CARCASS Producer COLIN RICHARDSON Quits Mixing New Album; ANDY SNEAP Steps In

Reactivated British extreme metal legends CARCASS have recruited Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY) to mix their comeback album, "Surgical Steel", after the CD's producer, Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE),quit the project two weeks into the mixing process.

Speaking to Colombia's El Santuario Del Rock, CARCASS bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker stated about Richardson's decision to walk away from "Surgical Steel": "He quit yesterday. He was two weeks into mixing the album and he decided that he didn't want to continue. So Andy Sneap is taking over. [Colin's] produced the album. It's just that he's hit a brick wall with the mix and doesn't want to continue. And so we're bringing in Andy Sneap to do the mix now. It's a shame, but we finished recording the album three months ago. There are a lot of reasons for it, but the main reason is that he says he is burnt out. I guess it will be a positive thing to bring in some fresh ears."

Jeff Walker talks about Colin Richardson's decision to quit mixing the new CARCASS album (audio):

CARCASS' first studio album in 17 years, "Surgical Steel" will be released later this year via an as-yet-undetermined record label. The band's first studio outing since 1996's "Swansong" will be the first to feature new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and also features guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen.

In a brand new interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think."

He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good."

Regarding how the material for the new CARCASS album came together, the band's guitarist, Bill Steer, told U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine: "I found myself playing riffs that sounded like CARCASS. This was after the band had finished the whole reunion cycle of shows and festivals. So, officially, I would have been playing with other bands and stuff, but for some reason whenever I picked up a guitar at home I was coming up with riffs that sounded like CARCASS. I got on the phone to Jeff and said, 'We could have a crack at writing a couple of tunes and seeing if they're strong enough and take it from there.' We also agreed if it didn't sound like carcass or have that kind of vibe to it, we would just drop it. So that was the thing, we got together and started working on some stuff and just immediately got the excitement back very quickly."

Added Bill: "It definitely sounds like CARCASS. I think we just generally by accident captured the flavor of past music that we have done and you can't help but push it forward. We have really been creative and when you are looking at things like guitar harmonies, it's way more adventurous on this record. It's not just parallel harmony like we did in the past, things branch off in different directions.

"A lot of what is happening now is based on rhythms rather than actual riffs. We were discussing this a lot during record sessions about how the riff is almost dying or dead already. People spend a lot of time chugging on the bottom string [but] that's a rhythm, it's not a riff. We can't write a song, never mind an album, without it being chock-full of riffs."

Stated Jeff Walker: "I'd like to feel like we are giving CARCASS fans what they want again. I'm a realist and I think Bill has realized and Dan know what people like about CARCASS. We're definitely delivering."

While the final track listing has yet to be confirmed, the following songs were recorded during the sessions:

* The Master Butcher's Apron
* The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills
* A Congealed Clot Of Blood
* A Wraith In The Apparatus
* 316l Grade Surgical Steel
* Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System
* Captive Bolt Pistol
* Intensive Battery Brooding
* None Compliance To Astm F899-12 Standard
* Mount Of Execution
* 1985/Thrasher's Abattoir
* Unfit For Human Consumption
* Zochrot
* Livestock Marketplace

Guitarist Michael Amott and drummer Daniel Erlandsson, who have been touring with CARCASS since the band's reunion was announced in 2007, are no longer involved with the group due to scheduling conflicts with their main band, ARCH ENEMY. "For live, we'll obviously add another guitarist — we have someone in mind but we are not interested in a 'name' player," Walker told Decibel magazine in December.

Regarding the sound of the forthcoming CARCASS album, Walker stated: "We've taken stylistic cues from all the albums because it's in our blood, but it's no rehash or mess of ideas. I think it sounds almost like the missing link between the third and forth albums but with some groove in there. I've jokingly christened some parts 'trad blast' and some 'death sleaze'… don't think for a minute this is just some nostalgic throwback album — we're setting up another 17 years of ideas for other bands to copy and clean up on. [laughs]"

Asked if this means we'll be hearing some death metal vocals out of Bill for the first time since "Necroticism", Walker told Decibel, "Yes, already in the can. It's more along the lines of how I envisioned him backing me up on 'Heartwork'. That said, my own vocals have a hell of a lot more range than they did in the past solely down to the luxury of having time to record them — I did all the vocals for 'Heartwork' in two days and it shows!"

CARCASS is in the process of booking a number of live shows for 2013, including appearances at year's Maryland Deathfest, Germany's Party.San Open Air, Czech Republic's Brutal Assault, U.K.'s Damnation, The Netherlands' Neurotic Deathfest and Chile's Metal Fest.

CARCASS' last album, 1996's "Swansong", was re-released in July 2008 via Earache Records. The reissue came fully remastered on a DualDisc (combined CD and DVD) in a deluxe digipak with extra artwork and a free sticker sheet featuring exclusive CARCASS designs, and included part 5 of a mini-documentary series entitled "The Pathologist's Report" as bonus video material, plus an exclusive bonus track, "Deathrider Da".