There's something immensely satisfying in witnessing an extreme metal band such as Carcass playing to so many people in an arena. Sure, Le Zénith was in its smaller configuration and some sections were cordoned off but the fact remains that the Liverpudlians played a triumphant set in front of nearly 2500 people. Founding members Jeff Walker (bass, vocals) and Bill Steer (guitar, bellbottoms) have carried the band through shifting trends and rotating line-ups, and they are now reaping the fruits of that tenacity. Here we are in 2026, and death metal is alive and well here in Europe.
With no new album to promote (their latest LP Torn Arteries came out five years ago), the band wisely decided to use this support slot to demonstrate what they do best: rip the audience's head and skullfuck it until it explodes in a maelstrom of brains, bones, blood and other bodily fluids.
With four tracks taken from their masterpiece Heartwork as well as tunes from their early grindcore albums like Reek of Putrefaction and Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious as well as excerpts from a few few fan favorites like Surgical Steel, this was a great overview of Carcass and the perfect illustration that despite the over-the-top gore and numerous personnel overhauls, Carcass have built what you can call an oeuvre.
The band has had two distinct eras: the gore/grind years, where the the repulsive lyrics, straight out of surgery manuals, were vomited atop a noisy, dissonant, aggressive musical base not far removed from Napalm Death (of which Steer had briefly been a member), and the more melodic death metal period, which, while controversial among fans at first, ended up being hugely influential and spawning an entire sub-genre and scene. And during their allotted time of roughly 50 minutes, Carcass subjected us to both strains with equal aplomb and it's astounding how well both of these seemingly opposite schools of Metal can coexist in a setlist.
The highlights were undoubtedly the Heartwork tunes, which have the distinction of being both aggressive, and... catchy. Yep, this music is full of hooks, and not just the ones that are used to rip the flesh apart. Nowhere is it more evident than on mid-tempo (relatively speaking) numbers like "Carnal Forge" which, if it weren't for the growling vocals and the incredibly complex diction of the lyrics, could almost pass for an Iron Maiden-style anthem.
Brutal and fun, this is the kind of set that wins over crowds, turning causals into believers, skeptics into converts. It's not coincidence that Carcass rhymes with kick-ass.
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