CARCASS Surgical Steel

I must admit that Carcass didn’t figure frequently in my playlist in the early stages of their career even though I’m perfectly aware that these guys have been among the most genre defining acts within the extreme metal scene. Arctic Metal’s webmaster Harry Edvardsen on the other hand has been a huge fan of Carcass for years, and he has been going through many wet dreams in anticipation for this reunion after 18 years of silence. His enthusiasm for this album woke my curiosity and after spending several hours playing ‘Surgical Steel’ on insane volumes at home I’m completely sold – This is simply one of the most addictive extreme metal albums I’ve heard for years, and I always seems to end up pushing the play button again once the album has finished. There are tons of catchy and mind blowing riffs here that are simply made for headbanging, and I can only imagine how amazing these songs would sound live. That’s by the way one thing I intend to find out when Carcass is visiting Norway on December 1^st. In addition to the amazing riffs there are also lots of beautiful melody lines and harmonies to be heard here alongside Jeff Walkers aggressive vocals and an extremely tight rhythm section. The quality of the song material is brilliant and all this are delivered with surgical precision in the framework an excellent Andy Sneap production. ‘Surgical Steel’ is without a doubt on of this year’s best releases.

Discography:

Reek of Putrefaction (1988)

Symphonies of Sickness (1989)

Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)

Heartwork (1993)

Swansong (1996)

Surgical Steel (2013)