CARCASS: Guitarist MICHAEL AMOTT Checks In From Reunion Rehearsals

Reunited British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS will play a number of European festival shows this summer, including Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Tuska and Wacken Open Air.

Says guitarist Michael Amott (also of ARCH ENEMY): "We got together last week and spent seven days straight rehearsing and preparing a set for the European festivals we have booked for the summer.

"Jeff Walker (bass, vocals) and Bill Steer (guitar, vocals) flew in to the south of Sweden (where I live) and we got down to business!

"The vibe was great during the week of rehearsals and a 'jolly good time' was had by all!

"The CARCASS songs are still such amazing innovative pieces of music to me, challenging and rewarding to play.

"For me personally it has been a very gratifying process to reconnect with Jeff Walker and Bill Steer again, on both a musical and personal level. There were so many jokes and old anecdotes going around I just basically spent the whole week laughing my ass off Looks this reunion is good idea!

"We don't have a confirmed set list set in stone yet, but we rehearsed songs from all five CARCASS albums, I am guessing it's no surprise to you out there that we are building the set around a huge blood dripping chunk of 'Heartwork' tunes!?

"I was a huge fan of the band before I joined CARCASS so playing the songs from the first two albums 'Reek Of Putrefaction' and 'Symphonies Of Sickness' (that I did not perform/write on) is still a thrill for me. Extreme death/grind master class!

"Hearing Jeff and Bill trading vocals on 'Exhume To Consume' again was INSANE! They both sung and played so great, by the way.

"Jeff's vocals are so disturbingly hateful it's beautiful music to my ears And Bill Steer is still the riff machine and SICK, outlandish lead player. These guys deliver goods. Goosebump material!

"Original drummer Ken Owen, who unfortunately can't be a part of the reunion due to health reasons, is replaced for the upcoming shows by Daniel [Erlandsson; ARCH ENEMY], who is killing the drum parts no surprise there, really!? Basically, it's all coming together in perfect distorted harmony!

"We will be getting together again in a few weeks to continue the rehearsals

"I'll be doing my best to practice and memorize the 1,297 or so riffs and solos I'll have it all nailed come the first show June 6th, promise!

"And finally, before we get swamped with 'why aren't you playing in my city/country???" messages we are talking about doing more shows in other territories outside of Europe, if there is enough interest that is! Let's see what happens over the next few weeks/months."

Check out photos from the CARCASS rehearsals at the band's official MySpace page.

CARCASS recently posted a trailer for "The Pathologist's Report" DVD documentary series, which forms the extra bonus material on the forthcoming reissue of the "Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious" album. Watch it below.

The documentary interviews, filmed in London and Liverpool at the end of 2007, feature the members of CARCASSKen Owen, Bill Steer, Jeff Walker and Michael Amott discussing in-depth the story behind the band's development from gore-soaked grind beginnings to the more refined melodic moments of their later output.

The two and half hours of interviews that comprise "The Pathologist's Report" have been edited into 30-minute mini-documentaries that will be added as bonus material to each of the band's five studio albums. The first release in the series will be "Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious", set for release on April 14 in Europe and May 27 in the U.S. The CD will come housed in a deluxe digipack and the first 5,000 copies will come with free band member death scene cards.