Band Line Up 2014

CARCASS was founded in Liverpool, England in 1985 by guitarist Bill Steer. Steer (also an original member of grind forefathers NAPALM DEATH) went through various incarnations of the band before finally settling down with original drummer Ken Owen, Jeff Walker (ex-Electro Hippies) on bass and original vocalist Sanjiv. CARCASS were about as far removed from another famous act from that area (THE BEATLES) as humanly possible, and it wasn’t long before they were making a name for themselves. The band recorded their first official demo entitled Flesh Ripping Torment, and immediately caused quite a stir in the underground with their groundbreaking aural assault. Sanjiv would exit the band soon after though, with Steer and Walker taking over vocals duties, allowing them to develop their trademark multi-layered dual attack. It was a magical and exciting time and a new UK based label called Earache Records, would sign the group along with many other acts on the cusp of a more extreme sound. But no one, that is NO ONE, sounded quite like CARCASS.

CARCASS released their debut Reek of Putrefaction in 1988. Although the band was unhappy with the raw nature of the production, fans went rabid over it and even inspired a series of imitators that strived for that over-the-top sound. Never had a band tuned so low or sounded so extreme. CARCASS was essentially the first band in extreme music to tune their guitars all the way down to B standard, long before 7-string guitars and low tunings were the metal norm. “We accidentally gave birth to nu-metal,” Walker would later joke. “We apologize.” The cover, a collage of various atrocities such as car crash victims and pathology photos, was too shocking for most and banned by several retailers and countries around the globe. Their vegetarian stance and pathological detest for humanity was reflected in their lyrical content, which would often put humans in situations similar to animals in a slaughterhouse. Walker’s hefty vocabulary often caused many a fan to sit with their lyric sheet, dictionary and medical dictionary just to understand what the hell he was talking about.

Their second album, Symphonies of Sickness, was released in 1988 and boasted a much better production. The sound could be accredited to a young up-and-coming producer named Colin Richardson, who was just cutting his teeth at the time. CARCASS had expanded on their grindcore sound by adding more tuneful elements, death metal hooks, and structures to their albeit still extreme sound. Walker’s dark sense of humor and clever use of verbiage was even more prevalent in the lyrics now, something that has become a staple in the CARCASS sound ever since. It was also on the second half of the touring cycle for this album, that the band would add ex-CARNAGE Mike Amott (ARCH ENEMY, SPIRITUAL BEGGARS) as a second guitarist.

In 1991, CARCASS would record and finance Necrotism - Descanting the Insalubrious on their own before striking a deal once again with Earache to release it. With this record it was evident that the band was developing into a serious force to be reckoned with. The musicianship had improved immensely, and the addition of melodic guitar solos coupled with longer, epically crafted song structures, proved a lethal combination. The band toured heavily with such genre defining acts as DEATH, and as part of the Grindcrusher Tour in the U.S. and Europe with CATHERDRAL, ENTOMBED and CONFESSOR.

For the band’s fourth record, Heartwork, CARCASS would reinvent themselves once again and create what would become the blueprint for the melodic death metal genre. The clinically gory lyrics were gone, and replaced by more varied and thought provoking subject matter. Walker would later call the basis of the lyrical content “punk rock clichés”, but it was done with such unique language that it was fresh and CARCASS fans could appreciate it. Steer’s low pitched vocals were no longer present, which firmly placed Walker’s shredded phonetics at the forefront. The production work of Colin Richardson on Heartwork, particularly the guitar tone, by all means created the yardstick by which all other future metal releases would be judged. Earache Records struck a partnership with major label Columbia/Sony to release the album, and Heartwork became CARCASS’ biggest commercial success to date. Amott would exit the band shortly after recording, drifting away from metal for a time. He was replaced by Mike Hickey (ex-VENOM) although briefly, before the group settling on guitarist Carlo Regadas.

CARCASS would record what was to be their first album directly for a major label, Swansong, in 1995. During the sessions the band would record 17 songs, some of which would resurface as b-sides later, even a re-mix of BJORK song. But mounting problems between the band and Columbia/Sony, along with guitarist Steer’s growing frustration with the music industry, caused the group to disband before the release of the record. After about a year of delays, CARCASS would get the rights to the album back and release the record through Earache in the Summer of 1996. The record was another huge departure from their more brash roots, with a much more stripped down rock n’ roll approach. Like with any band that refuses to rest on their laurels and challenge themselves, there was some backlash from fans for the drastic change. Despite that and a lack of touring, the album was still a commercial success. Swansong stayed at the top of several indie charts worldwide for several months upon its release. The remaining members of CARCASS at that time (Walker, Owen and Regadas) along with ex-CATHEDRAL bassist Mark Griffiths on guitar, would go on to form BLACKSTAR (later BLACKSTAR RISING). Sadly in 1999, in what may have been one of the biggest tragedies in metal history, drummer Ken Owen suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage. It has affected him until this day and thwarted any chance of a reunion with the original CARCASS line-up.

CARCASS remained dormant for several years despite an outcry from fans. But in 2007, we were finally allowed to stop holding our collective breath... CARCASS had returned once again. With Owen’s blessing, the group played several festivals around the world and embarked on two US tours over the coming years. Steer and Walker would be joined by former guitarist Michael Amott and drummer Daniel Erlandsson (ARCH ENEMY), since Owen was still physically unable to participate. Owen would make a few emotional appearances at some of the dates, getting up behind the drum kit to demonstrate how far he’s come since his condition. During this time, people started to increasingly wonder, “would there be a new CARCASS record?”

By 2012, and at the end of the reunion cycle, Steer had fully contracted the metal itch once again. He found himself at home writing riffs that sounded like CARCASS once again, just for the pure enjoyment of it all. In the end, the band went their separate ways Amott and Erlandsson leaving the nucleus of Walker and Steer intact. The pair recruited drummer Daniel Wilding (ex-ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and with that, the trio set out to make a record worthy of the CARCASS name. Fully motivated to once again to administer a shot of cynicism and infectious riffs into the arm of a sickly metal scene, it was a task the lads were more than up for.

With Surgical Steel, CARCASS has risen to the occasion and given fans an album that holds up to their classic repertoire, delivering another milestone in their highly influential career. Everything a CARCASS fan could want is on this record, with every era of the band represented. Its genesis however was not without its fair share of blood, sweat and tears of course. Long-time producer Colin Richardson actually walked out on the mixing sessions after tracking, possibly burnt out from the stress of having to top such landmark productions as Heartwork. The equally renowned Andy Sneap (TESTAMENT, EXODUS, MEGADETH) stepped in at this time to mix the record, and put the finishing touches on their long-awaited masterpiece. The result is a combination of talent that should undoubtedly go unmatched for an undetermined stretch of time.

In an era seemingly content to endlessly chug away at their e-strings in various rhythmic denominations, CARCASS has brought the power of the riff back to a generation. Songs like “The Master Butcher’s Apron”, “Unfit for Human Consumption”, “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills”, “Noncompliance to ASTM F899-12 Standard”, are sure to become classics and put an air-guitar in the hands of every man, woman and child within earshot. Only the choicest of cuts were made to bring us a record worthy of the CARCASS legacy. In short, Surgical Steel is just what the doctor ordered.

CARCASS is:

Jeff Walker – Bass/Vocals

Bill Steer – Guitar/Vocals

Daniel Wilding – Drums

Ben Ash – Guitar

Select Discography:

Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Demo (1987), Reek of Putrefaction (1988), Symphonies of Sickness (1989), The Peel Sessions EP (1989), Necrotism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991), Tools of the Trade EP (1992), Heartwork (1993), The Heartwork EP (1994), Swansong (1995), Wake Up and Smell the Carcass (1996), Surgical Steel (2013)