Carcass - Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel - Metal Temple Magazine

Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel

Carcass

Legendary death metal band CARCASS, have come back with vengeance pleasing fans with their comeback […]
By Emily Coulter
October 12, 2014
Carcass - Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel album cover

Legendary death metal band CARCASS, have come back with vengeance pleasing fans with their comeback album ''Surgical Steel'' in 2013 but made their devout fans even happier with their ''Surgical Remission'' EP featuring songs which were recorded on the sessions of the last album, but never released.

Classic members Jeff Walker and Bill Steer are still leading the way with their notable sound, but you can hear the positive impact new members Ben Ash and Daniel Wilding are making on the band, and Ken Owen appears on guest vocals on some of the tracks also.

In opening track ''A Wraith In The Apparatus'', we hear influence of the old school CARCASS sound in Jeff Walkers unique vocal techniques and Bill Steers mesmerising riffs and solo's which echo throughout the 3.31 minute track, making it one of the best ways to open up an EP. As soon as the first chorus is over, you're head banging away to the whirring guitar work, which is impossible to not find catchy, Bill Steer is a main component in CARCASS's death grind sound and when he works with Jeff Walker, he is at his creative peak. New drummer Dan Wilding's clear drum fills are different to hear for the band but it really works well on the album and EP, it's nothing amazing, so far, but an improvement on what fans are used to hearing.

''Intensive Battery Brooding'' slows down with the speed but gets a whole lot heavier and when you hear this you think of the ''Heartwork'' album but modernized for the new metal age. It is impossible to hear this track and sit their lifeless, you NEED to head bang to this and scream along to the vocals, every member of the band is at their creative peak and even though this has old school influences, it indefinably has a new feel to it signalling a positive future for their sound. When you think you know ''Intensive Battery Brooding'', the song instantly changes into thrash mode and pleases everyone who loves speed with their death metal, Jeff and Bill have shown that there is no slowing down in the writing process.

Dan Wilding is the underdog of the band but shows his skills on the drum kit in ''Zochrot'', a slower song but still as heavy as CARCASS can get especially when Jeff Walker's vocals are brutally haunting whilst Ben Ash and Bill Steer put their guitars together to produce a unique but great metal song.
''Surgical Remission'' has the same kind of sound all throughout the EP but that shouldn't put anyone off from hearing this brutal master piece of music, it's as if the band went into the studio and found all the old songs and modernized them for the current age. The real pinnacle of the song is Bill Steer's mind blowing solo at 2.15 which takes your completely by surprise; ''Zochrot'' was one of the weakest songs of the EP, but the solo is so powerful, it made it the best song you'll hear all year.

Get ready for modernized CARCASS in the form of ''Livestock Marketplace'', which has a heavy influence from ''Necrotism'' with the vocal style; Jeff Walker's vocals are highly emphasized within the track, they are more matured then those on ''Necrotism'' but the style is heard. A slower song than the rest on the EP, but it has riffs you could listen to for days along with impressive drum fills, each member of the band has their moment to shine, especially the newer members of the band. ''Livestock Marketplace'' is a song you need to listen to as there are no words to describe it; the grind core roots are still their but in the shape of classic melodic death metal.

The EP ends on ''1985'', but the reprise version which is a huge improvement on the original featured on ''Surgical Steel'', at first it feels like a demo but then it kicks into to it's sheer heaviness. Bill Steer proves his worth as a guitar god on ''1985'', as it is a bunch of riffs and solo's to blow you away completely and get you hooked on the unique sound of CARCASS.

Overall, this is the best EP of 2014; ''Surgical Remission'' is flawless and has no problems in any shape or form. Bill Steer and Jeff Walker have the old school sound still in their voices and instruments but the newest members to the group, Ben Ash and Dan Wilding have their modernized influences added in to the new sounds. This is a must listen EP for new and old fans of CARCASS or people who've never listened to death metal before, but no matter what, you are bound to be blown away.<

10 / 10

Masterpiece

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"Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel" Track-listing:

1. A Wraith In The Apparatus
2. Intensive Battery Brooding
3. Zochrot
4. Livestock Market Place
5. 1985 (Reprise)

Carcass Lineup:

Jeff Walker - Bass/Vocals
Bill Steer - Lead Guitar
Ben Ash - Rhythm Guitar
Daniel Wilding - Drums

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