Carcass-Torn Arteries album review. FFO: Goregrind, Death Metal, amazing riffs and brutally melodic riffs!.

 

Carcass-Torn Arteries album review. FFO: Goregrind, Death Metal, amazing riffs and brutally melodic riffs!.

Carcass is an utter powerhouse of extreme metal through their early classic albums and of course the magnificent Surgical Steel. And this album takes all the elements this band are so masterful in and it's a showcase of how amazing this band is. Every track revels in riff worship and whilst I am quite obsessed about albums being dynamic, having decent tempo or tempo change and mood, this pleased me so much as a listener to see every one of these boxes ticked off. There is literally no negatives about this album that has just dropped. It has all the essence of what makes this band so essential but adds some elements that make this album significantly catchy and dare I say it, more fun.

This element is really evident because whilst Bill Steer is and has always been the main foundation of this band, he definitely adds some definite blues stylings to his endless bucket of guitar magic and this blues element adds the doom in a Sabbath-like manner, but the swagger and groove really dominate most tracks. But it also sounds like they having tons of fun on this release, the space and song structure is very intentional and damn clever. The title track opens with a raging pace and this declares this is a release with goregrind mastery combined with truckloads of groove. Dance of Ixtab follows with a gigantic soaking of doomy metal that hooks you immediately and the reoccurring theme of amazing vocal finesse really kicks on from this track onward. The fantastically named Eleanor Rigor Mortis is up next and throws the whole kitchen sink (influence-wise) at your ears from Bolt Thrower to Amebix and everything in-between; this is a filthy track that excels in nastiness. Under the Scalpel Blade was released a few years back but still defines that classic Carcass overwhelm of gore and vocal schizophrenia, it is a huge track still. The Devil Rides Out is a magnificent track in every possible manner. It has enormous riffs that are huge in mood and aggression, but it also has some harmonic metal style combined with blackened death vocals that really dominate and make it one of the best tracks. Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment Limited( fuck me they still come up with ripper titles eh!) is not only one of the bands best tracks period but easily the peak of this album. It has the mood of epic Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones huge battles, combined with frankly crushing vocal gymnastics that have no remote equal. This is a long almost experimental free-form track that flies by as you have zero inclination to even remotely think about what the next track will bring; seriously this has so much going on that it takes over ten listens to get the full effect. The scintillating and punchy production shines on this track, it's like stadium goregrind where every element is tremendously amped to the max. Fuck me dead, what an album so far and a hell of a track. The way this band twists the dissonant with the drony doom and links the song from one part to another is just glorious. Now how could you imagine where to go from after that masterpiece, well Carcass bring it with Kelly's Meat Emporium which could easily be on one of their first two albums. One moment the song sounds like Kreator playing classic Death Metal, then there is some technical death metal grooves building to a Sodom like thrash mayhem. A sure sign of pure metal artisans. This album is just that, one voluminous song after another. In God We Trust follows on with a basic aggressive vibe that tangents into some wild guitar fuckery that is out of this world, all as always backed up by a solid rhythm section that allows these sharp solos to fill the gaps between titanic vocals.  Wake up and Smell the Carcass is leading us to the end of this album and is a warlike anthem that is chunky, dark and a cracking rager of a track. The Scythe's Remorseless Swing starts off like an angsty Britpop instrumental, but wait, oh wait. Once the razor-like vocals slice through with equally abrasive guitar savagery, you know you are deep in an evil album closer. It is pacey, yet pretty emotional in a dark and very Carcass-y style. As previously stated, the band has so many skills to draw upon that they can create magic from either a short or long track. When I compare many bands such as Iron Maiden etc who in the last few years have produced such dull and overlong albums of no merit, it makes me celebrate that bands like Carcass still produce fresh, lively and creative masterpieces such as Torn Arteries. 

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