Review Summary: Baby, you know that you were born to lose/Come blood yourself in the slaughterhouse blues!
Last year, British death metal giants Carcass proved that they could still make a headbanger with their first album in over seventeen years, entitled
Surgical Steel. As brilliant as their comeback was, though, Carcass knew that it would be risky to record and release entirely new material right after hitting such a peak. So, to put the icing on the cake, the band recently released
Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel, a collection of b-sides and previously unreleased tracks from the
Surgical Steel sessions. At only five songs in length,
Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel is exactly what you’ve come to love or hate about Carcass’s sound, only a little bit slower. This is because most of the tracks on
Surgical Remission strive for a mid-tempo approach when compared to the fast-paced onslaught of
Surgical Steel. “Zochrot” and “Intensive Battery Brooding” are primarily driven by Bill Steer’s groovy riffs, while “A Wraith in the Apparatus” relies on Jeff Walker’s sinister vocal delivery. “Livestock Marketplace” is a more controversial track, with the band harkening back to their
Swansong days by bringing in a more death ‘n’ roll type of style in the mix. With all that being said, however,
Surgical Remission’s biggest strength lies in that it doesn’t just feel like a slew of rejects from
Surgical Steel. It becomes very apparent that while it is an offshoot of its predecessor,
Surgical Remission still manages to hold its own. And when it all comes down to it, Carcass’s b-sides manage to stick out more than some bands’ singles (In Flames, I’m looking at you). In the end,
Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel is a solid continuation of Carcass’s return to form, and is a welcome treat to diehard and casual fans alike. Somewhere right now, Michael Amott is weeping and cursing himself.
