck yeah" endorphin rush that Surgical Steel delivered on first listen, it's a murkier, more convoluted affair (sometimes to a fault, "Flesh Ripping..." could easily be a few minutes shorter). The quality of the riffs can't be denied though. It will take a few more more listens to assess the songcraft.

part of Surgical Steel's initial endorphin rush for me was the fact that we had one of my top 5 favorite bands back after a 17 year hiatus. I feel like had they gave me this album instead of SS, I might have had a similar reaction, though I do think SS is a more 'immediate' album. the songs use similar songwriting philosophies as Heartwork does.

this one definitely seems more ponderous and goes more angular directions, but never without being hooky af. can't wait for my third listen. it's on deck!

there's a boxed set version of this album that comes with the vinyl, a cd version, and....get this....a dinner set, including a plate with the cover of the album on it. and a 24-page booklet.

tempted. I want to eat off a Carcass plate.

I'm willing to bet that almost none of these plates will ever be used as actual dinnerware, unfortunately.

I would totally eat bagel bites off it

hammer smashed

Middle aged metal bands are really only an inch away from the Elvis porcelain figurine stage of their careers.

I would totally eat bagel bites off it

― you had me at "giallo" (Neanderthal)

Or microwaved uterogestation...

Iron Maiden will be pissed off they hadn't thought of it

This is not a good album.

It is a great one.

Otm. I am enamoured with it after five listens

less immediate than surgical steel but after a few days with it: probably better

kinda feel that way too. I'm also not burning out on this one. Surgical I played to the point of ridiculousness for a few months and I still can jam it and love it (in fact, it's going on next), but for a little while I was wiped out on it.

I think I'll be playing both back to back for a while. I love this band. and when I first saw them in 2013 I had no idea we'd get two new studio albums from them.