Carcass: Bill Steer (vocals/guitar); Jeff Walker (vocals/bass); Ken Owen (drums)
Extreme grindcore group from England, founded in 1987 by ex-Electro Hippie Jeff Walker and Bill Steer, who was also part of Napalm Death at the time. The debut, Reek of Putrefaction, was deafening, but was awfully produced. After Carcass' installment in the well-known Peel sessions had been released late in 1989, Symphonies of Sickness saw the light of day, an album on which the sound was clearer without having lost any of its aggression. A strong point was the double death grunt from Walker and Steer, who left Napalm Death just before the release of Symphonies of Sickness to fully concentrate on Carcass. Carcass like to sing about blood and intestines, yet the band consists of strict vegetarians.
... Carcass were, as always, happening. But the memory of Entombed still had me in a headlock and was making light work of my eardrums. If they'd gone on before Entombed I'd have more to say, but they didn't, and I don't.
Carcass have parted company with Swedish guitarist Mike Amott.
Amott had reportedly tired of Death Metal, opting instead to pursue a direction more aligned with The Black Crowes!
His replacement is Mike Hickey, an American who temporarily played bass for Cathedral on their last European jaunt.
Considering that Amott recorded a mere two leads on the forthcoming Heartwork monster, fans can rest assured that Carcass will be unaffected.
Carcass, Heartwork (Earache) - KKKKK
This is Carcass' finest hour... the best Death metal album in years... Jason Arnopp, issue 466
On the Indie Metal chart, Carcass were second with Heartwork (Sepultura's Chaos A.D. was first).
Shocking news emerged from the New York offices of Columbia Records last week. The label have refused to release the new Carcass album in the US. This marks the final separation between Columbia and the UK's noted indie label Earache, who signed a distribution deal with the major a couple of years back and watched it wither away as one Earache release after another failed to match Columbia's commercial expectations. However, encouraging sails of Carcass' last album, Heartwork, seemed to boost their standing as the one Earache act that Columbia would still back. In fact, the band were signed direct to the major label as a result. Now, all traces of the company's support have vanished.
Carcass will put out their latest album through Earache on June 3. It's now titled Swansong, and rumour has it this will be their last album, although the band are working on new material...