CARCASS

Carcass, founded in Liverpool in 1985, is one of the most influential and internationally celebrated metal pioneers. With core members Bill Steer (guitar), Jeff Walker (vocals and bass), and drummer Ken Owen at the helm, the band established the musical and thematic blueprint for a combination of melodic death metal and grindcore in the 80s. This new metal genre is affectionately called “hardgore” or “splatter death metal,” referring to the gruesome album covers, repulsive song titles (such as “Genital Grinder,” “Microwaved Uterogestation,” “Necro-Cannibal Bloodfeast,” and the great “Keep On Rotting In The Free World”) and morbid lyrics that are a cross between a medical handbook on terrible diseases and an autopsy report. Debut album “Reek of Putrefaction” from 1988 sets the tone with 22 venomous (but unfortunately not very well-produced) tracks with an average length of one and a half minutes. With the albums that followed, especially “Symphonies of Sickness” (1989) and “Heartwork” (1993), the band became a leader in the death and grind genre. After the aptly titled album “Swansong” from 1996, Carcass layed itself to rest only to resurrect the metal carcass eleven years later, after which two new albums appeared, namely “Surgical Steel” (2013) and “Torn Arteries” (2021).