BILL STEER: CARCASS Is Not Working On Any New Music At The Moment

In a new interview with Australia's "Everblack" podcast, guitarist Bill Steer of British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS was asked if he and his bandmates were working on the follow-up to 2021's "Torn Arteries" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Not at the moment. I mean, as far as the eye can see, we've just got tours, dates, festivals. That would pretty much take us up towards the end of the year. And then beyond that, yeah, this is something that would just have to be kind of, in some way, discussed between the various bandmembers, because we had a similar situation after we released [2013's] 'Surgical Steel'. We got deep into touring, and after a couple of years, I think one or two of us thought, 'Well, maybe now we should start gradually working on some new material,' but then you discover not everybody's on the same page. So you go back and do another year or two of touring, and then before you know it, half a decade's gone. So I'm kind of hoping we don't mimic that situation too closely, because five years is a hell of a lot of time [between albums]. But, yeah, we've got to be at a point where everyone wants to record. So, if and when that time comes around, great. But it doesn't feel like it's particularly close right now."

Asked if he is working on any other musical projects on the side, Bill said: "Yeah, I've been doing some demos on and off for, I guess, a few months, a year or so, with a couple of friends in Leeds. And we haven't decided what to call it, but we've done a whole bunch of tunes, maybe around 15 or so, with the idea that at some point we'll pick the best numbers and record them properly for an album. 'Cause I just had really wanted to do something of that nature for quite a while; I just didn't really have the confidence or any kind of vision of a way forward. But my friends were very sort of helpful in getting me started on that. And, yeah, it's just nice to have another outlet for your music, because CARCASS doesn't record very often, as we discussed. I actually enjoy being in the studio, so, yeah, it'd be really nice if I could make an album with someone else, really."

Regarding the musical direction of his new side project, Bill said: "I don't know. It's very hard to assess, but it's pretty much I just let out whatever was going to come out. I didn't really think in terms of genre. I'm imagining that my main influences are gonna come [out through the music] — [it's] somewhere between that kind of '70s bluesy hard rock stuff and New Wave Of British Heavy Metal; it's in that type of vibe. It's riff rock, but we've really tried to finesse the songs. We really worked relatively hard, by my standards, on the arrangements. So, I feel like we couldn't ever call it FIREBIRD [Bill's early 2000s project] because already this has quite a different vibe to it."

CARCASS played its first pandemic-era concert in November 2021 at the Damnation Festival in Leeds, U.K.

"Torn Arteries" was released in September 2021 via Nuclear Blast Records. Drummer Dan Wilding did session work in Sweden at Studio Gröndahl with David Castillo while guitars were recorded at The Stationhouse with James Atkinson in Leeds, England. Eventually needing some form of residential location to finalize vocals, bass, and other guitarwork, the band headed back to Studio Gröndahl in Sweden to continue work in a very relaxed atmosphere with Castillo.

Last year, Wilding told Oxygène Radio's "Métal Zone" about the CARCASS songwriting process: "Normally, well, almost always, Bill starts with riffs or a collection of riffs and we kind of… It usually starts with me and Bill. We'll get into a rehearsal room and we just try and make a song, try and piece the puzzle together, try and add things. And then eventually we get to a point where Jeff [Walker, bass/vocals] comes in and he normally rips it apart [laughs] and changes it even more. He thinks about vocals, which we normally don't think about vocals. So that's one of the reasons why he does it, I think. But, yeah, it's quite organic, natural. That kind of in a room, figuring out in front of each other, with each other how we can move on to the next thing. It's very limited technology, which I think is quite a nice thing."

Added Steer: "Yeah, that's the one common thread throughout everything we've ever done. It's based on guys in a rehearsal room. There's no other way of doing it for us. 'Cause I think our music would sound so different if we started doing it electronically. I've just got no interest in that. I hate sending an e-mail or receiving an e-mail. Never mind the other stuff. So yeah, let's just carry on like this if we could."

Photo credit: Ester Segarra