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New Carcass Album Likely Coming In 2017

Following comeback album "Surgical Steel" (reviewed here), Carcass is apparently preparing a new album projected to land by the end of next year.

In an interview with Dead Rhetoric, Bill Steer discussed what's gone into work on a forthcoming release so far, and noted that "I think we should have an album that’s available by the end of the year [2017]. But I know how the industry has changed…so if it’s not happening, it’s not happening. We can’t really rush this. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time, including our own by putting out something substandard."

Excerpts from the interview follow.

Dead Rhetoric: Surgical Steel is the all-encompassing Carcass album that will be difficult to top. Where do you go from there? What’s the direction going to be?

Steer: You’re right, it does have to be a step up from the last record. All I would say is there has to be small stylistic elements that haven’t appeared on Carcass records before. We’re going to be walking the tightrope of sounding like the band Carcass and bringing in new elements. There’s nothing valid to say if we’re going to do a retread…what’s the point? That was a very nice summary of our previous records. We updated all of the stylistic parts of those albums without trying. It just happened.

Dead Rhetoric: People would be happy with "Surgical Steel" Part II, though.

Steer: I guess with any scene there’s extreme conservatism going on. People almost want the music to stagnate, but it never can.

Dead Rhetoric: That’s nothing new for you, but back when you started out, you didn’t have the internet.

Steer: I’m lucky because I’m not on social media; I’m shielded from it. But the other guys are very much in that world. Just hearing about it second-hand, I find it exhausting. You can’t do an album by committee. Somebody’s got to be in charge. You’ll drive yourself mad if you think about what’s expected from your audience. How do you define that? It’s a bunch of individuals. Not everyone is the same. You got to stick with what feels good to you. I’m pretty confident that we’ve got a lot of stuff to offer. I’ve had bags of time to think it over: What did I like about the last record? What don’t I like? What would I like for a band of ours to deliver? If you’re going to be doing crushing music, it should be musical and have a groove and flow to it. It doesn’t mean it’s not extreme. I guess an aesthetic, really. Many people would feel differently, but you can make dark, ugly music, beautiful at the same time. That’s the kind of thing I’m striving for. We have to let nature take its course because there’s other people involved.

Dead Rhetoric: Is there a timeframe to release a new album?

Steer: We’ve got a couple of festivals next year, so in other words: an enormous amount of free time. Once we get started, we work very quickly, especially with Jeff. Jeff’s got a real work ethic, so we’ll have something we feel is in very good shape to play to him, then he comes in and critiques that. It’s just like a distillation process. Sometimes it takes a while for a song to reach a point where we’re all happy with it, other times, it happens on that day. I think we should have an album that’s available by the end of the year [2017]. But I know how the industry has changed…so if it’s not happening, it’s not happening. We can’t really rush this. We don’t want to waste anyone’s time, including our own by putting out something substandard.

Read the full article at Dead Rhetoric.