Carcass - Surgical Steel

Surgical Steel is Carcass' big comeback record, 18 years after their original death rattle - Swansong - in 1995. This was a big noise when it first came out, due to the high profile of the comeback, but my ears were elsewhere, as being an elitist goregrind-loving asshat I had written anything post-Necroticism off as widdly death metal shite. To be fair, I'm still completely 100% right, but I've stopped being such a dick about it; Carcass are a fantastically talented band and one of the best in metal - I just need to accept I don't particularly love the majority of their back catalogue. 

It is with great surprise then, that I find 2013's Surgical Steel incredibly listenable. As soon as I stop mentally comparing it to Symphonies Of Sickness, it becomes something so much more. Don't get me wrong, the production is a bit too close to Arch Enemy for me (even now with the absence of Amott), but Surgical Steel hits hard. "Thrasher's Abattoir" is the first track proper, a 1:50 blast through top quality Jeff Walker squawks and cheeky blastbeats, and I cannot fucking argue with that. Other standout tracks for me are the ridiculously titled "The Master Butcher's Apron", with it's flurry of blasting madness, and the equally silly "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills", with it's bizarre chorus of chanted numbers, which according to fans on YouTube, is an ID code for "extracellular solute-binding protein". So yeah, that explains that. 

Carcass may not be the same band that made some of my all time favourite records anymore, but this is an incredibly solid metal record and I would recommend it heartily to mainstream fans looking to explore into the dark side of metal a bit....

Dead Infection - Start Human Slaughter

I knew that Dead Infection had death metal influences (World Full Of Remains will testify that for you) but until playing Start Human Slaughter I was entirely unaware how far into the genre they actually went at one point. Don't be fooled by the grotesque goregrind cover art, Start Human Slaughter is 100% old school death metal sickness; growly vocals, subterranean tunings, guitars solos and all! Fortunately, this type of music belongs on vinyl so ultra-props to Underground Front Records for reissuing this Polish classic on 12" wax.

 

There's no fucking around here, just straight and to the point, not to mention metal as fuck! Those who need a bit more variety in their tunes will probably find this a bit boring, but I think that the mid-paced death metal (for once) suits the low-quality production style that isn't a million miles away from a more muddy-sounding Symphonies of Sickness. The most surprising thing for me though is the length of the songs, most of which contain ripping solos in the middle eight. I wish I could say that this early Dead Infection record could appeal to the wider death metal audience but alas the production and the cover art will more than likely hinder it to forever remain as a cult classic. Well worth getting if you're into this shit, though.

Pig Destroyer / Isis - Split 7"

This is one my favourite splits ever! Limited to 2000 copies thanks to Relapse Records. There is the usual Relapse 100 clear, 100 on orange, a bizarre 50 on white, and the remaining 1750 on black. I was lucky to get a black copy at a fairly decent price, but be wary that the white and orange pressings can fetch hefty price tags on record collector websites.

 

Classic Pig Destroyer are on top form, covering the goregrind legend that is (or was) Carcass. There is simply not a better version of "Genital Grinder / Regurgitation of Giblets" in existence. "Exhume to Consume" leaves a bit to be desired vocal-wise, but for the most part is an ultra-tight, lightening-fast zip through a classic track from the genre.

 

Isis on the other hand, opt for something a lot more slow and dirgy. With Agoraphobic Nosebleed's Jay Randall in tow they sucessfully create their own very unique version of the legendary Godflesh song "Streetcleaner". Not as sprawling in production as the original, but is almost suffocating with claustrophobia.

The Berzerker - Dissimulate

An absolute classic record in every shape and form and propelled me full on into the world of grindcore and death metal. Could easily be a contender for one of my favourite albums of all time, but I think in my mid-teens I played this record to death. Unfortunately it was never pressed on vinyl (fecking sort it out Earache!), but the CD version will suffice. It's simple, and digital as fuck (in both sound and artwork) and probably is better off on a digital format.

If you've never heard of them before, the first thing you will probably notice about The Berzerker is the drums, which pretty much render everything else irrelevant unless your listening on a good speaker system. Good luck listening to 35 minutes of bass drum. Able to appreciate the full mix (and not to mention the low end) one would be subjected to one of the heaviest sounds known to man. The guitars are nothing but exquisite Carcass puppetry, as are, to a degree, the vocals, but the drums are absolutely facking mental as fuck, to put it one way.

Why create lightening fast yet ultra heavy grinding death just to lay a whole bunch of gabba hardcore kick drums over the top of it? At the core it's a stupid fucking idea but man this is the only thing that has ever crossed these two genres and sounded great. Opener "Disregard" is an all time favourite song, as are "Principles and Practices of Embalming" and "Abandonment". "Pure Hatred" is simply fucking livid, the human drumming capability barrier is pushed to it's limit in "Death Reveals" and "Corporal Jigsore Quandary"  knocks the socks off the Carcass original for speed and heaviness.

What makes the listening all the more mind-blowing is that the band employ a REAL drummer on this record. Rick Thomas from down in Oz is an absolute fucking machine and I implore anyone into drumming performance (and not too iffy about the over-use of triggers) to listen to this damnable blast of grinding death metal.

Carcass - Symphonies of Sickness

This is one of the albums that changed my life, as far as music is concerned. By far superior to anything else the Carcass discography, Symphonies of Sickness is the ultimate expression in downtuned guitars, scatterfuck dual vocals and blasting drums. The crisp and warm guitar tone can only be described as grinding. This is the definate grindcore guitar sound; fuzzy, yet grating enough to create a suitable amount of audible chaos. Symphonies can sound a bit flat on CD, but this original Earache pressing sounds absolutely unbelievable. It holds a deep, almost fathomless sound. I dare any melo-death nerd that scorns at Carcass' early cannon to come listen to my copy of Symphonies and disagree to it's sheer awesomeness!

The music here has always held a very morbid vibe for me. I've seen it all as far as gore and splatter is concerned (thanks to the internet), but there is something downright disturbing about Carcass' all out graphic medical dialogue. Where some lyrics verge rather obviously into the regions of bad taste comedy, some passages of nauseating atomical gore descriptions succeed in truly curdling your stomach and rumbling your bowels enough to get your colon kicking like a frightened horse. "Excoriating Abdominal Excoration", "Swarming Vulgar Mass of Infect Virulency" and "Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites" are but three prime examples of this. I thought it was so cool that in high school I used to insult people by calling them Carcass song titles; "Fuck off, you absolute swarming vulgar mass of infected virulency!"

Whilst it may not share the same production efforts as later "polished turd"-era Carcass, Symphonies of Sickness holds a fantastic mix and is light years ahead of previous record Reek of Putrefaction, bridging the gap - and taking the best from - past and future efforts. The perfect balance and the perfect record! It is very hard to get such a fine balance between grind and death metal, but this here is a shining example. Whilst I do not believe that Necroticism onwards was the correct logical step for a band waist deep in filth such as Carcass, I do believe that it would have been astronomically difficult to top a record like Symphonies of Sickness if they had continued in this vein.

The County Medical Examiners - Olidous Operettas

This has to be one of my favourite records - just look at those colours! The way this album was packaged and marketed by Relapse was brilliant; alongside this excellently neausaeting vinyl package, the CD version came with extravagant packaging and a formeldihyde scented disc for ultra-mortician vibes. That's dedication!

 

For me, I find that I love The County Medical Examiners because they fill the void that Carcass left when they fucked off to make shit melodic death metal. In fact, I'd even go as far as to say they sound more like Carcass than Carcass ever have, and if you don't like Carcass, something tells me you won't like this.

 

The County Medical Examiners have come along way from their demos, and even their first LP. It really was a suprise for me that they would make such a well produced and heavy as fuck album. Anyone who has heard their earlier demos should sympathize with my opinion here. Olidous Operettas is fathoms above anything else this band has ever done. It is a shame that they haven't done anything since.

 

 

The joking-personas of band members indicates this is obviously a side project, and I hope that this isn't the end of the line for them. Although I gotta say, it'd be hard to top this record.
"Casper's Dictum" is one of my favourite grind/death metal songs, so please play it loud. Oh, and did I mention that they sound like Carcass? That's pretty important.