By Nikita Alekseyevich Khrenov
There are few bands that are as loved as Carcass. Doesn’t matter who you are, if you listen to extreme metal then chances are you are super into at least one Carcass album — whether it’s the disgusting and savage Symphonies of Sickness or their seminal melodic masterpiece Heartwork, there’s a Carcass release for everyone to love. Since their return to the scene in 2013, fans have been absolutely salivating at the prospect of more music from the legends. Thankfully now we have a small taste of what they’ve been cooking in the time since Surgical Steel.
Right away, Despicable hits you with those sweet guitar harmonies, slowly devolving into more dissonant passages before diving straight into a killer groove accompanied by Jeff Walker’s signature growl. The song keeps to a steady medium pace you just can’t help but bob to, slowly speeding up until it hits you with classic headbanging riffage straight out of 1991.
It doesn’t take long until the groove hits once more just to thrust the listener into wind-milling territory once again. The second track once again brings back the succulent harmonies but this time with a tinge of bluesy goodness. “Under the Scalpel Blade” starts out a bit slow but returns to the ferocity almost instantly. Had this track been released in the early days of the band and just 10 bpm faster, it would fit perfectly into Necroticism, while final track is a refreshing throwback to Swansong, more focused on melody and groove with tons of hooks.
Carcass still has it: the intensity, the hooks, the riffs, all of it overflowing in this short EP. The band further dips their toes into their blues and rock n’ roll influences while keeping true to their roots in the U.K. grindcore and death metal scenes. All that’s left to say is if this handful of songs that didn’t make it on their upcoming album are this good; then the full record must be pure auditory gold.
Despicable will be released on October 30th, 2020 via Nuclear Blast.
Pre-order CD, vinyl and merch at: nuclearblast.com/carcass-despicable
Pre-Save, listen and download: https://nblast.de/CarcassDespicable
Review copy courtesy of Secret Service PR and Nuclear Blast Records. All opinions are our own. Featured photo borrowed from Facebook.
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