Surgical Steel is the sixth full-length album by British death metal band Carcass. The album was released on 13 September 2013 in Europe, 16 September in the UK, and 17 September in North America, via Nuclear Blast.[1] Surgical Steel is their first album since Swansong (1996). The album features the first songs Carcass has recorded since reforming in 2007. Surgical Steel is their first album with drummer Dan Wilding.
Background[]
Carcass disbanded in 1996, prior to the release of their album Swansong. Walker, Steer, and Amott reformed in 2007 with Arch Enemy drummer Daniel Erlandsson as a live act and performed at festivals around the world for the next several years. In 2008, Steer said in an interview that a new album was unlikely due to Amott's and Walker's busy schedules.[2] Also in 2008, Walker told Decibel that the reunion would not produce any new material, saying, "I don't see how it could ever happen, because me, Mike and Bill are all bandleaders. There'd be too many guys thinking they know better." However, in that same interview, he acknowledged that Steer had been "showing [Amott] riffs" that may lead to new songs.[3]
While touring in 2008, Steer watched drummer Dan Wilding play and felt inspired by his similarity to former Carcass drummer Ken Owen, who had been unable to join Carcass for the reunion due to a cerebral hemorrhage he suffered in 1999.[4] Amott and Erlandsson left the band in 2012 to focus on Arch Enemy, and Steer and Walker recruited Wilding to record Surgical Steel, which they financed independently as they had no label backing at the time.[4]
Promotion and release[]
The German magazine Legacy premiered the Surgical Steel song "Captive Bolt Pistol" in June 2013 on a sampler CD, titled Hell Is Here, promoting the 2013 Party.San Open Air festival.[5] Nuclear Blast released the song as a free download on 16 July[6] and released a 7" vinyl single the week of 9 August with "Intensive Battery Brooding" on the B-side.[7] Carcass will play a five-date North American tour in September 2013,[8] followed by a longer tour of Europe in November 2013 with death metal band Amon Amarth.[9] Decibel premiered "Zochrot", a song recorded during the Surgical Steel sessions, as a flexi disc included with Decibel's October 2013 issue.[10]
Surgical Steel was released as a CD in both a standard jewel case and a digipack, and as a double-LP on black or white vinyl. Additionally, a Mail Order Edition was released exclusively by Nuclear Blast. It is a box set containing the CD in a first aid kit, and is limited to 666 copies.[11]
Track listing[]
The band recorded four additional songs during the Surgical Steel sessions that were not included on the standard edition of the album: "A Wraith in the Apparatus", "Intensive Battery Brooding", "Zochrot", and "Livestock Marketplace".[1]
All lyrics written by Jeff Walker, all music composed by Bill Steer, Walker, and Dan Wilding.
| No. | Title | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "1985" (instrumental) | 1:15 | |
| 2. | "Thrasher's Abattoir" | 1:50 | |
| 3. | "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" | 4:02 | |
| 4. | "A Congealed Clot of Blood" | 4:13 | |
| 5. | "The Master Butcher's Apron" | 4:00 | |
| 6. | "Noncompliance to ASTM F 899-12 Standard" | 6:06 | |
| 7. | "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" | 4:10 | |
| 8. | "Unfit for Human Consumption" | 4:24 | |
| 9. | "316L Grade Surgical Steel" | 5:10 | |
| 10. | "Captive Bolt Pistol" | 3:16 | |
| 11. | "Mount of Execution" | 8:25 | |
Total length: |
47:06 | ||
| Digipak bonus track[12] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 12. | "Intensive Battery Brooding" | 4:43 | ||||||||
Total length: |
51:49 | |||||||||
| Japanese bonus tracks[13] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length | ||||||||
| 12. | "A Wraith in the Apparatus" | 3:30 | ||||||||
| 13. | "Intensive Battery Brooding" | 4:46 | ||||||||
Total length: |
55:22 | |||||||||
Personnel[]
Carcass[]
- Jeff Walker – Lead vocals, bass
- Bill Steer – guitars, backing vocals
- Dan Wilding – drums
Additional personnel[]
- Ken Owen – guest vocals
- Colin Richardson – production
- Andy Sneap – mixing, mastering
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 CARCASS: 'Surgical Steel' Cover Artwork Unveiled. Blabbermouth.net (10 July 2013). Retrieved on July 10, 2013.
- ↑ Willems, Steven (4 August 2008). Interview with Bill Steer. Voices from the Dark Side. Retrieved on July 28, 2013.
- ↑ Bennett, J. (October 2008). "The Insalubrious, Descanted". Decibel (Red Flag Media Inc.) (48): 71–78. ISSN 1557-2137.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 mr ed (3 December 2012). Decibel Exclusive: Jeff Walker Speaks About the New Carcass Record!. Decibel Magazine. Retrieved on July 28, 2013.
- ↑ New CARCASS Song Featured On 'Hell Is Here' Sampler. Blabbermouth.net (1 July 2013). Retrieved on July 20, 2013.
- ↑ CARCASS - SURGICAL STEEL - AVAILABLE VIA NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS. Nuclear Blast Records. Retrieved on July 17, 2013.
- ↑ CARCASS: "Captive Bolt Pistol" 7" Release Announced. Nuclear Blast America (25 July 2013). Retrieved on July 28, 2013.
- ↑ Rosenberg, Axl (1 August 2013). Carcass Announce New North American Tour Dates!!!. MetalSucks. Retrieved on August 1, 2013.
- ↑ CARCASS – TEAM UP WITH AMON AMARTH IN EUROPE!. Nuclear Blast Records (13 June 2013). Retrieved on June 13, 2013.
- ↑ Decibel Tumblr post. Decibel Magazine (2 August 2013). Retrieved on August 2, 2013.
- ↑ CARCASS: 'Surgical Steel' Box Set Packaged As First-Aid Kit. Blabbermouth.net (24 July 2013). Retrieved on July 25, 2013.
- ↑ CARCASS: "Surgical Steel" Pre-Order and Special Edition Track Listings Posted!. Nuclear Blast. Retrieved on October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Japan QATE-10043.
