Carcass: A Musical Assault Course

CARCASS cemented their legendary status long, long ago but continue to show that they are still just as hungry and motivated to provide us with forward-thinking and creative material in a way that only they can. It was a wonder whether they would in fact return at all after breaking up in 1996 but the world breathed a sigh of relief when their returning effort Surgical Steel was unleashed back in 2013.

A release which showed the band at their most ferocious and unforgiving, ushering in a new and exciting chapter for the band. Guitarist and founding member Bill Steer has suggested that we should expect the unexpected this time round as they prepare to release Torn Arteries. “It’s a very different album from Surgical Steel, there is a lot of variation. It’s kind of the product of months and months of solid touring, those experiences on stage just get drilled into your psyche and it affects the material you write from that point on. They are probably the biggest inspiration. You don’t even need to try and bring those lessons into the rehearsal room. They just become a part of you,” he explains.

“Whether it is something you pick up while you’re sound checking like a certain riff or drum groove that just has the ability to lift a room or even lift the band. On a more private level I was just hoping to hear slightly new elements in every song. It didn’t have to be anything radical or outlandish, just something that we’ve never heard before from CARCASS. It’s always a nice challenge to bring something that might be considered alien into your music that then corrupt it for your own ends. There was no fear between the three of us in bringing fresh ideas into this new album. We’re very fond of Surgical Steel but it’s a very frantic record but there was not a huge amount of dynamics. It has its place but to kind of follow that style at this point in time, where we are at now would have been dishonest. We feel like this material has been inadvertently written for the stage. A lot of this stuff would work well in a club environment whereas some of the material on Surgical Steel wasn’t really tailored to that.”

Whilst their music refuses to become predictable and formulaic there are some stages of the writing process which don’t need to be tinkered with. “Not much has changed in the respect of how we do things. It’s a bunch of guys in a rehearsal room throwing ideas around doing whatever it takes to get a song finished,” explains Bill. “Sometimes it takes a bit of patience and a few sessions to get things in the shape you want them to be and then there are other times where you can get something nailed in an afternoon. We definitely set a high standard for ourselves with this record. Daniel [Wilding, drums] is no longer just a new member in the band, he has a lot of input and we’ve all tightened up as a unit and how we play.”

The artwork for Torn Arteries is like nothing we have come to expect from CARCASS in their previous releases. The cover is very striking and depicts a human heart built from vegetables that was inspired by the Japanese art form known as Kusozu which represents decomposition. Polish artist Zbigniew Bielak was the mastermind in bringing frontman Jeff Walker‘s vision to life. “The first time I saw the artwork was when Jeff presented the finished article to me and Dan!” Declares Bill. “We weren’t sure what his intentions were but I think it was to kind of poke the hornet’s nest a bit and go with a sleeve that was radically non-metal looking, maybe initiate a bit of controversy!”

As is the case with most musicians, CARCASS have not had the opportunity to perform in front of a crowd for quite some time. With festivals and shorter bouts of touring becoming more apparent in recent months they are very much hopeful that their headlining slot at the infamous Damnation Festival later on in the year will still go ahead and that they can bring their more recently crafted material to the stage. It is also regarded as quite a special event for CARCASS as their performance at 2008’s instalment of the festival was their first show in the UK for 14 years.

“We’re about to get back into the rehearsal room for the first time in a year and a half because as you’d expect we’re not in good shape!” Jokes Bill. “It’s going to be fun though, just putting the hours in and getting back to the level that is expected of us again. There is a lot of stamina involved in the music we play and it’s a bit like a musical assault course at times. We’ll probably be knackered the first few times.”

Torn Arteries is out now via Nuclear Blast Records.

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