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Carcass > Surgical Steel > Reviews
Carcass - Surgical Steel

Surgical Fall - 48%

Hames_Jetfield, December 29th, 2023
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Nuclear Blast (Slipcase)

I mentioned earlier that many years had to pass before Jeff Walker and Bill Steer brought the band back from the dead and started making music again. But I didn't add the most important thing: was there any point in waiting for it? Well, unfortunately, I dare say not. I tried, I listened to it a lot, I bought the physical version at a bargain price - nothing, just as much as I don't like "Surgical Steel", I don't like it so far, regardless of the circumstances and (un)favorable conditions. But let's look at this situation from the beginning. After 11 years, Jeff Walker, Bill Steer, Michael Amott and Daniel Erlandsson resurrected Carcass to remind the power of old songs with numerous tours. In the meantime, the first two were working on the new album, but when the group finally came to the studio, a new drummer, Dan Wilding, joined the band, and Steer took care of the guitar parts. When the recordings were completed, the long-awaited "Surgical Steel" was released in 2013 by Nuclear Blast.

This goes through the keyboard with a huge pain, but Carcass' sixth lp is not very impressive. To be clear, I didn't expect them to blaze trails like in the past, in fact, I didn't expect anything else than strong references to one of their eras (implicitly, the most melodic one). However, it was difficult to expect that the latter, and that is what we are dealing with here, would come out in such a clumsy form - after all, we are talking about a band that has left an incredible mark on extreme music. "Surgical Steel" is, unfortunately, an incoherent outburst towards melo-death in the "Heartwork" type, interspersed with the rocky atmosphere from "Swansong", as well as randomly scattered blast beats, the content of which simply discourages long-term contact and to make matters worse, it has exaggeratedly sterile production. As a result, individual motifs do not fit to each other and due to such a large number of stylistic jumps within one song (e.g. by pressing blast beats into death'n'roll patterns or - on the other hand - softening a powerful riff with melodies) thoughts often arise here - that the band basically doesn't know what to play.

You don't have to look far for examples in the titles. "Thrasher's Abattoir", "Mount Of Execution" (smells like late, nomen omen, Arch Enemy), "Noncompliance To ASTM F899-12 Standard" (a counterfeit of the title track from "Heartwork"), "Captive Bolt Pistol" (similar) or "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" (a parody of Iron Maiden) are just some of them. Yes, there are good songs on "Surgical Steel" that perfectly refer to older times, such as "Unfit For Human Consumption" and "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System", although these are a clear minority and suffer no less from the above-mentioned production aspects. Technically, of course, it's great. The sound of the guitars contains the old, fleshy tone (unlike what they play), Bill's solos are perfect, Jeff's vocals have not lost any of their power (and sometimes there are also not the worst grunt vocals of Steer and - as a guest - Owen), and Dan's drumming style is up to the standards set by Ken. However, it's little consolation when such a professional production is not accompanied by quality and captivating compositions.

I didn't have any major expectations after this reunion, but even with that I can't look at "Surgical Steel" more favorably - after all, we're talking about an outstanding band in its time. The chosen direction is one thing (as I mentioned, getting back into melo-death is the safest and most reasonable option after years of non-existence), but the intention, or in this case the lack thereof, is another. After listening to the "Surgical Steel", you can feel calculation and the desire to please a target group closer to Arch Enemy than Carcass itself, and at the same time, total indecision as to the chosen direction. Melodies, rock'n'roll and blast beats - they just can't work together. "Surgical Steel" is tangible proof of this.

Originally on A bit of subjectivism...in metal

Overrated but Good - 71%

Johnny Sideburns, December 21st, 2020
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Nuclear Blast

Carcass came back in 2013 after a lengthy hiatus. Surgical Steel is a good album, that presents both melodic death metal and death grind elements that are staples of Carcass's work. This album has very nice melodious highs contained within it, that are highly emotional and enjoyable. And the death grind riffs are a good pace. This sounds like a Carcass album.

All in all, I can say that this is a solid experience for the consumer.

However, there is just too much repetition across the album, I cannot help but struggle getting through it in one sitting. Take Noncompliance to ASTM F 899 Standard for example, the main riff from this song lacks the speed of bands like Anaal Nathrakh, is missing the depth that is average from a band such as Ulcerate and does not have the melodic fluidity of a band like Be'Lakor. These sections on songs that manifest themselves so often on this album sound more like filler content than music, and make it a chore to listen through the album in its entirety. Surgical Steel is just missing a lot of depth that can be found from other artists, and it doesn't do one thing particularly well. I find this really takes away from repeat listens.

Another issue I have is the clean sound to all of the songs. It sounds contained. The lack of distorted audio stops the riffs from hitting hard and makes the instruments sound as though they make a better fit on a hard rock album. And that by itself is not a problem, but do not give me watered down whiskey. This is a death metal album and its missing the heaviness that is important to death metal. And they don't have to sacrifice heaviness for melody either, Intestine Baalism does melodic death metal with the balls intact.

There are definitely moments from this album that feel like they are trying to show some heaviness, on The Master Butcher's Apron for example, but I don't think they do a good job. Rather than being heavy, its just slow. They slow the drums and guitars down at this moment and basically make it musically obsolete and boring so that I am banging my head against the wall.

From reading the testimony of other reviewers, it comes across as a perfect album and I have no reason to suspect that it may be in that realm of legendary discs. This is a good album, but its not really even close to perfect.

The melodic parts are fantastic, they sound very unique to the album and it saves this title from a bad score. Its just mixed in with boring riffs and makes both the melodic bits and the riffs feel completely out of place. My favorite tracks from this album, the ones I actually return to, tend to focus on one element over the other, in general, rather than doing a half assed job on both.

The track placement is another good thing here, the introduction allows you to get acquainted with the melodies that you will come across while listening to this album. And they finish strong, with the best melodic song on the album and really seems to correct all that I had previously mentioned as bad, it sounds heavy, there aren't boring riffs all over the place and it focuses on one thing and does it well, its a great conclusion to an otherwise average story.

Overall: I think this is something the consumer should listen to before buying.

Favorite songs: Unfit for Human Consumption, Mount of Execution, Granulating Dark Satanic Mills

Surgery successful - 96%

MohawksAmongUs, June 22nd, 2020

Carcass is known for constantly innovating and featuring new styles in each release. "Reek of Putrefaction" and "Symphonies Of Sickness" both spawned an entire subgenre. This album is basically a continuation of the melodic approach that Carcass left on "Necroticism..." and "Heartwork", with a polished and modern twist.

This is incredibly emotional music. Emotionality is an odd feature to find in a death metal album, isn't it? Let me explain myself. Every single track is an incredible golden nugget of raw passion. Every solo, every melody is chock-full of sensibility. The sorrowful instrumental "1985", the brutal grinding on "The Master Butcher's Apron," the fierce power chords in "Captive Bolt Pistol"... it all bleeds excellence and elegance.

The music flows like a river; nothing is contrived, repetitive, or trite. The entire album is incredibly engaging and has an uplifting atmosphere. Their first albums evoke a wide range of emotions (from disgust to nostalgia to sorrow), but "Surgical Steel" just summons positivity and energy.

There is a fair bit of experimentation, too. "Mount Of Execution" is over 8 minutes long and features Spanish-style classical guitars; it the most extensive song Carcass has ever recorded. There are old-school thrash metal influences; Megadeth was clearly a huge inspiration here. The main riff in "Unfit For Human Consumption" is very reminiscent of "Holy Wars". "Noncompliance..." (which is one of the greatest songs I've ever listened to, with no doubts) showcases progressive influences similar to those present in "Hangar 18".

I really have to show my respects to Jeff Walker. His dry, monstrous growling is exactly the same as it was in the late 80's. His lyrics are extremely complex, featuring themes such as animal abuse, science, and medicine. The necrotic, gory, in-your-face topics present in their first two albums are nowhere to be seen here.

The guitars are oddly groovy and very catchy; riffs like the main one in "316L.." immediately get stuck in your head. I guess some people could call it a sell-out, but I really couldn't care less if the music was created solely for profit, because they did an amazing job.

The only track that doesn't stand out is "A Congealed Clot Of Blood", mainly due to the fact that it is the slowest song in the album, and doesn't really bring anything interesting to the table. It's not bad at all, but it showcases how Carcass is much more comfortable playing at higher speeds.

Truly an amazing work. I really don't know how Carcass is going to top this.

Surgical Strike - 87%

lonerider, May 19th, 2017
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Nuclear Blast

It was with much fanfare that the legendary Carcass, revered trailblazers of deathgrind and melodic death metal, announced their return a couple of years ago – after all, their first four albums are universally regarded as classics, either because of their pioneering spirit (Reek of Putrefaction), their musical brilliance (Symphonies of Sickness and especially Necroticism) or both (Heartwork). After rotting in peace for nearly twenty years, Carcass weren’t just going to reunite for a bunch of half-assed headliner gigs, hoping to cash in big by regurgitating some of their most popular tracks – no, they were actually going all in by writing new songs and recording a new studio album as well. Obviously such an endeavor was quite risky, to say the least, as they hadn’t put out any new material since Swansong in 1996 and their status as extreme metal legends meant they had some very big shoes to fill (i. e. their own) and huge expectations to meet.

Whether or not Surgical Steel met those lofty expectations depends on what precisely those expectations were. To make a long story short: those who were pining for another Necroticism were left disappointed, while those simply hoping for a collection of tunes that would condense the band’s trademarks into one strong and consistent effort worthy of bearing the name Carcass certainly got what they wanted. Needless to say, the hopes of the former were largely unrealistic to begin with: of course Carcass were never going to churn out "Necroticism 2.0 – Reinventing the Insalubrious", let alone another Reek of Putrefaction or even Symphonies of Sickness, for that matter.

What they did, however, is infuse their new material with elements that are at least slightly reminiscent of Necroticism, which to this day is widely regarded as the band’s monumental release and one of the finest death metal albums of all time. Make no mistake, though: the musical and compositional basis of Surgical Steel, and the record it shares the most similarities with, is definitely Heartwork. Unlike Heartwork, however, which was pretty much melodic death metal 101 and adhered rather strictly to conventional song structures, Surgical Steel reincorporates some of the seemingly uncontrolled chaos, the unpredictability and technicality of Necroticism, along with some of the outbursts of speed and the crushing heaviness of that album.

This is especially obvious on the track "Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard", which does many of the same things Necroticism did, namely take a boatload of great ideas, bone-crunching riffs, awesome guitar leads, fluent solos and swift tempo changes and morph them into one swirling heck of a song. The same holds true, albeit to a slightly lesser extent, for "The Master Butcher's Apron" and "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System", whereas "316L Grade Surgical Steel" attempts to do many of the same things but isn’t as much of a success – it sometimes feels like a jumbled mess of different ideas that sound good on their own but don’t always mesh very well, resulting in a rather incoherent whole.

"Captive Bolt Pistol" is a simpler, more concise track offering both brutality and blistering velocity. It takes us right back to the good old days of Heartwork and some of the faster tunes of that time period, namely "Carnal Forge" and "This Mortal Coil". "A Congealed Clot of Blood" and "Unfit for Human Consumption" are also reminiscent of that era, with the former revisiting Heartwork’s slower, less volatile, more restrained side. It occasionally slows down to an almost doom-like pace and unlike some of the slower songs on Heartwork, which tended to get a bit tedious, it stays interesting throughout thanks to some especially tasteful guitar harmonies.

Surgical Steel has some minor surprises up its sleeve as well: "Thrasher's Abattoir", the first proper track following the intro, is a nod to the band’s early influences, a short outburst of primitive, punkish proto-death/thrash. Later on, "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" goes full Swansong on us, delivering a galloping, sleazy and insanely catchy death-and-roll smasher that simply works to perfection. It appears there are lots of people who still haven’t made their peace with Swansong, but it’s hard not to acknowledge this tune as one of the highlights on Surgical Steel.

Anyway, if there’s one song on here that’s certain to raise some eyebrows, then it has to be "Mount of Execution", an eight-minute behemoth nearly impossible to categorize. With a bit of sarcasm it could pass off as Carcass doing Arch Enemy for adults (and with decent vocals). The fact of the matter is that apart from Jeff Walker’s growls and snarls, there isn’t very much about "Mount of Execution" that would ordinarily be labeled as death metal, so instead let’s just call it a South American flavored (mainly due to the lyrics), sprawling epic, one that gives the band ample time to demonstrate their keen sense of melody and Bill Steer in particular to show off his marvelous guitar skills. If proof were needed that Carcass can indeed function just as well without second guitarist Michael Amott in the lineup, then this song alone should provide more than enough evidence.

In the production department, there’s bad news for those looking for that slightly moldy Symphonies of Sickness sound, and even when taking Necroticism as a measuring stick, it’s really no comparison: the latter had a rather massive sound itself, but despite a towering wall of guitars and thunderous drums there were still hints of morbidity, grit and dirt as well. Not so on Surgical Steel, which sounds precisely as polished as the name suggests. Even Heartwork wasn’t as crystal-clear as this, and while accentuating the heaviness and brutality of the music, there’s no denying all the extra glitter takes away some of that early-nineties death metal charm.

Despite these and some other minor complaints, Surgical Steel turned out as good and probably even better than anyone could have realistically expected. Carcass are in fine form here, delivering an album which sounds like it could have been released right on the heels of Heartwork instead of twenty years later. It’s also a bit more reckless and aggressive than said classic, and while it may not have as many individual highlights and certainly not the same historical significance, it more than makes up for what deficiencies it has by being consistently good throughout its duration. Welcome back, lads!

Choicest cuts: The Master Butcher's Apron, Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard, The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills, Captive Bolt Pistol

Peak form -- past glories be damned - 90%

RedRedSuit, October 11th, 2016

(Please see my profile for my rating scale.)

Version reviewed: digital version with Intensive Battery Brooding; also obtained separate bonus track Zochrot. Both of these songs are well worth acquiring and should have been on the album proper. The other two bonus tracks are shit, in my opinion.

When a beloved band comes back after a long hiatus, as Carcass have done here, I imagine you all go through all the same emotions as I do: the excitement, the hope, and the fear. Then when the records comes out, and you've digested it, like me, you probably get one of these two reactions:

1. Ugh, they should have stayed retired.
2. Well, it's no [insert classic old album], but it's a pretty cool summation of their best stuff.

If you're lucky, it's 2; you listen to it a few times, and it goes back into your irregular rotation with a bunch of other stuff. Phew, disaster averted... but that's about it.

Carcass are not a typical band. Whether it's their approach to lyrics -- first an absurd amalgamation of medical terminology, later followed by a darkly sarcastic sociopolitical commentary -- or their groundbreaking, original musical evolution from grind-core to technical, melodic death metal to something like accessible death-thrash at the end, they've always blazed their own path, all the while maintaining a fairly don't-give-a-fuck-what-you-think attitude about it all, sort of a punk-tinged death metal thing.

So when Carcass decided to make an original album in 2015, after years of reunion touring, there was much fear in my heart. Touring some festivals to make a few bucks is one thing, but a unique band like Carcass actually putting together a reunion album -- that just seemed like a recipe for trouble. If they sounded like the Carcass of old, it could sound dated. If they sounded modern, like Avenged Sevenfold or something, they might come off as trend-chasing wankers. All these things are likely the type of thing Jeff Walker of Carcass would himself be the first to make fun of, possibly in public.

All these worries disappeared once I heard the album. Bill Steer on guitar, always a main creative force in the band, handled all guitar duties (playing both guitar 1 and guitar 2 parts, including harmonies and solos). Jeff Walker, the distinctively-voiced vocalist and bassist, is on lyrical detail as always (and wrote the music in one song, Granulating Dark Satanic Mills). Usual drummer Ken Owen being unavailable due to a long-term brain ailment, some young whipper-snapper named Dan Wilding is on drums. Together, 2013-era Carcass frankly make most other modern bands sound like weak pretenders. (In fact, the hilariously named "Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard" seems to take pleasure in pointing this out. "Dearth metal," indeed.)

The new drummer Wilding is a demon. He is FAST and full of syncopated insanity, both his hands and feet working overtime. This album absolutely doesn't shy away from unrestrained blast beats. The Carcass of old could move at a good clip too, but it never had this much of an aggressive, precise feel to it. Frankly, while I appreciated Ken Owen's creativity (and his very distinctive songwriting at times), the new guy can drum circles around him.

Steer, for the first time in a long time, handles all guitars, and while I did miss the duality of having someone like Amott playing their own solos along with Steer's, Bill has no problem pretending to be two guys here. (The band added guitarist Ben Ash for the tour and possibly subsequent albums.) Bill has always been a standout player, and here he runs the gamut from unapologetic head-banging tremolo-picking brutality, to crisp Heartwork/Swansong-era riffing, to delicious harmonies, to delightfully melodic leads. If we're being honest, the one complaint I have is the lack of individual solos that truly stick in one's mind as highlights of the genre, something that Steer and Amott together had definitely accomplished back in the '90s, numerous times. The tastiest thing is probably the mid-tempo breakdown in Cadaver Pouch Delivery System, which features a long, supremely melodic lead tradeoff, but a moment or two of shredding heaven would not have hurt. I understand restraint, but I feel like Amott's lack of it (the guy could sound like George Lynch or something at times) worked well for the band's best material.

The result of these 3 strong forces working together, with crystal-clear Andy Sneap production backing them up: An album that is akin to Heartwork but with more energy and immediacy, more in your face and, frankly, busier and faster due to Wilding's blast-heavy drumming. The aforementioned Heartwork-on-steroids approach is not the only one used on the album; their somewhat maligned, mid-paced Swansong style contributes a few whole songs, including the heavy 316L Surgical Steel (which still features Wilding blasting away crazily at opportune moments) and the should-not-have-been-a-mere-bonus-track Intensive Battery Brooding (which slowly builds up to a speedy crescendo that is melodic Carcass at their peak).

For fans of somewhat older Carcass, there is a Necroticism influence there: some of the songs drop the verse/chorus approach and instead are through-composed of various dynamically shifting sections of varied tempos and styles.

The two best songs on the album -- or, for that matter, that Carcass has EVER delivered -- feature this approach of a faster, more immediate Heartwork track leavened with the progressive influence of Necroticism OR the thrash influence of Swansong. The two songs, respectively, are Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System (which flows like this: blood-curdling scream, harmonized leads, fast melodic riffing, an ultra-melodic lead breakdown, fast melodic riffing again, and then back to the scream) and Unfit For Human Consumption, which is akin to the technical, melodic thrash of Megadeth in their prime, but supercharged to death metal levels with a brutally fast breakdown and Jeff's vocals about animal slaughter.

[A note on Jeff Walker's lyrics: Jeff, whose bass appears as inaudible as ever (to my ears, anyway), is in excellent form. Always one of the most recognizable voices in death metal, Jeff spits out venomous musings on a variety of topics. The interpretation of these songs' meanings is your task; couched in medical or gory imagery or vaguely dark musings on the frailty of the human body, Walker seems to be attempting some commentary on society or the human condition. For example, Captive Bolt Pistol reads like a straightforward, though disturbing, description of what it's like to be killed by said pistol, which is a device for slaughtering cattle -- this appears to be a thin wrapper around an anti-meat-eating sentiment (Carcass members are typically vegetarians). Other songs are a bit more opaque in their intent, but in all cases lyrics are well enunciated and certainly deserving of a second look (not something said of the majority of metal lyrics). Certainly Jeff Walker's delightful performance is a huge differentiator for this band and this album.]

All in all, the Heartwork-on-steroids + Swansong-but-with-Wilding approach produces rather sweet results. However, the album is far from perfect. Its problem is simply that it isn't consistent (unlike, say, Heartwork, which is one of those albums where no song is skippable.) There are a few major disappointments. For instance, Mount Of Execution, is the 8+ minute closer. The latter builds expectations, yet the track is essentially unmemorable, loose nonsense that shows a strange lack of judgment for being included at all, especially in that spot. Chances are, you will -- like I did -- get rid of a handful of the album-proper songs but on the other hand cherish at least a couple of the bonus tracks.

In assigning a grade I vacillated between 80% and 90%. With 2 classics, 4 sweet songs, 3 or 4 solid cuts, and about as many skip-mes, it's not the most consistent album. On the other hand, an album with even 1 classic is a rare thing. Add to that the album's perfect production and aggressive, modern-but-not-trendy style and glorious instrumental/vocal performances, and I feel the 90% is appropriate.

Two years later, for me, it is my favorite Carcass record. Necroticism may be more avant-garde, and Heartwork may be more consistent, but Surgical Steel's mix of clarity, precision, excitement, and varied song-writing wins out in my book. Long live the New Carcass!

The blades are rusty - 50%

Napalm_Satan, August 30th, 2016

Reunion albums are never an easy thing to pull off; there’s a lot of expectation riding on them especially when they’re from a much loved artist, and they can go one of a few ways. Sometimes you get an actual improvement due to experience taken from the intervening years like Black Gives Way to Blue, producing something fresh and new. Sometimes you get something totally and completely removed from the past that can lead to mixed results, and other times you get albums like this. Surgical Steel represents probably the most disappointing route a reunion album can take, a safe and inoffensive rehash of past material that amounts to a career summary by a decent tribute band.

The sound displayed on this album is derived almost directly from Heartwork, with some nods to Necroticism and Swansong. Much like Heartwork the album is very riff-driven, with it being full of grooving, mid-paced to fast and chunky melodic riffs, generally a small handful per song, that proceed to work their way into your head and become the principle motif of the track. The songs are largely simple in construction as is the way on that album, having distinctly rock-based structuring. The hints of the more progressive Necroticism only really shine through during a contrasting bridge section that mixes up the basic formula at work here, while Swansong is audible during some of the more rock-infused stop-start riffing and indeed the more rockish lead work. The vocals are the same hoarse rasps of their '90s albums and are executed well; I'd say the vocals are the best thing about the album because they actually measure up well to their classic albums.

The problem I have with albums like this is not that they don't expand their sound, but more that they seek to emulate their classic albums while not doing as good a job. This album pretty much emulates Heartwork, and it does sound a lot like that album, but without any of the memorability and impact. The guitar tone isn't as slick and heavy as it was on that album but more importantly the riffs simply aren't as good. None of the riffs here stick in my mind like the riffs to 'Heartwork' or 'Carnal Forge'. One problem is that the band now sounds like an imitator of that specific sound rather than the trendsetter. The riffs sound stale and rather weak in their delivery, in fact this whole album does. The blasting sections are similarly lifeless, for instance, and the drums themselves don't feel nearly as energetic or hammering as they did before, despite playing a similar sort of straight beat. It feels like that the band only play this sort of stuff to please the fans, because at no stage does this album strike me as especially inspired or passionate.

And then there are the general problems this album has. The extended and unusual bridges inherited from Necroticism feel totally unnecessary and shoehorned in. The lyrics, which are the surgical themes of their gore era, similarly feel completely out of place amongst the melodic riffs and the rock bounce some songs exhibit. I'm not the biggest fan of death'n'roll, but the rock influence at least makes sense on a purely death'n'roll effort like Swansong, however the cheesy rock noodling on this album feels really inappropriate given the mostly groovy and modern melodeath riffing and the general aggression. All this said though, the songs are fine while they're on and the album remains of a consistent quality throughout. Barring these blemishes there's nothing wrong here at all. The songs are constructed well for the most part, the riffs are decent and the vocals are good - but that's it.

The point I'm trying to make here is that it's one thing for an album not to blaze new trails, but it's another for it to go along old trails while not blazing at all. Everything on this album feels like it's there only to please a certain portion of the fan base, not because they wanted to play stuff like this or write lyrics like them. And for all I know maybe they did want to play this sort of stuff, but if so they're being lazy about it and should try harder. If they did something to progress their sound then at least they wouldn't be able to look entirely to the past and have to provide a fresh spin on their sound and challenge themselves. As it stands however, like At the Gates on At War With Reality Carcass here have run out of ideas, and created a skippable, disposable album unworthy of their career.

Carcass Are Back!! - 86%

Deathdoom1992, July 13th, 2016
Written based on this version: 2015, CD, Nuclear Blast (Slipcase)

Without wishing to open my review gushing like a schoolgirl, I, like any self-respecting metal fan, was hugely excited when melodeath gods Carcass made their reunion permanent and announced work on a new studio album. Unfortunately, the momentum behind Surgical Steel was dragged down when "hardcore" Carcass fans (fuck you all) expected a Reek of Putrefaction/Symphonies of Sickness style album, which was patently not gonna be the case. I'd like to point out at this stage that I hate grindcore and so I'm only interested in post-Necroticism... works by the band.

The band experienced three major losses during their reunion and in the making of this record. Firstly, drummer and co-founder Ken Owen experienced a cerebral haemorrhage in 1999, way before the reunion occurred, leaving him unable to drum, and he is still unable to fully rejoin the group. Much later, he was replaced by veteran extreme metal drummer Daniel Erlandsson, who in 2012 quit alongside longtime lead guitarist Michael Amott to focus more on Arch Enemy. Erlandsson was replaced later that year by comparative novice Dan Wilding, but more on him in a minute.

Major lineup overhaul complete, Carcass released the album in 2013, and it didn't disappoint. After the misstep of Swansong, it showcased the band harnessing their hard-earned veteran metal stripes to combine all of their previous styles in some form, with the exception of their noise/goregrind early approach. It's a seamless mix of predominantly melodic death/thrash metal, with grindcore and old-school death influences. Admittedly, it gets off to a slow start, with the clever lil' instrumental "1985" leading to a few heavy-going tracks, but the band picks up the torch again with "The Master Butcher's Apron", and they don't lose it again. It culminates with the brilliant "Mount of Execution", with free-flowing, virtuosic, almost jazz-style performances from the members.

So, the members. I'll confess, I always thought Jeff Walker was a pretty useless bassist, quite standard for grindcore, focusing on creating a distorted assault rather than an intricate rhythm. However, in the band's down-time, he seems to have put his attention to mastering his craft, and we are treated, for perhaps the first time, to an incredible performance from Mr. Walker on the bass guitar. Bill Steer is riffing in fine form as ever, and extra credit to him for providing all guitars, including the rhythms behind his faultless lead. The man should go down in history as one of metal's premier guitarists, and this just adds to his already huge reputation. But the real surprise here is new guy Dan Wilding on drums. He never overperforms, always knowing when to be reserved and when to go for it. I'm truly blown away by how good he is here, on only his first Carcass outing.

I mentioned that slow start earlier, and it needs to be focused on further. Midway through song 4, "A Congealed Clot of Blood" (I actually read through the lyrics of that song and I'll give it credit for its denunciation of Islamic terrorism), I was thinking about throwing in the towel, but I'm glad I persevered. Those 3 just feature a lack of interesting content, riffs, performances, etc feeling like the band had to get those songs done to give 'em enough for the record. Also, while never being simple, the songs are far from the technicality that initially drew me to the band, and I think that the other members may be missing Ken Owen on there.

Following this piece of mastery, even rivalling their magnum opus, Heartwork, I'm not sure whether I want to hear a follow up, but given Carcass' legendary reputation, I'm sure it'd slay. The best thing I can compare it to is the situation in Bolt Thrower (RIP Kiddie Kearns). At first I was pissed about the lack of releasing, but after a couple of years of listening to Those Once Loyal I could understand. All in all, fear not, Carcass are back on track, and just listen to this and let the masters of melodeath thunder on your speakers.

Masterpiece - 98%

scarsymmetry666, March 27th, 2016

This is one of the few albums I've had the pleasure of playing on repeat non-stop for days on end, headbanging all the way. Indeed, it was the fame surrounding Carcass's older album Heartwork as a legendary metal work that drew me to discover more from this band. When I heard first heard Surgical Steel I was shocked by the Maiden style higher end riffs in a melodeath song, I mean I know melodeath is supposed to be NWOBHM + death metal, but no other band has really done it like Carcass. Take all those catchy melodic riffs from Iron Maiden and throw out those shitty Bruce Dickinson vocals, (sorry, I don't listen to dad rock) and add in a badass unclean vocalist who KNOWS how to scream and throw in some death metal and bam you have Carcass. Carcass masters the musicianship of melodic death metal in this album unlike any other band I've listened to. The vocalist hammers away in perfect tandem with every little pitch change on the guitar, the drums slam away in perfect unison with the flow of the song, and catchy guitar riffs are spammed like CRAZY with interesting little pitch changes thrown all over the place that create just about the catchiest riffs you could think of.

In a way, Carcass capitlizes on the success of Heartwork well, and catchy riffs like those featured "Embodiment" from Heartwork are all over the place in Surgical Steel. The fact that they keep spamming the catchiest riff of the song is what makes this album so successful. Usually I get the chorus of a song stuck in my head, but Surgical Steel has whole sections of song stuck in your head daily on repeat. Bill Steer is absolutely my favorite guitarist since I listened to this album. Jeff Walker is no slouch either, although depending on taste many would not enjoy his death growls, as he hardly ever varies them, and I could see how someone could grow tired of them. His voice is definitely intense and powerful enough to add to the song rather than detract from it, and it sounds similar to a shrieking soul from hell or something.

While Heartwork was indeed incredible, it suffered from a slower pace that kept someone who loves fast music pretty bored at times. This album puts that all to rest, and every song is masterfully executed at breakneck pace. Production has also increased dramatically, and the added years have definitely helped Carcass rather than hurt them. Every rasp from Walker's voice is crisp and intense, and every drum pound and guitar riff is perfectly audible. To sum it all up, like fast, melodic, catchy, rhythmic, brutal metal (And you can handle Walker's vocals)? Pick up your copy of Surgical Steel today, seriously, its a work of art.

Really Carcass!? Really!? - 8%

LeMiserable, December 10th, 2014
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Nuclear Blast

For someone just recovering from the severe brain concussion their first few albums gave me, the cover art to Surgical Steel certainly came off as unusually 'clean' to me when you look at their debut or sophomore albums, both featuring some of the nastiest cover arts the metal scene has ever seen. I just didn't quite know what to think of it. Granted, I didn't really know much about Carcass around this point in time and for all I knew this was just their latest album and that's it. Little did I know of that this is actually a supposed "come back" after the band went on hiatus in 1996 not much later after they released their then-swansong effort fittingly named Swansong.

As it seemed, Surgical Steel was supposed to be some sort of Heartwork meets Symphonies/Necroticism release with the gore lyrics that were so recognizable from the band in the late 80's. Let's think for a moment, Heartwork...gory lyrics...Symphonies/Necroticism, yeah that definitely sounds like a cash grab to me. If you're planning to release an album with all that made the band so famous in the early days, you can bet your ass that the final product is going to be some kind of watered-down album with overemphasis on everything that made them the act they are. And what do you know? Surgical Steel happens to be exactly that. The fact that Carcass themselves for years claimed a comeback was highly unlikely, and that this 'highly unlikely comeback' was released on Nuclear Blast says a lot about why Surgical Steel was even conceived in the first place ($$$). Everything from this album screams cash grab. Everything. This is about as "checklist" as albums get, and the ridiculously high levels of production polish further explain what the fuck Carcass were thinking with this. And I haven't even begun to talk about the lyrics yet...

And should I? My god they're abhorrent, as in worse than most nu metal lyrics. What we get here is some kind of watered-down juxtaposed mess of infantile "gore ftw" lyrics and poser attitudes that feel wholly out of place on a Carcass album. Whether it's the retarded bashing of posers and hipsters on "Thrasher's Abattoir", the suicide-inducing "BLOODLUSTMORD" on "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" or the generic stadium rock singalong chorus from "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills", it's all just actively fucking terrible and annoying. I can feel my IQ steer into the negative numbers once I hear Jeff Walker vomiting his awful lines into the microphone. It just reeks of commercial whoredom, and the attempts at being emotional found on some of these tracks don't work even a hair better instead of just further solifidying the "money whore" status this album had already rightfully pasted on it.

Surgical Steel sounds like a more grindy Heartwork, but comparing this trainwreck to their melodeath masterpiece feels like an insult to the latter. Heartwork had genuine meaning to it, it showed a band experimenting with newly-found elements to create an emotionally lasting record with catchy hooks and more of a rock-ish vibe than what they released prior to 1993. Surgical Steel was said to combine everything that made their previous output good, but I actually feel Carcass don't quite have the same idea of what was good about their music as we have. In what's probably a deliberate effort to make things more accessible, Carcass have taken the most banal things you can imagine and crammed it into a record that stands so far away from what characterized the band before that this simply sounds like a completely different band. Surgical Steel has the benefit of having some catchy hooks, but everything build around what good this record contains feels like lazy, self-parodying and filler material that the band wrote to check the "long songs just like Necro" box from the checklist.

This is incredibly lifeless, there's not a glimmer of inspiration or originality to be found here. Everything is just blatant self-parody to the point where this album turns into some kind of overextended bore session basically made to annoy the shit out of you considering a good 40 minutes of this record suck far beyond logical terms. None of the songs here can be defined as even "mediocre", but song 5 and 6 have some pretty catchy hooks that stay in your head, yet only further proving how unmemorable this record is as the rest provides no replay value whatsoever. This has some pretty busy leads from time to time, but it's staggering just how unnoticed this manages to pass by, most of this can probably be blamed on the incredibly generic stadium rock leads and solos that do jackshit to identify themselves as Carcass-written guitar "licks".

Surgical Steel has Phantom Antichrist levels of production polish. Any words that remotely have something to do with "distortion" do not appear in Colin Richardson's dictionary here, because this is so glossy that it almost blinds your eyes. I have heard pop rock songs with more crunch to the guitars and I would have never thunk that I were to ever call a drum kit generic. But Surgical Steel does wonders here, it actually manages to make a drum kit sound unoriginal. The performance itself is solid if not a little (read shitload) bland, but the incredibly simple and standard sound of the kit makes it all sound so lazy. I'm on the verge of falling asleep on top of my keyboard whenever I'm forced to think about how incredibly boring this whole monstrosity sounds. It helps that Jeff Walker at least has some of his old vigor left, but the generic "gore/emotional" lyrics he spews forth drag his performance down to downright hideous levels of suck.

This very album is the epitome of a sellout. It shows a band watering down their formula to such levels it verges on nu-metalcore in how clueless it sounds. Everything from Surgical Steel cries cashgrab; it brings absolutely NOTHING new to the table and emphasizes on everything the band were once good at, but decides to strip it down so far that it sounds like a completely different band playing terrible poser metal. Also, that "BLOODLUSTMORD" had me on the verge of a rage quit, but I figured that anger wasn't the answer, so I pressed skip, and then I pressed skip again, and again..and then a few times again, and then the record started over for some reason...and then I just sat there, wondering what the hell ever happened. God, I need a fucking beer...

Holocaust of Haterade - Redux: Squeaky Clean. - 20%

kybernetic, November 15th, 2014
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Nuclear Blast

When I saw the cover art for Carcass' new "death" metal album last year, I actually thought it was pretty damn intriguing and magnificent looking. The strangely assorted surgical equipment configured into some kind of circular, alien-looking symbol, that one might have expected to hold some vast, profound cosmic mystery—if only one could "crack" open the enigma and unveil the underlying essence. Perhaps the aliens arranging such instruments just like to make sure their utensils are hygienic and properly assorted before the anal probing begins (how courteous of them). A symbol you might expect to witness in Men in Black or some other extraterrestrial sci-fi flick—comedy or otherwise. I shall return to this, but for a moment: digression. I saw Carcass during MDF 2013, my first time experiencing this once legendary band, and I was a bit skeptical initially. They hadn't really done anything that appealed to my gory sensibilities properly since the late 80s, and I was wondering how they might boom and bellow in the flesh for 2013. Well, my apprehension was unfounded (at least for the mighty and epic MDF 2013). I think Carcass knew what crowd was before them, and decided to old school, grotesque and gore it up big time with bounteous buckets of guts, goo and gunk for their big rock star MDF appearance. I was sorely fooled (as were many people I suspect), that what was detonating into my ear holes would carry over to the new widely hyped LP coming out later that same year. So with my Viking-shield down and my merchant Spangenhelm on (5% bonus to item cost reduction), I decided to charge into Sound Garden (my local record shop) head-on and acquisition Surgical Steel "blindly", like a brave Viking warrior!

What a mistake this turned out to be—waiting inside my acquired loot was nothing but plastic rubbish. What the hell is a Viking warrior going to do with that? There is nothing on Surgical Steel that even remotely reaches the level of sick perversion and gutsy gore found on the seminal Reek of Putrefaction, or the glorious Symphonies of Sickness. Which brings me back to the cover art; I should have taken another long, close, hard look at the shiny, fresh, untapped, rustless, lustrous, stainless steel surgical equipment adorning the canvas of Surgical Steel, and thought to myself; I wonder if the album will sound just as immaculate and spotless, like a kitchen counter after numerous ShamWows have intimately touched its marble surface, which the cover art suggests. Answer: YES, yes it does. Surgical Steel sounds as if the producers were so obsessed with spawning an album that is as pure and sterile as conceivable that they actually brought in uber potent hospital disinfectant (the weird looking brackish colored shit doctors use on their meat hooks right before slicing and dicing anatomically), and proceeded to submerge the master tapes in it and dry it off with a squeegee, before finally mailing it off to be mixed and mastered. I swear this production makes me queasy in the stomach with how squeaky clean it is, as my title suggests, and I just want to throw feces all over the CD in hopes that it makes Surgical Steel sound just a tiny bitty bloody stump more like Reek of Putrefaction. I won't do that though, I'm not devolving myself into a brutish, knuckle-dragging gorilla for Carcass (only for Jungle Rot!).

I was so eager to listen to Surgical Steel when I bought it that I ripped off the shiny, plastic, protective CD condom, stuck it in the CD player, and hit play immediately. As the CD started to rotate and that....intro...."1985" began, we (I was with someone) stared at each other for a stretchy chunky of time (nearly as long as the "song"), with that bizarre sideways grimace dogs have when they're confused (confirming I wasn't crazy), and thought; this is some kind of joke. This has to be a joke....this isn't the actual Surgical Steel album, right? It can't be. This is a joke track, like "Bullituary (Remix)" by Obituary, but no, this was really the inauguration of the album. "1985", a song that sounds like it came from the year 1985, but not from a band like Carcass. No, from a band more approximating Mötley Crüe maybe, but not Carcass. I swear it sounded like glam metal circa 1985 when I first heard it, and I was so repulsed I wanted to immediately jump into a warm bubble bath. However, I wasn't repulsed how I should have been by a Carcass song, but by the thoughts of black leather, latex, hairspray, eye shadow and spandex over a gaunt, hairy dude's body. "1985" is essentially just tired sounding, melodic, harmonized guitar leads with some tame, mildly distorted descending notes going on underneath—and that's it. How does this connect at all with Carcass? With a band that has some of the sickest, most vile and disgusting songs ever disgorged from the bygone 80s era? I don't know, but it's really dreadful, atrocious, crap (including vastly more adjectives involving scatological references that I'll spare you from, my dear reader, because I care), and I don't like it.

So now that the intro thingy is behind us, how does the dominate mass of the album fare? Not much better really. As I mentioned, the production is profoundly polished, just far too polished for a proper old style Carcass album. However, I don't know exactly what Carcass was aiming for with this glistening turd. Perhaps they were trying to mash all of their previous styles and experimentations into a singular bowl of messy goop. If that's what they were striving for, they certainly succeeded, because all of the riffs sound staggeringly stock and unoriginal, and they don't particularly jelly well together. In "Thrasher's Abattoir", we get some semi-melodic grinding riff switching off with a half-aggressive blasting section, and it sounds like The Haunted or Arch Enemy meets older Carcass. Although an older Carcass that found modern, big budget studio equipment, and forgot that the key to effective gory music is often just as much about the production and atmosphere, as it is about the speed at which you play, or the notes that you play. Many songs also have some obnoxiously annoying airy melodic leads soaring over everything else, and in some cases, like on "Cadaver Pouch Conveyer System", seemingly only have that happening. At least I can barely notice anything else during a particular stretch of that song (other than some tame, slow, stock sounding double bass drumming) because of how in-your-face the boring, melodeath leads are in that mass-market metal anthem.

I guess the biggest influence on Surgical Steel is their Heartwork material with the grinding, thrashy riffs contrasting with the sickeningly, overused harmonized dual leads, and sparse, slower doomy sections; such as during the middle of "A Congealed Clot of Blood" (and still possessing airy melodic leads). I suppose they sprinkled a pinch of other albums into Surgical Steel too, with the occasional blasting and such, but Heartwork is at the soulless heart of Surgical Steel. Last year was also the 20-year anniversary of Heartwork, too, so maybe they were waxing nostalgic and listening to their past as they were writing Surgical Steel. The problem is that Heartwork isn't really something that appeals to me due to the overt melodeath influence and annoying leads that are thrown all over, yet Surgical Steel manages to be a magnitude worse, due to the exceedingly sterile production and recycling of riffs that were already constructed better by them 20 years ago.

There isn't much to speak of when it comes to the drums. The drumming is strikingly standard and derivative, so if you've heard earlier Carcass albums, or even other melodeath albums, you'll know explicitly what is hiding under this grayish, dime-a-dozen, insignificant skipping (as in skip this album) stone called Surgical Steel. The drums resonate dimly, and with such plasticity and sterility, that they might as well have been programmed by Hal-9000. The drumming possesses standard double bass, standard rocking beats, standard skank beats and also some occasional (standard) blasts make an appearance—but over the tame, melodeath riffs, it just doesn't quite fit to my ears. All the drum parts mentioned come along during predictable cycles and configurations to boot, as if part of some kind of song checklist Carcass assembled before writing Surgical Steel.

I guess the highlight of the album would be Jeff Walker's vocals, which are decent in their powerful, hoarse rasping and shrieking, giving some of the songs their only trace of pizzazz and aggression. However, looking over the lyrics briefly creates some cringe-worthy moments, such as on the first proper song; "Thrasher's Abattoir". For example, look at these lines in particular:

"Hipsters and posers I abhor,
Welcome to the thrasher's abattoir."

I'm all for the total destruction of hipsters and posers too (Fuck the Posers!), but come on dudes, really? Are hipsters and posers so desperately urgent of a threat that we need to resort to writing an entire song around a cheesy rhyme about it? I mean, Carcass, you're just two steps (going by the Alcoholics Anonymous rating system) from being sell-out posers yourselves with this nonsense stadium rock bullshit you've pulled here with Surgical Steel. All jokes aside though, my point is that Surgical Steel is pretty damn lacking, even on the lyrical front.

To conclude, Surgical Steel is an album I really wanted to fancy, especially after that goreiously splendid performance during MDF 2013—sounding as sick and psychotic as if the stinky, decayed late 80s Carcass had been reanimated. I thought that if they could capture and channel even a fraction of that insanity into Surgical Steel, they'd have something special again….something that I could appreciate—but no such fortune cookie. Carcass post-Symphonies of Sickness just isn't for me, and Surgical Steel confirms that yet again. I'll say this though, if Heartwork is your cup of Earl Grey tea and buttery crumpets, then I think you're bound to appreciate Surgical Steel as well to some degree, so despite my scathing criticism here, give it a try. Just brace yourself for a production that could kill even all traces of Ebola within sonic reach....on *shutters* the first ringing lead lick in "1985". I always thought Carcass was about spreading diseases—some things sure do change.

Note: Btw, my Surgical Steel CD is for trade/sale. If anyone wants it, hit me up (and I promise I haven't flung any feces on it....yet).

Carcass - Surgical Steel - 81%

KriegdemKriege, December 15th, 2013

Carcass, the British band famous for having a profound influence on two distinct subgenres of extreme metal, reformed in 2008 for several successful reunion tours after calling it quits in 1996. The band’s tours went well enough to lead to the writing and recording of a new album featuring a lineup of original members Jeff Walker and Bill Steer along with new drummer Daniel Wilding. The album, titled Surgical Steel, is the first new material from Carcass since 1996’s Swansong, and stands as a worthy follow-up and an essential addition to the Carcass discography. Surgical Steel features surprisingly strong writing and an equally strong performance, and stands as one of the greatest reunion albums of all time.

Musically, Surgical Steel is much closer in style to Carcass’s 1993 classic, Heartwork, than to Swansong. In fact, Surgical Steel makes sense as the album’s logical follow-up. If this album had been released in 1996 it is doubtful Carcass would have received the backlash they did from a lot of their fans for adjusting their sound to a more death n’ roll influenced brand of extreme metal. On Surgical Steel, the death n’ roll influence is mostly absent, with Carcass favoring a more standard melodic death metal approach. Twin guitar harmonies abound, lengthy and impressive solos are included on nearly every track, and the guitar leads are generally very creative. Steer’s lead guitar playing does not come across as forced or melodic just for the sake of being melodic; instead the leads come across as portraying genuine emotion, adding a great deal of depth to the album. A clear album standout in regards to guitar performance is track six, “Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard”. The song begins with a clever descending guitar lead and a harmonized tremolo-picked segment and features two lengthy solos.

Admittedly, Surgical Steel does get off to a rough start. The album’s introduction track, “1985”, is as brief as it is pointless, consisting of a rather annoying guitar lead repeated over and over for the track’s duration. This introduction track also leads into what is by far the weakest track on the album, “Thrasher’s Abattoir”. Another brief piece, the song consists of lightning-paced tremolo picking underneath Jeff Walker’s vocal lines, which repeat a bunch of extreme rhyming words like “mutilation”, “amputation”, “dehumanization”, etc. The song breaks after a brief but impressive solo by Steer, and Walker changes his lines to repeat: “Die. Time to die. Die in pain.” After Walker’s excellent lyrical work on Heartwork and Swansong, the childish lyrics on this first piece serve as a major disappointment.

Luckily, as if “Thrasher’s Abattoir” was an intentional tease, the lyrics get better very quickly. Expanding on the political writing that began on Heartwork and improved on Swansong, a wide variety of topics is covered lyrically on Surgical Steel. “A Congealed Clot of Blood” attacks Muslim jihadist ideologies, while “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” serves as a scathing appraisal of the British industrial revolution. The latter is a clear album highlight, featuring excellent lyrics, an extremely catchy chorus, and fantastic melodic guitar leads. Not only is “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills” the best song on Surgical Steel, it also stands alongside the best material Carcass in the band’s career, easily comparable to the best songs off of Heartwork. Another album highlight is the closing track “Mount of Execution”. It begins with an unexpected acoustic passage before unfolding into a lengthy, fast-paced metal piece that lasts around eight and a half minutes. The multiple solos featured on this piece give it a light, fun feeling, coming across as more of a jam song than a serious piece. Although this is in stark contrast to its rather severe lyrics, it serves as a fun and extremely effective way to end the album.

Addressing the vocal performance on the album, Jeff Walker really must be commended. Even though it has been almost twenty years since Carcass’s last studio album, Walker’s voice has not deteriorated even slightly, sounding just as powerful as he did in 1996. While his vocal performance on Surgical Steel is not incredibly varied, it is certainly a strong performance and suits the style of music very well. Walker’s vocals are aggressive but clear, and listeners should have no real difficulty in understanding the lyrics at most points of the album. It should also be noted that track eight, “Unfit for Human Consumption”, features guest backing vocals from original drummer Ken Owen. The guest vocals, making their appearance in the verse, fit the song very well and are a worthy addition to the song.

As for the drum performance, new drummer Daniel Wilding is true to Owen’s legacy, providing an excellent performance on Surgical Steel. The drumming is precise and varied, fitting in well with the other instrumentation. Wilding was certainly a good choice to take the place of Owen, and one hopes to hear more from him on future Carcass albums.

Surgical Steel is a must listen for any fan of Heartwork era Carcass. Everything on this record, excluding the first two tracks, is essential Carcass, with the band never coming across as putting out an album to simply cash in on a willing audience. Carcass deserves to be applauded for making such a powerful return. The album is a worthy addition to the Carcass discography and stands as one of the best releases of 2013.

Album Highlights: “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills”, “Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard”, “Mount of Execution”

Reunion albums suck. - 55%

Empyreal, November 16th, 2013

Carcass used to be legends. With each stroke of their musical brilliance they helped to formulate new subgenres of metal – from the gory, grinding early material to the precision of Necroticism and the slick, heavy as hell riffing of Heartwork, they blazed trails more often than not. With their modern resurgence Surgical Steel, they’ve pretty much just taken the same path every band coming back for a reunion does – they write decent enough songs that are entirely imitative of past genius, thus robbing the music of said genius and having an inverse effect to that of the material it’s aping. Like Black Sabbath, Gorguts, Megadeth and so many others, Carcass produce an entertaining enough album, but utterly without the kind of groundbreaking electric creativity that made their best work so addictive.

This is pretty much an adrenaline shot of chunky, thrashy riffing, groovy rhythms and shrieking vocals – it’s Heartwork without the memorable bits. The songs on this album are competently written if not engaging. On Heartwork they rolled out unforgettable riffs and even created some drama with slow to midpaced dirges in the middle of the machine-gun-like riffing and steamrolling rhythms. It was just an amazing album. This one keeps up the energy a fair bit, but lacks the hooks. All these songs sound alike. They try gamely with a lot of verve and punch to them, but the songwriting is pretty average. It’s weird because there’s nothing wrong with this. By all accounts, the classic style riffing and wild, shrieking vocals should produce something enjoyable, and it is for a while, but there isn’t much substance to keep you coming back. I can’t remember a single song off of this when it ends.

These reunions just play it too fucking safe. The whole concept is to recreate the kind of chemistry and sounds the bands played in their heyday, but they shoot themselves in the foot and do exactly the opposite of that by trying too hard to retain the surface aesthetics of their sound. It’s like they just deliberately misunderstand everything good about those albums in the first place: hint, it wasn’t just the fact that you had riffs and played fast. It was that sense of blazing, unrestrained ambition in the music. Black Sabbath trying to recreate War Pigs and their self-titled song eight times over is not a good reunion album, neither is Carcass playing second-rate versions of Heartwork tunes with less interesting riffs. The surface aesthetics was never all there was to these bands’ hallowed classic albums. I’m sure these guys are having fun and all – that’s fine. But I just wish they’d stop trying so hard to consciously sound like albums so far behind them, and simply play from their hearts and make something interesting. Maybe it wouldn’t be as well-loved, but it would at least stick to the bands’ actual ethos and ideologies.

Iron Maiden, though mileage may vary, are a prime example of an old band doing it right. They know their classic albums aren’t going to disappear. They don’t have to remake those albums every three to five years out of some misguided fear of becoming irrelevant – they know they have a place in metal and rock history already. Rather than trying to hold onto a fading glory by rehashing past material they’ll never be able to top, Maiden take the high road and actually try new things, going all the way with ideas they think are interesting and using the classic Maiden sound in new ways, contorting it and experimenting with it. Classic bands are already classic for a reason – they have nothing left to prove. So the fact that so many of them, a la Sabbath, Carcass, et. Al., continue to put out material that just blatantly flies in the face of their original innovations is just weak and pitiful to me. I really don’t see how people can listen to either of those bands’ reunion albums this year and think ‘yeah, that sounds as good as their old stuff.’

Welcome back! - 73%

dismember_marcin, November 11th, 2013

So… they are really back for good. Something, what at first seemed to be nothing more, but just a series of gigs turned into more serious thing and Carcass – with new line up – has recorded their first album since 1996. For sure it is a great event, even if you may not usually like such reunions… but this is Carcass – legend of grind / death metal! You cannot be unconcerned, when speaking about this band. Obviously many people will be very sceptical towards “Surgical Steel”; many will question the sense of doing this album and there will be also a group of people, who will always say that Carcass has done it just for money and the music sucks – and they will say so, even without listening to a single song off the album and without reading any interviews with Bill Steer or Jeff Walker. And sure, such worries can be explained, as you know… there was a reason why Carcass did split up back then. They simply lost interest in playing extreme music, in death metal… so why now? Personally I may have been also slightly sceptical if “Surgical Steel” will be least as good as “Heartwork” and definitely I hoped that Carcass will not do an album similar to “Swansong”, because that would have been a disaster… Luckily first listen of “Surgical Steel” erased all my worries and I greeted the return of the gods with joy and pleasure.

But speaking about Carcass isn’t easy. There’s always a problem of their past achievements and the legendary albums, which this band did 20 years ago or more. And one of the problems will be the fact that almost every album was different to the previous one and so there will be fans, who only like Carcass from their first two LPs and there will be those, who’re into “Necroticism” and some, who enjoyed the melody of “Heartwork” the most. So, nowadays it would be impossible for Carcass to pleasure everyone with “Surgical Steel”, because there are many fans and they all have different preferences… But let’s be honest – it would be also just stupid to expect that Steer and Walker will record an album similar to “Reek of Putrefaction”! Definitely though the expectations were high for “Surgical Steel” and it is only everyone’s taste if this new album will speak to him and please enough. So far I have read several reviews and they all have been very positive, so the more I was eager to hear “Surgical Steel” myself and give it an opinion. Once I got the LP, I started to listen to it… and yeah… this is it. For me this is classic Carcass, just as I remember this band from the 90’s and what I liked them for. It almost feels like the time has stopped and the band just toured for “Heartwork” and “Swansong” never happened, so “Surgical Steel” is the fifth album… you know, Walker’s vocals are unchanged – which is great, as I love his shrieking voice – and the music is very alike, with similar aggression, energy and melody. Personally I love all their early LPs, but “Necroticism” is my favourite, then I also worship the early period of Carcass, but I also really, really like “Heartwork”… and you know, “Surgical Steel” for me sounds like albums number three and four putted together… Sure, it is mainly similar to “Heartwork”, because of many melodic parts and almost lack of grinding speed, not to mention that “Surgical Steel” hasn’t got a trace of that harshness and dirt nor that sheer brutality, which you can find on the first three albums. Other than that there are many classic ingredients, which were always characteristic for Carcass and were always making their music sound special. I already mentioned these killer vocals of Jeff Walker, who still sounds incredibly angry and impressive. Even if I didn’t know it’s Carcass LP, I would instantly recognize not only his vocals, but also that trademark style of riffing, melodies, some excellent blasting parts or even dual vocals, which appear here and there. Some will moan that lack of Michael Amott is hearable – but that for me is bullshit, as Bill Steer recorded here some incredibly good guitar leads and melodies. OK, I won’t fool you – there are maybe two or three songs, like “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills”, which I don’t like so much and I wouldn’t cry, if they were not on the album. At these moments Carcass sounds too much like Arch Enemy for me hehe. But at the same time there are such killer tracks as “Captive Bolt Pistol”, which was the first single, announcing “Surgical Steel”, and really blew my head off from the first listen. It is just as good as any old Carcass classic and I can put it next to “No Love Lost” or “Heartwork” (best Carcass song ever!). It has killer riffs and is so aggressive, so damn fast at places that it is just awesome. There are also such songs like “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System”, “The Master Butcher’s Apron”, “316L Grade Surgical Steel” – and they all are just bloody good, in my opinion. For such tracks “Surgical Steel” is worthy to be listened to and they only prove that the return of Carcass is just truly welcome and the album is totally recommendable. “The Master Butcher’s Apron” is especially awesome, after “Captive Bolt Pistol” it is my favourite song, for the intensity, speed and great riffs. And that surgical precision of execution… spotless.

So yeah, there’s some good stuff on “Surgical Steel” and I really think that the fans of (90’s era) Carcass should all like it. Except couple of songs, the album is just really damn good and it sounds like a right continuation of “Heartwork”. Stop being sceptical then and enjoy this music! From my side I can only complain on one thing – I hate how Nuclear Blast has released the vinyl. And no, I don’t really care if they released 20 different colour versions of the LP, because I don’t think it is important – and more so, I definitely don’t care what colour my LP is and how limited it is. I just don’t like the idea that they decided to force this album into two LPs. Why the hell? It could easily have been squeezed into one LP and that would be better, at least the listen would be more comfortable and smooth. But NO; they decided to make a double LP edition… uurrrghhh… shit. Other than that, I had a great listen and can only welcome Carcass back, hopefully for good and not just for this one LP!
Standout tracks: “Captive Bolt Pistol”, “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System”, “The Master Butcher’s Apron”, “316L Grade Surgical Steel”
Final rate: 73/100

Cash In Your Malpractice Insurance - 56%

televiper11, October 30th, 2013
Written based on this version: 2013, CD, Nuclear Blast

No question about it, Carcass's return to active duty has been one of the biggest events in recent metal history. Starting with an unlikely reunion tour and expanding into an even unlikelier new album. Surgical Steel should be a big deal. And it is, in the sense that has generated a lot of hype, interest, sales, and reviews citing it as a pinnacle work from one of extreme metal's most interesting, polarizing, and important bands. Polarizing is the key word here. There isn't a single album in the Carcass discography that hasn't generated a substantial level of controversy, criticism, adulation, and adoration all at once -- reactions lasting far beyond the initial record's release time. Even now, twenty years later, people can't seem to agree on Heartwork, the album with which Surgical Steel shares the strongest affinities. Personally, I've enjoyed all of Carcass's varied output over the years but despite the best of efforts and intentions, I can't quite buy into Surgical Steel as anything more than a massively over-hyped record of borderline mediocre quality.

The short instrumental opener, "1985," is intriguing in its suggestion of having been written almost three decades ago and sounding far, far removed from anything Carcass was releasing at that time (under their previous nom de guerre, Disattack). This 75-second slice of NWOBHM melodicism is something I would've really liked to hear developed into a full song as it is a catchy slice of memorable guitar work that unfortunately transitions into an utterly mediocre and unmemorable tune, the cheesy 'Thrasher's Abbatoir." This track is bland with stupid lyrics (granted, Carcass's lyrics were always tongue-in-cheek but "Hipsters and posers I abhor / Welcome to the thrasher's abattoir," really?) and both it and follow-up "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" meaninglessly thrash-and-bash without producing a single memorable riff, solo, or lyrical passage. Basically, a souped-up Heartwork with a similarly glossy production that covers up a paucity of musical invention. And that goes to the heart of my beef with this record.

Every previous piece of the Carcass discography was a step-forward from sickening gore-grind to melodic death metal to bluesy death-n-roll, there was always some new twist, new nuance, something new to say. Not here. Surgical Steel is utterly bereft of that next evolutionary step, sounding more like a consolidation of everything Carcass nuts everywhere love about the band: Heartwork's melo-death sped up with more blast beats and medical song titles ala the gore-grind era with occasional bluesy solo work because you cannot deny Bill Steer his blues influence. It sounds cold, calculated, and cynical to my ears. And the music just can't hold the weight of previous accomplishments.

Not that its all bad. Carcass know how to write a good hook and there are several catchy tracks here. They are back-loaded and I find myself only listening to the latter half of this album after multiple initial spins of the whole thing. A particular favorite is "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills," which has the balls to go straight Swansong and just rock the way this band has always wanted to. This track excels in its passion, its unadulterated swagger, and its memorable riffs and bizarre yet catchy numerical chorus. Not just churning out the blasts to please the purists gives Carcass their best track on the record. Another example is the closer, the epic and monolithic "Mount Of Execution" -- here is that evolutionary next step that I wish this entire record might have pursued, honestly, as it sounds like nothing Carcass has ever tried before. Clocking in at over eight minutes, it is a kind of complex epic more akin prog rock than melo-death and comes complete with clean acoustic passages, chugging riffage, layering leads of varying texture, and deep heartfelt themes (the only great lyrics on the album, imo).

There are a couple other small nuggets of decency on here, songs that I am somewhat keen on, but nothing that really overwhelms me like the best of their earlier records did. The band overall sounds tighter, cleaner, slicker, and more professional than ever but a lot has been lost in the update: Ken Owen's sloppier but more hearty drum work for starters; a sense of urgency, anger, and pain for another; jaw-dropping riffs most-of-all. In the end it is a record that I doubt will stand the trials of two decades plus as easy as the rest of their discography has.

A magnificent combination of what came before - 91%

psychosisholocausto, October 25th, 2013

Carcass are a band best known for having pioneered at least two genres, with their final studio album before their break-up arguably kick-starting a third genre by combining the melodic death metal side the band had showcased on Heartwork with more of a rock sound. Then, the band completely faded out of the public eye, disbanding and remaining dormant for many years. Until 2013. Rumors had been surfacing for many years that the band would return with another studio release, but it was not until Surgical Steel that these rumors proved to be true. It took until now for the band to put out another album, and what an album it proved to be.

Surgical Steel could best be perceived as the sum of its predecessors. For the most part, this is a spectacularly composed selection of melodic death metal songs, but it undeniably carries influences from their gore-grind earliest works as well as the occasional rock-influenced segment that came straight from Swansong. With so many wheels turning to create Surgical Steel, it should come as no surprise that this is a thrillingly varied work of art. This album leaps back and forth between slower, more deliberately paced numbers to the thrashing, lightning fast pieces that their earlier albums were ridden with. Not once on this album does it dip in quality either, from the sub-two minute song Thrasher's Abattoir to the epic lengthed closing song Mount Of Execution.

Whilst this album is missing the primary song writer of the Heartwork era, Carcass definitely have not forgotten how to write some absolutely brilliant melodic death metal works. The riffs are, as always with extreme music, the bread and butter of this release, and they may well be the best riffs found on any Carcass work to date. The aforementioned Thrasher's Abattoir picks up where an instrumental opener leaves off and thunders ahead at a furious pace, kicking off the album in magnificent fashion. Captive Bolt Pistol and The Master Butcher's Apron are two songs that capture the band at their absolute best riff-wise, with some of the most brilliant quick paced riffs found anywhere in death metal as well as some really sweet mid-paced guitar sections. These two songs show that the band are not slouching or pulling any punches at all on their latest work, and mean business with their comeback.

The rest of the instrumentation on this album could not for one second be referred to as mundane or dull. The drum patterns on this release are some of the most creative and varied found on any melodic death metal album, with the mid-paced beats consistently exciting the listener's ears whilst blast beats are the main course of certain tracks, used a little more than they were on Heartwork. Meanwhile, the bass work is consistently audible, nicely filling in the void between the drumming and the riff madness that is on display here. A personal favorite song for the bass work would be on The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills, a thrilling number which hits so hard you will be reeling for breath. The vocal work sticks to the raspy shriek that populated their last two albums for the most part, but occasionally dives into the lower range that made up their earliest works. The growls are not the deepest ever found, but they are certainly well performed and give off a lot of energy on this album.

Mount Of Execution is the main song that deserves to be singled out for praise on this album. This track closes the album off in a lengthy exercise of how to build up and absolutely crush a listener's ears with some of the most magnificent riffing ever found on a metal album, as well as some really neat soloing. The Master Butcher's Apron is another song that will remain in the head long after listening, containing some really memorable vocal work that is both catchy and absolutely chaotic, whilst the drumming remains as creative as ever. There is not one song on this release that ever threatens to knock it down a notch in terms of quality, and for this reason Surgical Steel stands out as arguably the definitive Carcass work. It contains elements of each of their releases, and is a magnificent album that deserves a listen from everyone.

NHS budget cuts fail to blunt Surgical Steel - 95%

Jiggy, October 16th, 2013

Reviewing things isn't easy and reviewing music is worse. For me, simply giving something a score out of 100 can be agonisingly difficult. There’s so much criteria involved – the obvious ones being the song writing, the instrumentation, etc. – but what about the more subjective factors? The context of the release, the accessibility, or maybe your creepy Uncle Seamus touched you to the rhythm of 'Noncompliance To ASTM F 899-12 Standard'. Maybe. But even with all this mind I’m telling you that this IS a good album. If you like death metal then I really fail to see why you’d loathe this album. To me and, judging from the initial feedback, the vast majority of fans this is exceptional. This is not merely a new epoch for Carcass, but a continuation of the last.

It’s strange. Last time this band released an album I was barely 9 months old. The fact I’m excited about this album is a testament to Carcass. Perhaps if you were a cynic you’d mention the fact that the fanfare surrounding this album through various media outlets has been huge by metal standards. Carcass were one of those bands whose popularity increased mostly after they split up. Perhaps more surprising is that none of them had to died before this happened, although Ken’s brain haemorrhage (and subsequent miraculous recovery) leaves the Cobain effect mostly intact.

Jeff Walker, the silver-tongued bassist and vocalist of Carcass has been quoted as saying Surgical Steel is a little bit of all albums from Necroticism to Swansong. Essentially it ropes in the best of Carcass, masticates the grisly sinews and regurgitates the musical bolus onto a pallet fit for a butcher’s dog. The brutal yet intricate song writing of Necroticism, the melodic harmonies and solos of Heartwork, and the…er, well, not really Swansong. It’s a daunting mix of styles to comprehend at first but it ends up sounding natural – the next logical step in their evolution. Thrasher’s Abattoir is certainly not something I would expect on a Carcass album, but I wager its rambunctious riffage is probably the right antidote for the nostalgic and slightly out-of-place opening track ‘1985’, a short instrumental intro to the album featuring Bill Steer harmonising with himself. Dan Wilding, a relative unknown, promotes his credentials heroically with an impressive performance on the drums and is a good successor to Ken Owen in that he varies his drum beats often and successfully to prevent boredom. Incidentally, Ken contributes a few backing vocals on various tracks as does Bill, though not to the extent I was expecting. His voice features most prominently on ‘Wraith in the Apparatus’, though this was one of the 4 songs recorded that aren't on the vanilla version of Surgical Steel, but more on those later.

Bill Steer’s vocals may be absent as they have been for the best part of 20 years, but his trademark guitar is present and plays the protagonist throughout the album but it’s real monologue moment is the solos. They’re the clearly melodic sort that Kerry King can only dream of, though I’m disappointed the tradition of naming their solos hasn't lived on. Some songs such as ‘The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills’ (aka Heartwork 2.0) are clearly based more upon the melodic musings of Heartwork while others like ‘The Master Butcher’s Apron’ would be more at home on Necroticism or The Tools of the Trade EP. Luckily, this slight divide seems more like an attempt to incorporate the salient parts of both albums into one rather than a mild case of schizophrenia. The result is enjoyable; head banging riffs that usually hit the right medium between musically verbose and neolithic one-note chugging. Dare I say there is even a little groove in a few songs, notably the back end of ‘A Congealed Clot of Blood'.

Finally, we find ourselves at the vocals. I must admit, I did not expect too much from Jeff Walker though after the first listen I wondered why I ever thought that. Far from being dulled by time, the long-haired Liverpudlian is as sharp as a scalpel. The lyrics are mostly decipherable, though I armed myself with the lyric sheet regardless and was bemused and amused in equal wealth. They may sound like they've been written by Stephen Fry on a diet of thesauruses but they’re brimming with a grim facetious humour that is characteristic of the scouser. Topics like the conquistador’s brutal expeditions into Latin America (frankly, I did not expect the Spanish inquisition) and the dehumanising regimes of corrupt African warlords magnify and scrutinise issues more carefully than the wishy-washy social commentary of Swansong ever did. Several songs feature the trademark Carcass vernacular of dismemberment and exhumation, which must seem facile for Jeff after all this time, yet still yield a grimly humorous read. Believe me, if Kanye West had written some of these there’d be queue of people across the Atlantic begging to suck his dick. There’s even a pop at the misguided interpretations of the Qu’ran that the Jihad hold so dear; plenty for the inhabitants of the hotbed of modern philosophy and theology that is the Youtube comments section to get their teeth into. Joy…

But enough brown-nosing; no album is perfect and here are the criticisms. Bill Steer’s vocals are not as prominent as perhaps was implied pre-release, though it is a minor thing. More important is that while the bass is audible it often just follow Steer’s guitar like a loyal but decrepit dog trudging after its master. For me that is a crying shame because Swansong showed that Jeff has the ability to do more but I suppose that’s the price we pay for having a Carcass album in the more traditional death metal sense. Until now I have also failed to mention the 4 unreleased tracks, the UK version of which solely features ‘Intensive Battery Brooding’, which reminds me of Heartwork’s ‘This is your Life’ but with a better solo. I understand there is always leftovers but these songs are of a fairly high standard and though they’ll inevitably be added to Surgical Steel in some later digipak release or whatever money printing re-packaging the label boffins invent next. If I were you I’d download these region exclusive tracks from the internet if you find yourself wanting a bit more after the album has run its course. Frankly, 2 of these songs may have been preferable to the last song on the album, 'Mount of Execution'. It is actually a rather good track but for the last 2 minutes which seems bolted on rather clumsily after the song (and the album) reaches its natural denouement.

In the scheme of things though this is still an album that has surpassed nearly all expectations. Getting your hopes up for comeback albums is a dangerous thing indeed but it really is one of the standout releases of 2013 and a beacon of hope for death metal across the British Isles, a scene which has failed to produce any genuinely good albums for a number of years now.

British Steel Still Cuts the Deepest… - 93%

bayern, October 10th, 2013

The grindcore pioneers are back in the game, and one can only make wild, uneducated guesses as to what they may have cooked this time. Unlike their colleagues from Bolt Thrower and Napalm Death who never took very adventurous stylistic shifts, the Liverpudian gang did quite a walk over the metal gamut back in the 90’s leaving the fan a bit bewildered, and probably not quite satisfied with their swansong (“Swansong”, that is) before the indefinite (now finite) hiatus.

With very fresh examples of total shameless flops (Morbid Angel’s “Illud Divinum Insanus” painfully comes to mind) the fanbase hardly holds any illusions about the recent reunion vogue in death metal, but Bill Steer, Jeff Walker and Co. beg to differ here. Confusion inevitably settles in with the beautiful melodic intro “1985” which is a direct reference, both title and music-wise, to the glorious period of metal (not quite death metal yet at that time); it’s a really stylish “wink” at Judas Priests’ “The Hellion” from ‘Screaming for Vengeance”, and before one hesitates whether to prepare, rather unwillingly, for some classic heavy metal fanfares to follow, starts the 2-min slashing death/thrashing madness “Thrasher’s Abattoir” which could throw the listener into other thoughts, that Carcass may have eventually decided to “court” thrash metal after unfairly ignoring it on ‘Swansong”...

But no; comes “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System”, and death metal reigns supreme, the way we know it from “Heartwork” mostly, with the brilliant infectious melodies, the blazing solos, the semi-technical shreds, the abrupt tempo-changes, and all the rest. Some less bridled blast-beating sections incorporated later can be traced back even beyond “Necroticism” thus making a desirable coverage of all the staple “tools of the trade” of the band. “Swansong” hasn’t been completely forgotten, either, with a few more cheesy moments the majority captured by the monstrous closing 8.5-min opus “Mount of Execution”, an epic length Carcass having never tried previously, but succeeding in adding to the album’s already abundant melodic appeal. While some may complain about this composition being too long and not doing justice to the superior material encountered earlier, it’s still a fitting epitaph to a work which shows a band having not lost even a tad of their inimitable (albeit often imitated) style.

Jeff Walker snarls viciously in the same old scary way, and one can only wonder how come his aggressive, unmelodic “singing” style goes so well with the mellower parts, also being a major reason why “Swansong” couldn’t have possibly sucked back then. But it’s not only his characteristic delivery which makes one recognize Carcass almost instantly: the guys sound very true to themselves logically avoiding any experimental traps, the very modern production being the sole “innovation”, the latter making the guitars click and clock with a resounding echo recalling the sound of a scalpel touching a surgery table…

So our favourite “surgeons” have a done a marvellous job; really. Album of the year? By all means, if not for the whole world, at least for the medical students and the death metal fans. The best effort to come out of the UK recently? Sure thing, albeit wrapped in a winning arm wrestle with the grandfathers Black Sabbath (13” is the number… sorry, album). Compared to the more successful recent reunions in death metal (Pestilence, Atheist)? Definitely more consistent and compelling than “Resurrection Macabre”, and aaalmost as good as “Jupiter”.

So back to the surgery, everyone! It doesn’t look such a scary place anymore with the best practitioners of the trade back in business… Cut!

The return of the surgeon - 95%

Opus_Oculto, October 4th, 2013

I definitely did not expect the return of the legendary grind/melodic death metal band Carcass to really happen. After seventeen years after the release of Swansong, an album that seemed to end the grindcore side of the band, these veterans of extreme music unleash upon the human race another great masterpiece of pure grind/thrash/melodic death metal.

However, this time the sound of Carcass tends more to a thrash metal rhythm than in all the previous albums. Even the names of some songs make reference to it (listen to the second track, Thrasher's Abattoir). There are not the same nonsensical doses of grindcore as in the band's early albums, where the rawness of instruments and arrangements made the band sound almost inaudible, but, in fact, this is a positive point, as Surgical Steel can be interpreted as a successful continuation of Heartwork, the band’s masterpiece. Not even the absence of the legendary founding member Michael Amott seems to have affected the glorious result that appears in the almost 50 minutes of Surgical Steel.

The album begins with a rhythmic and melodic track with just the pair of guitars from Bill Steer. A peaceful and harmonious introduction to the carnage that begins thereafter. Ten tracks in which Carcass shows all the mastery and creativity that made them became world famous in the 90s. The medical issues are back in the lyrics (listen to Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard and Captive Bolt Pistol) and even on the album cover, which goes back to an old release from the band, the Tools of the Trade EP, from 1992. Individually, deserve mention the wonderful work of Jeff Walker on vocals, with constant power and aggressiveness throughout the whole album and the creative battery of Daniel Wilding, who gave a more technical and faster tone to the music, sounding far more accurate than its predecessor, Ken Owen.

Bill Steer also seems not to have slept in those seventeen years that Carcass remained in silence. In Surgical Steel there are riffs of all kinds, ranging from pure tremolo picking passages through more melodic and rhythmical riffs as in Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System to pure thrash savagery as in Captive Bolt Pistol. In most of the songs these three styles are fully merged, which makes the songs very heterogeneous (hear The Master Butcher's Apron).

Carcass hit on perfecting the Heartwork’s formula in this new release, becoming the band's sound more mature and consolidating its expertise in mixing thrash, death and a bit of grindcore in an unique and unmistakable melodic style. A return in style of one of the most popular names in the metal scene.

Originally wtritten for opusoculto.blogspot.com.br

Mellow-Deaf Eddie Trunk would listen to - 0%

bitterman, October 2nd, 2013

Considering the depths one time member Mike Amott has fallen in recent times, and the downward decline in quality of their output in the 90s, it's no surprise that this recent Carcass album is a deplorable, artistically void album that reeks of commercial whoredom. Necroticism was boring, Heartwork was whoring, and Swansong was misdirected, genre confused hard rock, so what's left for Carcass to do? Mix everything that made their 90s output forgettable and further ruin their reputation. From the misguided fan-service lyrics to the rock harmony 101 Saturday morning cartoon theme song riffs that are the focus of these tracks, this album reeks of compromises and vacuity.

The lyrics are one of the worst things to this album. From the cover art to the song titles, this is very inappropriate subject matter for the music. Violent themes for happy muzak. It seems like Carcass are trying to cash in on what people "think" they know from Carcass, that being medical themes, but this whoring bunch of commercial Wacken metal probably would have benefited from the "emotional and personal" approach that was utilized on Heartwork and Swansong. Just by reading the song titles, it feels like something a focus group put together to make the album appeal to fans of vastly different eras of Carcass, but it fails, coming off as words thrown over muzak at the last minute.

Muzakly speaking, this is Heartwork-esque stadium rock mellow-deaf with butt rock solos that are so cheesy, it came as a surprise to find out Mike Amott had no part in this. There is more Wacken crowd pandering in here with the harmonized dual lead parts than anything attempted in the past, making a lot of the music here sound like nothing more than recent Arch Enemy with Jeff Walker vocals and some blast beats. The song structures are verse-chorus affairs, but then they throw in these "unexpected" extended bridges in there to appeal to the people that thought Necroticism's bloated and unnecessarily long songs were "unique", even if they don't correlate well with what preceded it, to make it seem like something "complex" had just occured in what was otherwise a simple song with a simple goal. It's fist in the air drunken stupidity, replete with down-picked power chord groove rock riffs aplenty, making this all feel like a more uptempo version of Swansong than the Necroticism meets Heartwork album the band promised. Occasionally, blasting over riffs like the one played on Heartwork's Carnal Forge make an appearance, but only as something that feels forced, as if checked off a list of things that must be included on the album so people think it's "death metal" and not stadium rock.

The poor quality of this album was to be expected considering this band had run out of usefulness after Symphonies of Sickness. This is really not much different from whatever Nuclear Blast would churn out on a regular basis since the late 90s, just with the Carcass brand name attached to it. Worse yet, while a lot of Heartwork and even Swansong had identifiable songs, this just seems like any ordinary mellow-deaf album with an overly sterile production with the only allusion to old Carcass being the hoarse rasping of Jeff Walker. If you want to listen to the same album Century Media and Nuclear Blast has been dumping out in different ways since figuring out stadium metal dressed up in death metal aesthetics for the sake of "rebellion" was a sales hit, by all means pick it up. If you enjoy Carcass, the unique entity who offered a new voice and perspective to underground metal, stick with their first couple albums.

Carcass - Surgical Steel - 85%

ThrashManiacAYD, September 30th, 2013

Of the countless metal bands in recent years to have spun the reformation cycle, bringing their 80s and 90s material to younger generations, one name has always stood out against the rest: Carcass. Feted as goregrind, death metal and melodic death progenitors and immeasurably influential on thousands of bands there was an air of inevitability about their rebirth and subsequent new album, but knowing as we all do the sense of disappointment that tends to great new releases from old legends, who could've foreseen a release like "Surgical Steel" which has been gathering positive reviews like a rotting corpse does maggots?

Rather than simply striking lucky there are permeating reasons for why "Surgical Steel" stands up against the Carcass discography. Their genre-defining classics of "Necroticism" and "Heartwork" were not mere blasters as their ability to blend melody, groove and even humour into subject matters of the grotesque and ghastly has ensured the longevity of the name. In Bill Steer they possess one of the most inventive guitarists in death metal this side of Chuck Schuldiner, a man who has filled his Carcass downtime in a variety of blues rock bands and it takes just one listen to tracks like "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" and "Noncompliance to ASTM F 899-12 Standard" to notice what a difference his fluid style of playing brings against all the straight-up testosterone fueled bands of today. Steer is ably abetted by the skills of new sticksman Daniel Wilding, while in Jeff Walker, and more specifically his lyrics, here is a man who growls and spews out tales of death and decay with a knowing smile on his face and a rare sense of personality, as if only he knows this is a form of entertainment and not some sermon to be blindly endured and regurgitated.

Intro piece "1985" brings the first sign of dual guitar interplay (all courtesy of Steer) before "Thrasher's Abattoir" is harks back to the early days of the band, listing meticulous ways of passing through the void in a forceful two-minute blast. "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" throws some thrashy rhythm playing into the mix as we see Carcass settle into their more melodic groove for the first time, with the resulting solos in the song's latter half recalling the glory days of Megadeth's frequent lead battles. It is worth noting through into "A Congealed Clot of Blood" and "The Master Butcher's Apron" how each song sound different from one another - for all the countless Exhumed's and Impaled's out there thriving off the Carcass legacy they have never been able to inject such variety into their album as is heard here.

"Noncompliance..." - the winner of this year's 'Most specific song subject' award - flies off the line with some brilliant lead work and follows this up with a fine example of how to execute a drop in pace mid-way through without resorting to neanderthal, palm-muted chugging (all deathcore bands take note). Highlight track of the piece "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" is based around a riff as good as in "Keep On Rotting in the Free World", a track which more than any other in their back catalogue is responsible for the melodic death wave which followed while "Unfit for Human Consumption" and "316 L Grade Surgical Steel" follow suit earning the album's closing half the merit of bearing more classic material than earlier on. For what "Surgical Steel" may lack in the brutal directness, which makes "Necroticism" so essential to the genre, as an overall collection of songs this rivals the best these Liverpudlian legends have to offer. Should they never record another album "Surgical Steel" will sit much more comfortably as a closing chapter than "Swansong" has done for the past 17 years.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

Carcass - Surgical Steel - 95%

Orbitball, September 27th, 2013

Yes, quite a long break from the metal scene, however, Carcass is back! This one fits in the genre of not only melodic death, but actually death 'n roll. That doesn't necessarily make it "not" melodic, it's melodic as all hell. Plus Steer sounds like he's keeping the guitars tuning to B still, reliving the old tunes and turning the music into a pure melodic medley of tunes that are stifling, not to mention that they're still thick and heavy as all hell. Walker's vocals are pretty much the same as its previous outputs, reliving the spirit of the past and applying it to their newer sound fitting it rather well alongside the melodies fast paced tempos.

Commendable return although some have this contingency that it wasn't music they are adhering to, it's money. With that belief, the whole of the album tends to make it as worthy as nil. I appreciated the album immensely, not out of bias or disagreement with other people's views, but because I felt a good vibe when I heard this, and yes, it was like reliving the gift of melodic memories. I think that Steer made the music commendable here, despite the slighter change in songwriting structure, the melodicism of the music keep it for me interested because the emotion definitely comes out in the music.

I've never been a fan of Carcass' lyrical department, mainly just the music and vocals. On this one, I think that Steer's leads weren't as wicked on that of "Heartwork", but still was able to dish out some highly technical riffs, with a touch of rock and roll feel to it. I'm guessing that was the underlying style in the songwriting department, they wanted to bring themselves back into the world of emotion in music, even if it is heavy and the guitars thick. Actually, the guitars are to me the highlight of the album and the production quality was commendable. Walker sounds the same yes, but it truly does fit with Steer's musical compositions.

I didn't lose interest in any of the songs the whole way through. In fact, I felt it to be exuberant in feel, original in style, lucid in essence and wicked in spirit. These aspects made the album work and possibly one of the top albums of 2013. I'm not in agreement with others just for the sake of agreeing with them, I truly thought that this comeback leads to other bands comebacks in metal, not just them, but those who've disbanded in the past for whatever reason. So yes, the hallmark here are Steer's utter complexity in writing style, tremolo picking riffing abundant, a vibe that puts the sound in a world of its own among their discography.

The fact that this band made a hallmark comeback to the metal scene is quite admirable. Just not only that, but listening to 47+ minutes of pure and fresh melodic/death 'n roll. The music is captivating, the vocals so much like the past, the production quality like that of "Heartwork", and a drive for this band to really make its mark once again in approach to metal. I don't think that this album is them just selling out, I think that the memories of the past became relived and their adjunct to keeping themselves untouchable in this unique melodic form will turn new listeners into their vibe getting them interested in the older melodic days, not as much the way early grind ones. A monument.

A commendable, artistically valid return... - 77%

c_zar, September 27th, 2013

Carcass is the band that interested me in the extreme side of heavy metal. Perhaps in the minority of Carcass fans, I enjoy all of their previous albums— yes, even Swansong (though I could not get into the risible Blackstar (aka Blackstar Rising) project). From their opaque grinding inception to their groovy death ‘n roll conclusion, I enjoy the varied musical offerings from Steer, Walker, and Owen. Memorable riffs (in many different styles) and interesting arrangements are the constants of quality for this ever-changing entity.

When I heard that Carcass would be releasing a new album, I was excited but wary, and when I read that the album was to be a mix of their previous styles—plus new stuff—my enthusiasm grew. The reported vocal presence of Bill Steer was also something to look forward to, but it’s been a long time away for these guys, and there was no way to know creatively where they were at. I was 23 the last time I heard a new Carcass album, and as a 40 year-old fan, my tastes have developed—I’ve written a lot of music and a ton of criticism and heard thousands and thousands of death metal songs.

So I am happy to report that Surgical Steel proves to be a respectable and triumphant return for Carcass. From the Hellion-inspired intro 1985 to the weighty closer, this is a good album, loaded with ideas. There’s a lot of talk as to which incarnation of Carcass this new effort most resembles, and the answer is obviously Heartwork. There are moments from other albums—the progressive arrangements and twin guitar circling of Mount of Execution recalls Necroticism and some of the overstuffed vocals in tunes like The Master Butcher’s Apron recall the force-feeding lyrical approach of the grind era—but essentially, Surgical Steel is Heartwork, Part II. Lots of catchy thrash riffs with palm-muted chugging that would fit comfortably on some of the better Megadeth albums (albeit with different tuning), lots of heavy metal twin guitar (with uglier harmonies), lots of time changes, and lots of interesting (but not too complex) arrangements comprise this release. So like Heartwork, Surgical Steel is an energetic album full of sterling hooks, cartwheeling solos, somber melody, left turns, and speed, but lacking the creepiness of their necrotic, sick and putrefactive days. In short: This album is not atmospheric at all, but rather exciting and catchy.

The main limitation here—and also on Heartwork and Swansong to a lesser degree—is Jeff Walker’s singing. I had hoped to hear 17 years of musical wisdom in his choices, but this performance is actually a step down from his lead singer approach on Heartwork. His singing is and has always been limited—it’s a pretty good spoken word snarl, but not much more—and whenever he tries to expand his rasp into contoured death metal crooning as he does a few times on this album (esp. Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System) and throughout Blackstar and often on Swansong, his singing makes me think of Krusty the Clown. Long held notes and melodic contour just don’t sound great in Walker’s clearly enunciated snarl. And when he leaps out to the front with playful ideas, it can get a little embarrassing— the singing at the end of the otherwise terrific 316L Surgical Grade Steel is pure St. Anger stuff and injures the song. So yeah, Walker does a specific thing pretty well (and on the best Satyricon albums, Satyr does the exact same kind of vocals much more tastefully), but the sheer quantity of the lyrics for some of these songs is just out of control—a “cramming in” approach to vocals that is the main relic of their grindcore days and out of place here. Proof: The best vocal chorus on the entire album is in The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills where Walker simply sings numbers for the major part of the section and leaves a lot of open space. Drier vocals and sparser singing suit him better than more emotive or playful stuff. The tiny, almost insignificant vocal contributions of Most Valuable Carcass, Bill Steer should have been greatly expanded (he used to have the far better voice), and Walker’s singing should’ve been cut down by 50% or more. And when Steer’s voice is present—I’m assuming that’s him in the chorus of Captive Bolt Pistol—his voice is way, way over processed and squandered. So Walker’s singing—the overwhelming amount of it, the timbre, and the pedestrian phrases he contrives—is the only reason that this album is a good album and not a great one.

Former drummer Ken Owen’s distinctive beats are missed in Carcass 2013, but as is usually the case with line up changes in successful bands, the new player is more technically proficient and less creatively compelling than his predecessor. This is not to chop on Dan Wilding’s playing—he is very good at rocking some of the weird left turns—but Ken Owen’s progressive playing in songs like Embodiment and Heartwork and his deep pocket groove in Rock the Vote evince a songwriter’s mentality (and on a personal level, incredibly inspiring—I used to practice to these three songs). Wilding’s drumming snaps into place and propels the action and grooves when needed, but lacks the singular musical voice of Ken Owen (who is a ride cymbal artist). I fully concede that the comparison is a bit unfair—there have been over two decades of extreme metal drumming since Symphonies & Necroticism and a lot of extreme drumming patterns and techniques have been cleaned up and standardized (for better and for worse).

Looking at the larger picture, the second half of the album is far stronger than the first, though all of it is good. From Noncompliance of ASTM F 899-12 Standard onward, Surgical Steel has my interest 100%. It’s at this point—track 6—that song structures get a lot more compelling and the riffs get more dynamic. Additionally, since there are more in the way of instrumental passages in the second half, the best element of Carcass music—the riffs and color changes and arrangements—aren’t as smothered by vocals. Steer’s solos are certainly sharp and exciting, mirroring the characteristics of the album as a whole. And the musical trepanation after Walker’s cry of “Trepanation!” in Captive Bolt Pistol is an excellent example of imagistic riffs and a tactile listening experience—that hook certainly bores into the brain.
Although Surgical Steel is hampered by some pedestrian singing, the album is a catchy, exciting, inspired, inspiring, and commendable continuation of the Carcass legacy. Unfit for Human Consumption, Mount of Execution, and Noncompliance of ASTM F 899-12 Standard are some of the best tunes in the band’s varied catalogue, right alongside Incarnated Solvent Abuse, Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Compostion, Forensic Clinicism, Embyrionic Necropsy and Devourment, Rock the Vote, Death Certificate, Heartwork, and Embodiment. That three songs on the first new Carcass album in 17 years match the very best songs they’ve ever recorded is a testament to their artistry, craft, and passion.

Bloodlustmord! - 95%

maniac196, September 25th, 2013

The return of British death metal/grindcore/melodeath titans Carcass is something that has everybody talking, and rightly so. I do not exaggerate when I say that 'Surgical Steel' is probably one of the strongest comeback albums I have ever heard, as well as one of, if not the best metal album of 2013. This album is jam-packed with great riffs, some of the most technically intense drumming Carcass has ever used (sorry Ken Owen) and probably what is the most clever, wit-filled lyrical assault Jeff Walker was capable of.

You've probably heard it said that this album is the 'missing bridge' between 'Heartwork' and 'Necroticism.' While I somewhat agree with this, I also think it is so much more than that. For one thing, it only takes the very best aspects from both albums (don't get me wrong I love both -- especially 'Necroticism'). The guys play with some Heartwork esque melodies and leads, especially on tracks like "316L Grade Surgical Steel" and "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills." As well as some assorted mid-tempo Necroticism stuff thrown in for good measure here and there. For those of you who are cringing in elitism at the thought of "sell-out" aspects that reappear from Heartwork, your loss because this album an exceptionally exciting sonic journey that you will miss out on because of your prejudgement.

The album begins with a short instrumental track entitled "1985" and is apparently an old demo that Bill Steer dug up from (surprise) 1985. If those were the kinds of things they were writing in '85, it should have been clear what was about to be unleashed upon the musical world. It's a cool little melodic lead part where Mr. Steer essentially gets to singlehandedly set the mood for the album. This quickly leads into the less than two minute attack which is "Thrasher's Abbatoir." This song is a ripping return to form by the band to their older Symphonies/Necroticism days. The song takes no time in ripping your face off in its torrential riff and crazed drumming. The lyrics as well are indicitve of "the old Carcass" as they are sufficiently gory and violent to make Ken Owen proud. Speaking of the ex-Carcass drummer, Ken makes two guest appearances on this album, providing backing vocals; "Thrasher's Abbatoir" is the first instance of this. The third song "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" begins with Walker's maniacal rasp of "BLOODLUSTMORD!" Something I still have no idea the meaning of. This song is slightly more polished than the previous, employing the style of Heartwork, beginning with pummeling riffage before a brief melodic break. But fear not; for Surgical Steel's melodic breaks are usually brief and used extremely artfully and they add tremendously to the character of the album.

One of my personal favorite tracks from this album is "The Master Butcher's Apron." This track is both brutal (to use such a cliche term) and masterfully written, as well as having some of the most catchy lyrics on the whole album. Speaking of lyrics, the track"Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard" is notable because this entire song is a commentary by Walker & Co. on all of the so-called 'copy cat' bands which Carcass has influenced. Walker even goes so far as to call them 'Dearth Metal.' Is this a bit pompous on Carcass' part? You be the judge. "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" is also worth mentioning for being the most atmospheric song on this album. The song conjours images of industrial England, in all its gloomy, depressive majesty. The song also contains a hidden easter egg in the lyrics. The mysterious chants of "Six, zero, two, six, Nine, six, one” are actually not some hidden satanic message, but actually the SID (substance identification) for surgical grade stainless steel. Talk about fucking clever. “Unfit For Human Consumption” is a vicious rage of a song, both lyrically and musically, its unrelenting assault has earned it the spot as one of the best songs present.

I must now mention the track “316L Grade Surgical Steel,” the title track, if you will. This song is a more mellow (though still thoroughly aggressive) song whose lyrics are the real stars. The lyrics to this song are probably Jeff Walker's most complex, deep and thoughtful offering to date. I don't care who you are, they'll punch you in the feelings. And while you're recovering from the emotional shock, “Captive Bolt Pistol” will jump out to euthanize you before you know what's happening. Being the first leaked track, you can assume that this song is probably the most generic one on the whole album, and you'd be right. That doesn't mean it's mediocre though; quite the contrary. This song was what had me in fan girl squeels of anticipation for the rest of the album the moment I heard it. The final track “Mount of Execution” is a strange 8-ish minute prog offering from the band. It sort of feels tacked on and mildly kills the freight train momentum of the rest of the album. In any case, it's still a good listen.

All in all, Surgical Steel is an immense tour-de-force by Brit titans Carcass. It's sure to please new fans as well as even the most curmudgeony, elitist Reek of Putrefaction fans. It doesn't really come as any surprise that when a band like Carcass lies in wait for 17 years before an album release following a sub-par catastrophe like Swansong, the album they release is the product of all the pent up riffs, frustrations and rage of the past 17 years, and Steer, Walker & Co. were clearly bursting with all of these things when they set out to create Surgical Steel. Simply put: this album kicks ass. Carcass remind us all of why the old guys are still the best.

Surgical Steer - 90%

Xyrth, September 25th, 2013

Yeah, that’s right, STEER! The man responsible for the success of this comeback album, THE comeback album of 2013 along with Satan’s awesome Life Sentence. But we’ll talk about him later. CARCASS is fuckin’ back! I mean, they reunited a good six years ago, but the possibility of new material was thin. I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought they’d carry on living on their past glories, providing both their oldest and newest fans the experience of watching them live just like in their prime, in similar fashion to the reunited At the Gates. But oh no, thank Dio I was wrong! We have a brand new record by one of the most influential death metal bands ever! Brandishing another classy, iconic cover a la Heartwork, and propelled by the skin bashing of their latest drummer, Mr. Daniel Wilding. But, is it as good as it seems? Has the wait borne the expected rotten, tasty fruits? In the ears of this humble metal obsessed Mexican writing these very lines, the correct answer to that is: HELL YES!

I warn you, dear fellow metal brother or sister, I might be biased towards Surgical Steel, since Heartwork occupies such a special place in my heart and this present work’s like the twisted younger brother (or more likely, son) of that 1993 masterpiece. Stylistically, and I’m not the first nor will be the last to mention it, Carcass’ sixth long play sounds much like a mixture of Necroticism and the H. R. Giger artwork-graced melodic death metal’s progenitor that followed it. It combines some of the best features from both albums; the nastiness and vitriol of their 1991 death metal opus with the nifty melodies and scalpel sharp production values of their fourth release. I’m quite happy about this outcome, since those two records are my favorites by the band. Quite honestly, they’re also their most popular. A regression to their goregrind years was highly unlikely, their path of evolution being a straight line from brutal and chaotic sonic evisceration to a refined and coldly calculated pedigree butchery that perhaps went too simple and accessible for their fifth release, Swansong.

“1985” opens the surgical ceremony, an introductory instrumental that repeats a simple if compelling melodic theme, in similar fashion to Arch Enemy’s “Enter the Machine”. And that makes me remember that Michael Amott defected before the composing and launching of this new material… and nobody will miss him. At first listen one would think Carcass have chosen to pick up the style of their previous long play, but then “Thrasher’s Abattoir” hits you with all the strength of its anti-poser stance and melo-death-grind violence. Soon we realize this is going to be a varied onslaught, one that incorporates different aspects from the band’s career into an ass-kicking collection of bone-splintering tunes. Even during the course of a single track, we might have reckless blasting, then melodic breaks, and then some pulverizing grooves as well. But the songs are cohesive and memorable, boasting strong riffage and some of the finest soloing to be found in 21st Century melodeath. So don’t you dare call this progressive or technical, for fuck’s sake! It’s just that these guys have great taste and a knack for first class metal.

The lyrics vary, exposing a variety of themes the band has explored across their seminal discography. We’ve war and its atrocities covered by “Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System” and “The Master Butcher’s Apron”, fundamentalism and indoctrination in “A Congealed Clot of Blood”, humanity’s voracity and mistreatment of bovines in “Unfit for Human Consumption” (probably my favorite composition of the bunch) and even our own beloved war on drugs here in Mexico is addressed on the closing track, “Mount of Execution”. The lyrical style is a mixture of the more abstract approach found on Heartwork with the acrobatic use of vocabulary and indiscriminate employment of medical terminology akin to the first three records. And all that spewed forth by the necrotic pipes of Jeff Walker, who still has enough bile down his throat to flood a stadium teeming with Justin Bieber worshippers. His bass plucking is also spot on, but that’s the least impressive of the three basic instruments at play here.

Daniel WILDing’s drumming is terrific! He even sounds like Owen circa Necroticism, with precise blasting and fills up the wazoo. There are also more laid back, interesting slower beats from time to time, although he doesn’t surpasses Owen’s elegant, masterful performance on Heartwork. Nonetheless, a great deal of modern metal percussionists, particularly those automaton-like tech death drummers adhered to blast as much and as fast as possible, should take more than a few hints from Carcass’ current drum master. But the real star of this show is Bill Steer, a surgically precise axe overlord of almost unparalleled versatility in the death metal realm. Do you need thrashy breakneck speedy riffs? Done. Perhaps some NWOBHM-inspired snazzy solos and melodies? Sure. Head-bangeable, amusing groove? You got it. Sick shifts on the fretboard, never sounding pretentious and out of place? Fuck yeah! Steer’s in top form here, he brings back everything you love and crave from Carcass’ past catalog!

The production’s another resounding Andy Sneap victory, and suits the aesthetics of the record like the One Ring on Sauron’s hand. This new release conceals some of metal finest moments of 2013, but despite all my love and respect for these blokes and all the excitement that Surgical Steel has stirred in me, I can’t say it’s a perfect work nor the undisputed album of the year so far. There are some sections that drag on a bit or just aren’t that great, like the conclusion of “Mount of Execution”. A certain thing is, you can’t go wrong in BUYING this set of shiny, nasty, sharp tools and enjoy. A bit too bright and polished for those who prefer the rusted, jagged edge of old school death metal. But whatever your tastes, Carcass are back! Those in doubt should get their craniums punctured, penetrated, and mashed.


Originally written for Metal Recusants [metalrecusants.com]

The REAL British metal comeback of 2013 - 95%

DethFanatic, September 18th, 2013

There are basically two bands I hold above all others as far as my metalness goes. One should be obvious. The other one is Carcass. Heartwork was the first extreme metal album I heard, eventually launching my expanding metal brain off into fun places like the battlefields of Bolt Thrower, the Viking adventures of Amon Amarth, the sheer brutality of Napalm Death, and the techno-electro-metal-whatever of Fear Factory, to name a few. But I was always looking for another Carcass, and while some have come close, none have achieved equality.

Of course, this is me we're talking about. So, naturally, by the time I was full-bore into this whole death metal thing, Carcass decided, "eh, screw it." I was left with a varied catalog, which like any other band has stuff I can usually take or leave (the first two albums), and stuff permanently etched into my iPod (everything else). Fast forward a bunch of years, and we get to 2008. After constant wondering "what if", Carcass is back, at least touring! Off to NYC I went, watching most of the Necroticism lineup obliterate Times Square (minus Ken, who did show up for a drum solo - awesome!), and the merchandising tables obliterate my wallet. Having filled in that part of my universe, and then read various interviews along the lines of "no new album", I was then floored to hear about secret recording sessions for...a new Carcass album!

The live show proved that they still had the chops. But with Bill off doing non-Carcassy things in the post-Swansong years, and a new drummer required, what would the result be? Total back to the roots like Reek or Symphonies? A Swansong follow-on? On some level I didn't care, but on another level, well, I did start to worry...basically when another British band reunited for an album earlier this year, and the result was pretty much horrible. When Captive Bolt Pistol came out, things began to look up.

Boosting my expectations, Carcass alleged in an interview earlier this year that Surgical Steel is basically a cross between Necroticism and Heartwork. When I heard that, I was pretty damn excited. Necroticism is still my favorite Carcass album and the one I personally consider to be their "best", but blending that with the more refined production of Heartwork sounded like a great idea. Upon getting the album (Amazon Japan - it's awesome...release date there was 4 September) and finally breaking everything down by listening to it a million times, I get where he was coming from.

Surgical Steel isn't just a conglomeration of the Necroticism and Heartwork styles, however. There's also a bit of Swansong thrown in there, and for good measure, too. Yes, Swansong seems almost universally derided, but I actually like it more as a complete package than Heartwork if we're being honest. And the Swansong elements here are often a bit less musical and a bit more lyrical or topical. Swansong was always the most obvious of the Carcass albums in terms of the lyrics, without the requirement to own a dictionary or thesaurus to figure it out. Instead, it was a bit more in your face, with fun things like politics, George Orwell, and the collapse of society tossed around.

As for the Heartwork and Necroticism influences, frankly, they should be obvious. Back are the Necroticism-style technical lyrics in some places, and the song structures are often similar as well. A perfect example of both things is Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard. Listen to the way Noncompliance... is structured, and the lyrics, complete with backing vocals by Bill in places. Riffs, more riffs, a little lead break, and then at about 3:50, slow everything down and groove through a nice little bridge before pounding underneath two solos. Then speed back into the chorus and whatnot to finish things off. Seriously. Dirty up the production a bit, throw a BBC TV sample at either end, and you've got a Necroticism-style song in the vein of Corporal Jigsore Quandary, or if not one that'd fit there directly certainly one that would fit...drumroll...between Necroticism and Heartwork. OK, yeah, the actual music itself on the album is more often than not the Heartwork-style polished-to-a-shine melodic death metal. But while the Necroticism references might not be blisteringly obvious at first listen, they're there; often subtle, but they're there.

The songs themselves are pretty much full-on Carcass, done in a NecroHeartSong style. After opening with an awesome instrumental in 1985, ...wait, hold on. Listen to that again, and then listen to a really early Disattack demo. Thrasher's Abbatoir on the Disattack demo is basically 1985 here, albeit in simplified form (and exponentially better production). Thrasher's Abbatoir here...well, the title is the same, but that's it for the throwbacks. Thrasher's Abbatoir is pretty much "excuse us while we beat your head in" Carcass, violently getting your complete attention before the album starts to get very serious, and very, very good. And, uh, it might just be me, but this might be a message to all of the Carclones out there as well, and a sign that maybe these guys are sticking around for a little bit to demonstrate just how some things are done. I mean, come on, poserslaught? Hilarious.

From here on out things get progressively more impressive. Three solid, solid tracks in a row. The Master Butcher's Apron is particularly good, with a pounding, driving groove permeating under most of the track, with the two preceding tracks not too far behind in quality. After those three, the aforementioned Noncompliance..., and then BANG. Epic. Initially, I kept gravitating back to Noncompliance... and it's Necroticism undertones as my favorite track. However, the real standouts of the album are sitting here on the second half (OK, apart from the awesome 1985), starting with The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills. No, I have no real idea what the hell the numbers mean, except maybe that 6026961 is greater than 13, which...heh. Anyway, if someone asked who Carcass was these days, throw this on. You've got melody, aggression, and pointed lyrical commentary (yes, using big Carcass words at times, many of which made the lyrics entering thing here go spell-check retarded). Besides, who the hell else can throw John Lennon and William Blake into a coherent melodic death metal track, and have the result be this good?

The next three tracks are almost album filler compared to Granulating..., but after consideration definitely stand up individually. Unfit for Human Consumption has a chorus section that's extremely catchy both musically and lyrically, in 316L Grade Surgical Steel we have a sort of rehash of No Love Lost, with more Swansong-ish music in parts, and everyone's heard Captive Bolt Pistol by now, which shows off around the 2:12 mark: "Yeah, we're here, we got this."

The last track on the regular release, Mount of Execution, stands with Granulating... as one of the best compositions Carcass has ever released as far as I'm concerned; if I was making a top 10 list, both of them are in there. It's different, and as it will become apparent it's like the album as a whole in a way; you'll either love it or hate it. You'll either revel in trying to discern all of the hidden meaning in the lyrics (pay attention, this may or may not quite be what you think it is), or you'll hate it as it is definitely more along the Swansong lines. The only thing knocking it down underneath Granulating... slightly is that the ending bit might've been kicked off and used to formulate an outro instrumental track. Hell, they could've called it 2013! There's also the acoustic intro, but remember that acoustic guitars are something else that appeared briefly on Necroticism, leading into an extended intro section stylistically similar to what was found on Edge of Darkness: the buildup before the intensity kicks in.

Since I've got the Japanese import, what about the bonus tracks? A Wraith in the Apparatus is just, well, good. It's not HOLY CRAP, but it's not crap, either. Musically it sounds like it'd have fit well with Swansong, being a bit more simplistic and groovy. I will say that for whatever reason Bill's lines in the chorus are horribly infectious, and I have no idea why. Intensive Battery Brooding...this sounds like what might've happened had Carcass recorded another CD instead of Jeff, Ken and Carlo going off to do Blackstar. Mix Barbed Wire Soul with Swansong and this is what's coming out. However, don't let that deter you, get the digipak of Surgical Steel or get the track from iTunes or somewhere. This is downright hilarious, and in the way Carcass does it best. To really get the total impact you have to have some clue what the song is about, else you'll be sitting there reading the lyrics going "what the hell...?". Without giving the game away too directly (OK without having to explain the whole damn thing), put "blue peacock" and chicken into Google. Don't worry, it's totally safe for work. OK, provided you don't work for Greenpeace. Given that I do work related to more modern iterations of similar devices, this pretty much made my day.

If there's a flaw to the album, it's that you will hear other Carcass songs in various places. However, self-plagiarization isn't that uncommon (nor is it exactly a bad thing in a lot of cases), especially given that the songs you're hearing are ones they've been playing on tour since they reunited. Noncompliance...? Heartwork. Granulating...? Keep on Rotting in the Free World. Maybe it's overt? Who knows. Me, I don't really look at it as that much of a fault, given that they aren't so much completely ripping themselves off and reusing material blatantly as they are seemingly being influenced by the stuff they've been playing, and it came out in the new music. Besides, people always claim to want Band X to make another Album Y, so that sort of self-plaqiarization clearly has to be an accepted consequence. At any rate the only one I thought was overly obvious was in Granulating..., but again it's not a complete re-use but something similarly structured. And hey, it fits. The Heartwork reference in Noncompliance... is a lot less obvious, and really only counts if you want to say every set of tremolo-picked ascending riffs ever has to therefore be a ripoff of Heartwork. For that matter, I'm not sure if the following riff isn't actually more reminiscent of the verse riff from Incarnated Solvent Abuse.

Prodution-wise, Richardson and Sneap definitely delivered a polished album. I am certainly not one who wants my extreme music to sound muddy or poorly mixed; rather, I like being able to discern each individual element and appreciate both the parts and the whole. The production job here makes that an easy task, leading to a much greater personal enjoyment of the album. A lot of times people cite Heartwork as the best "sounding" CD, given the layered guitars and whatnot, but I think this might actually be better, as I always thought Heartwork sounded...off? Like a blank track was mixed in somehow? Everything is clean and balanced well, and it doesn't take much effort to pick out the bass lines either. Jeff Walker's vocals sound surprisingly good given that he's aged a bit, and Bill Steer hasn't lost anything from eschewing the metal scene for a while prior to the reunion. Dan Wilding does a solid job as well, the best compliment available being that he doesn't draw attention to the fact that this is Carcass sans Ken Owen...although lacking Ken behind the kit is, on one level, hilariously ironic.

Overall, the album as a whole flows nicely from instrumental beginning to excellent conclusion. That being said, it may well turn out to be pretty divisive. Fans of Heartwork should definitely find a lot to appreciate here, and if approached with a bit of an open mind fans of Necroticism should also find it worthwhile. If we accept that Carcass is the band that left off with Swansong, after growing up from grindcore and into the Necroticism-era band, then this is a definite return to form and an album that is unquestionably a solid addition to the Carcass discography.

The dissension is going to be among fans who only appreciate the first two albums. For them, there's nothing much to hear here; if they were really expecting Reek II they're going to be disappointed. The titles of the songs may provide a certain impression, along with the lyrics previously disclosed for Captive Bolt Pistol, but that impression will actually prove to be entirely misguided upon listening to the entire album and comprehending the lyrics, and seeing just how the "old-school" titles really do fit without necessarily being there for the same of being there. But, you can't please everyone. Those who seem to think metal fans have to be some weird sort of German and are self-qualified to judge whether we correspondingly appreciate what we appreciate with sincerity, will not enjoy Surgical Steel as it represents an amalgamation of Carcass's musical progression out of grindcore, progression being seen as the ultimate insult to the listener. And as for not being able to interrogate William Blake's influence in Granulating..., it's time to realize that others do not necessarily have to conform to your ideals, and maybe you don't understand them that much either...

95. Not only the best album I've heard all year, but honestly one of the best I've heard in a decade. And, yeah, by far the best British metal band's comeback album released by a band lacking its former drummer this year. Take it with a grain of salt, as this is coming from someone whose favorite album is Necroticism, but there you have it. If you want an example of how highly I hold the album right now, it's this: I've had it now for almost two weeks, and the other crapload of songs on my iPod are rarely getting any plays. For me, even a really good album begins to stale somewhat after around a week or so of constant attention, with only the highlights making their way into constant play thereafter. This time I've basically listened to Surgical Steel almost exclusively for a while, and I have no desire to stop anytime soon. Buy the album and experience just how it is a comeback is supposed to be done: with precision and execution rivaling and at times exceeding what you've accomplished in the past.

Now let's hope they stick around for another. Although if they don't, they went out on about as high a note as possible.

They're baaaaack! - 83%

Andromeda_Unchained, September 16th, 2013

I think I can happily skip a lot of the pleasantries here, by now I think anyone reading should know who Carcass is. It's kind of bizarre listening to the finished product, as for a lot of people (myself included) Surgical Steel is something that didn't seem possible a few years back.

With the announcement of a new album, waves of questions were sent spiraling through any Carcass fan's mind: "Is this going to continue along the Swansong path? Are they going to incorporate any of their old grind? Can Bill, Jeff and the lads still cut it?" and so on so forth, although I think the most important question, and one I'll answer straight off the bat would be "will it be/is it any good?"

The answer is a big fat yes, and on many levels too, although it isn't as godly as some might want you to believe. As a "reunion" album this is about as good as it gets, Carcass pick up right where Heartwork left off and across the board Surgical Steel sounds like a Carcass album. It's all here: Jeff Walkers' snarls, Bill Steers' jaw-smashing riffs, Colin Richardson's superb production, and most impressively drummer Daniel Wilding's channeling of Ken Owens spirit. I've heard a lot of people describe Surgical Steel as a cross between Heartwork and Necroticism, which is something I want to address. I've been listening to the aforementioned releases in conjunction with Surgical Steel over the last few days, and I've got to say I just don't hear it; Heartwork, you fucking bet, Necroticism, nah. I will say there is a definite increase in blast beats when compared with Heartwork, although that's about as close as I feel they come to recapturing any semblance of the Necroticism sound; so seriously, don't go in expecting any of the riffing style, or atmosphere of said release. In fact I'd say there was more Swansong in here than Necroticism.

Getting back to the new album then, like I've said, it definitely takes a leaf out of the Heartwork book; in fact this could have easily been the album they released after it. The whole album follows the molds of tracks such as "This Mortal Coil" and "Embodiment" which I've found particularly evident in Surgical Steel tracks such as "A Congealed Clot Of Blood", "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills", "Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard" and "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System". Oh yeah, if you hadn't given a look over the track list by now you'll see it's Carcass through and through. In some parts I've come to be reminded of Arch Enemy, which might ruffle a few feathers, although it's merely an observation. I've found these aspects highlighted in some of the weaker portion of tracks such as "316L Grade Surgical Steel" or even the aforementioned "A Congealed Clot Of Blood". Kind of weird considering a certain Mr. Amott wasn't involved with the album, it makes me wonder how similar in style him and Bill really were.

Speaking of weaker moments, whilst Surgical Steel stands as an excellent return, it certainly isn't without its flaws. For one, I think some of the songwriting feels a little stuck on autopilot in certain places, especially around the middle of the album where some variation could have helped. I also feel that Jeff's vocals, whilst still sounding great, are slightly lacking in conviction; he doesn't sound as pissed off as he used to. Also, whilst the production itself is spot on, I think the mix is maybe a little too clean, wiping away some of that Carcass grime I was hoping to be covered in after my first listen.

I've ended up going on quite a bit, but to be fair, a new Carcass album is a fucking big deal, and there were certainly a few things I wanted to get across. When Surgical Steel is good it really kicks your teeth in, and even when it feels as though they're going through the motions the album never becomes trite or boring. Tracks such as "Thrasher's Abattoir", "Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard", "Captive Bolt Pistol" and the majestic "Mount Of Execution" are what I'd count amongst the highlights here, and prove Carcass still have the chops to be relevant over ten years after their last full-length. It's bloody great to have them back!

Originally written for http://www.metalcrypt.com