Carcass – 'Torn Arteries' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Torn Arteries

2. Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1)

3. Eleanor Rigor Mortis

4. Under The Scalpel Blade

5. The Devil Rides Out

6. Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited

7. Kelly's Meat Emporium

8. In God We Trust

9. Wake Up And Smell The Carcass / Caveat Emptor

10. The Scythe's Remorseless Swing

Take one look at Carcass’s Facebook page tells you all you need to know about them – THE OFFICAL PAGE OF ARGUABLY THE MOST INFLUENTIAL BAND TO COME FROM MERSEYSIDE SINCE THE BEATLES. Cocky?

Maybe, or maybe simply self-assured of their impact on the Metal world.

'Torn Arteries' is an album that has been sat on for well over a year and was due to be released in 2020 but Carcass wisely decided to hold off until the world was ready for some good old Carcass Death Metal.

A quick 5 second drum into and we are straight into that well known/loved Carcass sound before the unmistakable vocals of Jeff Walker come in. As expected, the guitars are razor sharp and there is some brutal riffing from Bill Steer. Some of the solo work is just nuts and Carcass are tight as hell on opener 'Torn Arteries' when they do break it down the cleaner guitar tones are just evil. 'Dance of Ixtab' starts with feedback guitars and some seriously thumping drums from Daniel Wilding before one of the best riffs I’ve heard comes in on the verse. The verse riff almost has no place on a Death Metal album, but it works so damn well by not being overused. It’s typical Carcass that’s for sure, the solid grooves are there and it’s all in your face (just the way it should be).

We’ve got fast songs, mid paced parts, blast beats and slower songs so the album is varied in it’s pace. Yes, the sound is very similar but its Carcass for fucks sake, what did you expect a bloody ballad? 'The Devil Rides Out' has some real nice middle eastern sounding guitar parts that makes it stand out from some of the other tracks on offer here.

After 5 face melting Carcass tracks, I was almost fooled into thinking we have a ballad with the acoustic intro to 'Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited' What was that I was saying about bloody ballads on a Carcass album earlier? At 9.42 this is the longest track on the album and it goes through several movements, so it never drags or becomes boring (unless you have a very short attention span).

'Kelly’s Meat Emporium' was the first song I heard from this album earlier this year and whilst it’s the shortest song on the album it does get straight to the point. For me this song sums up Carcass perfectly in under 3.30 minutes.

'The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing' rounds things off nicely with lots of twisting catchy riffs and tempo changes. It’s a strong ending to 'Torn Arteries' and has some sweet melodic guitar solos as the song moves towards its end before one more round of heaviness finishes things off.

Are Carcass re-inventing the wheel or doing anything majorly different? At this point in their carer do they need to be? We often get too focused on if a band is progressing or doing something new when sometimes all we really need is an album of strong songs and with that Carcass have once again delivered.