CARCASS · Surgical Steel (Complete Edition) | BLACK 2LP

Black double vinyl in gatefold sleeve containing the "Surgical Steel" album and the "Surgical Remission / Surplus Steel" EP.

Background information about 'Surgical Steel (Complete Edition)'

When Carcass returned in 2013 after a seventeen-year studio silence, the metal world held its collective breath — and then collectively lost its mind. "Surgical Steel" isn't just a comeback album; it's a goddamn masterclass in how to make a record that honors every era of a legendary band while sounding absolutely vital and ferocious in the present moment. From the opening strains of "1985" — a nostalgic instrumental that feels like walking through the misty streets of classic death metal memory — the band immediately launches into "Thrasher's Abbatoir", a track that seamlessly welds the surgical precision of "Heartwork" with the grind-fueled fury of their earliest days.

What makes this album so extraordinary is the sheer density of the riffcraft. Bill Steer and newcomer Ben Ash weave guitar lines that are simultaneously melodic and utterly devastating, while Jeff Walker's unmistakable snarl — part punk rock poet, part medical examiner — delivers lyrics that read like a grotesque anatomy textbook set to music. Tracks like "Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System" and "The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills" showcase a band that hasn't lost a single step; if anything, the hunger is sharper, the chops more refined, and the songwriting more devastatingly efficient. Daniel Wilding's drumming deserves special mention — his performance is nothing short of phenomenal, blending technical wizardry with the raw, organic feel that so many modern death metal records lack. The production by Colin Richardson, who helmed "Heartwork" back in '93, gives everything a crystalline clarity without sacrificing an ounce of brutality.

The Complete Edition sweetens the deal with the "Surgical Remission / Surplus Steel" EP material on the second LP. These aren't throwaway B-sides — "A Wraith In The Apparatus" and "Intensive Battery Brooding" are fully-realized tracks that could have easily made the main album, while the haunting "Zochrot" reveals an almost progressive dimension to the band's sound. This is the definitive version of a modern death metal classic, a record that proves Carcass aren't just legends — they're still setting the standard everyone else is chasing.

For fans of:
Death, Obituary, Napalm Death, Bolt Thrower, Entombed

Other Versions

CD · 17,99 €

Track listing

LP 1:
A1. 1985
A2. Thrasher's Abbatoir
A3. Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
A4. A Congealed Clot Of Blood
A5. The Master Butcher's Apron
B1. Noncompliance To ASTM F899-12 Standard
B2. The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills
B3. Unfit For Human Consumption

LP 2:
C1. 316L Grade Surgical Steel
C2. Captive Bolt Pistol
C3. Mount Of Execution
D1. A Wraith In The Apparatus
D2. Intensive Battery Brooding
D3. Zochrot
D4. Livestock Marketplace
D5. 1985 (Reprise)

Manufacturer: Warner Music Group Germany Holding GmbH, Alter Wandrahm 14, 20457 Hamburg, Germany, Contact: www.nuclearblast.com