Carcass is one of the most influential metal bands in history.
Throughout their career, the musicians of this outstanding British band managed to influence several musical genres at once, seemingly completely opposite to each other.
As a rule, many performers who have chosen a certain style at the beginning of their career adhere to it for all subsequent years.
However, the Liverpool band Carcass had a chance to transform their music beyond recognition, influencing first on grindcore, and then on melodic death metal.
Readers will learn about how the creative path of the group developed from our today's article.
You will be offered the most striking facts of the biography, as well as a number of major hits.
early years
It's hard to believe, but the musicians began their creative path back in the distant 80s. The case took place in Liverpool, in the old days famous for its classic rock scene.
With the onset of the 80s, the rock of the 60s and 70s went into the distant past, while more extreme directions came to the fore.
First it was the "new British school of heavy metal" that changed the world's perception of how heavy music should be played.
And by the mid-80s, thrash metal, which had penetrated the territory of Great Britain from America, was gaining great popularity. Young musicians performed increasingly angry and aggressive music that went beyond the known genres.
And very soon Britain will give the world a new radical direction of heavy music, which will be called grindcore.
In 1986, the newly minted band released the first demo. Despite the successes, the group remains in limbo.
The fact is that Bill was immediately invited to the role of guitarist in the Napalm Death group, of which he became a permanent part. As part of the new group, the musician began recording the full-length album “Scum”, which will become a cult.
It is he who becomes the first record of the grindcore genre and gives rise to a whole wave of new groups.
While Bill was busy in the camp of Napalm Death, his friend Ken Owen went to get an education in college.
Carcass suspend their creative activities until 1987.
glory coming
After finishing work on "Scum" Bill revives his band Carcass.
Having gained experience, he decides to play music in a genre similar to Napalm Death.
Bill and Ken are soon joined by new vocalist Jeff Walker. It was he who designed the cover for the "Scum" album, and also had a solid experience of performing with the local crust-punk band Electro Hippies.
Thus, he ideally fit into the team, taking the post of frontman.
Soon Jeff Walker also takes over bass duties. The first demo of "Symphonies of Sickness" attracted the attention of the independent label Earache Records, which signed a contract to record the first album "Reek of Putrefaction".
The release of the debut album took place in 1988 and was recorded in just four days. The lack of money and the lack of expensive equipment did not affect the popularity.
And although the musicians were not satisfied with the result, their work was talked about far beyond the UK.
Real success awaited the group in the future. After the release of his debut album, Bill Steer leaves Napalm Death to devote himself entirely to Carcass.
And soon the second full-length album Symphonies of Sickness appears on the shelves, turning Liverpool musicians into stars of the metal scene.
A distinctive feature of the disc was not only the higher quality of the recording, but also the shift towards a slower deathgrind.
Thus, the album Symphonies of Sickness becomes a transitional album in the band's work.
Sound change
The third album Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious was released in 1991, marking the final departure of the musicians from the gorgrind that prevailed on the first recordings.
Music becomes more complex and meaningful. But the real pinnacle in the work of Carcass is the 1993 release Heartwork, which had a tremendous impact on death metal.
The album was notable for melodiousness unprecedented for the band's creativity, clear sound and an abundance of guitar solos. All these components make Heartwork one of the first melodic death albums in the history of music.
Success was developed on Swansong's last album in the band's classic period. On it, the musicians played music that was described as death and roll (a mixture of rock and roll and death metal).
Group revival
It seemed that the history of Carcass would be completed on this, but in June 2006, Jeff Walker started talking about a reunion.
And already in the next decade, Carcass began recording a new album, Surgical Steel, which was released in 2015. The album had little in common with the band's past, but was warmly received by fans.
Conclusion
Despite a 15-year break in creativity, the musicians have not lost their former popularity.
As time has shown, the music of the Carcass group continues to interest listeners of all ages.
Over the years, a new generation of metalheads has grown up, joining the ranks of the multi-million army of Carcass fans around the world. So the veterans of British metal music easily gather entire halls in different parts of the globe.
It remains to be hoped that the reunion will not be temporary.
And given the success that the 2013 album had, there is every chance that in the near future the musicians of the Carcass group will again sit in the studio in order to please fans with new hits.
