Carcass – Surgical Steel

Artist: Carcass
Album: Surgical Steel
Released: September 13, 2013
Genre: Melodic Death Metal / Death Metal
Label: Nuclear Blast
Producer: Colin Richardson
Mixing & Mastering: Andy Sneap Nuclear Blast

About the Album:
Surgical Steel was Carcass’ first studio album since Swansong in 1996, arriving after the band reunited in 2007. It pulls together the grindcore brutality of their earliest work, the surgical-gore imagery of Necroticism, and the melodic death-metal precision of Heartwork. The album debuted at #41 on the Billboard 200, making it their highest-charting U.S. album at the time. Nuclear Blast

Members:
Jeff Walker – bass, vocals
Bill Steer – guitar, vocals
Dan Wilding – drums
Ben Ash – guitar
Ken Owen – guest backing vocals
Colin Richardson – producer
Andy Sneap – mixing, mastering AllMusic

Cultural Facts:

• Producer Colin Richardson actually walked out during the mixing stage after completing the recording sessions. Andy Sneap was brought in to finish the mix and master the album. Nuclear Blast
• Original Carcass drummer Ken Owen, who had suffered a serious brain hemorrhage in 1999 that left him unable to resume full-time drumming, returned to contribute guest vocals on the record. Nuclear Blast
• The band deliberately brought back photographer Ian Tilton, who had shot the cover for Necroticism – Descanting the Insalubrious. Jeff Walker said the intention was to visually reconnect Surgical Steel with both Necroticism and Heartwork. Nuclear Blast
• The title “316L Grade Surgical Steel” refers to an actual corrosion-resistant grade of stainless steel commonly used in medical and surgical applications—very much in keeping with Carcass’ long-running fixation on medical terminology.
• Surgical Steel arrived roughly 17 years after the band’s previous studio album, making it one of metal’s more substantial comeback gaps. Nuclear Blast

Notable Tracks: “Thrasher’s Abattoir,” “The Master Butcher’s Apron,” “The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills,” “Unfit for Human Consumption,” “316L Grade Surgical Steel,” “Mount of Execution”