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Carcass - Surgical Remission / Surplus Steel review




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Reviewer:
8.0

64 users:
8
Band: Carcass
Album: Surgical Remission / Surplus Steel
Style: Melodic death metal
Release date: November 2014


01. A Wraith In The Apparatus
02. Intensive Battery Brooding
03. Zochrot
04. Livestock Marketplace
05. 1985 (Reprise)

Having released a scrumptious eye fillet steak in 2013 in the form of Surgical Steel, Carcass have stuffed all the offcuts into a pig intestine to deliver us a plump little sausage called Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel.

As can be expected this is not going to be mind blowing metal as found on Surgical Steel. Instead we are treated to some reasonable Carcass by numbers to satisfy our hunger.

Whilst Surgical Steel covers most of the band's career and even adds some new thrash influences, the songs on Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel would be more at home on Swansong and Heartwork.

As expected the songs are catchy melodic death and there are some tasty Carcass riffs here. The sound is excellent just as it was on Surgical Steel. The only truly difference is Jeff Walker doing some sort of bizarre Dave Mustaine impression on "Livestock Marketplace" that works if you're a fan of both bands.

It goes to show that brilliance can sometimes take its place in the form of knowing what to keep and what to omit. Whilst none of the songs on this EP are bad, most don't have the punch of the songs found on the album. The pace is noticeably slower for the most part though it does get a bit more frantic occasionally such as the latter half of "Intensive Battery Brooding".

Whereas Surgical Remission/Surplus Steel might not be a gourmet sausage let alone an eye fillet steak, it's definitely a tasty sausage for us fanboys who will enjoy it in a piece of bread and covered in tomato sauce. The vegans, vegetarians, and haters alike will undoubtedly hate it. And for the rest, it's not really that essential but still worth checking out.


Rating breakdown
Performance: 9
Songwriting: 7
Originality: 6
Production: 9

Written by deadone | 07.01.2015




Comments

Comments: 14   Visited by: 175 users
07.01.2015 - 15:10
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Good review, even though I disagree with lots of its content. Especially with opinions such as "Having released a scrumptious eye fillet steak in 2013 in the form of Surgical Steel." and "...mind blowing metal as found on Surgical Steel.". If you mean mind blowingly average then I would agree.
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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07.01.2015 - 15:40
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 07.01.2015 at 15:10

Good review, even though I disagree with lots of its content. Especially with opinions such as "Having released a scrumptious eye fillet steak in 2013 in the form of Surgical Steel." and "...mind blowing metal as found on Surgical Steel.". If you mean mind blowingly average then I would agree.

While Surgical Steel is average you can clearly tell this "surplus" EP of tracks is of even more inferior quality. Terrible production and aimless, plodding riffs that go nowhere. This is, at best, a bland slab of flavourless tofu rather than a tasty sausage.
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07.01.2015 - 15:51
Marcel Hubregtse
Grumpy Old Fuck
Written by Guest on 07.01.2015 at 15:40

This is, at best, a bland slab of flavourless tofu rather than a tasty sausage.



well he does say "...for us fanboys "
----
Member of the true crusade against European Flower Metal

Yesterday is dead and gone, tomorrow is out of sight
Dawn Crosby (r.i.p.)
05.04.1963 - 15.12.1996

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07.01.2015 - 15:53
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 07.01.2015 at 15:51

well he does say "...for us fanboys "

Can't argue with that
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07.01.2015 - 16:26
Daniell
_爱情_
The release of this average collection of tracks that rightfully did not fit into the full-length made me revisit Surgical Steel. What a great album it is. Still, in my opinion, the best comeback album since Tempo of the Damned.
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07.01.2015 - 18:10
Troy Killjoy
perfunctionist
If it's in any way similar to Surgical Steel in terms of quality, the majority of Carcass fans will have no complaints, even if it does pay homage to their back catalog more so than it sounds like potential bonus tracks from what was a pretty successful comeback album. Like deadone said, it's for the fanboys, but I'm sure plenty of casual listeners will find something to like about it as well.
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"Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools because they have to say something."
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08.01.2015 - 02:54
Ace Frawley
The Spaceman
Written by Marcel Hubregtse on 07.01.2015 at 15:51

Written by Guest on 07.01.2015 at 15:40

This is, at best, a bland slab of flavourless tofu rather than a tasty sausage.



well he does say "...for us fanboys "


And are you a vegan, vegetarian or hater?
----
The sun shines over The Fool...
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08.01.2015 - 02:57
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Ace Frawley on 08.01.2015 at 02:54


And are you a vegan, vegetarian or hater?

Marcel is probably someone who eats at proper restaurants, rather than McDonald's
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08.01.2015 - 03:05
Lit.
Account deleted
Better McDonalds than vegan/vegetarian.

I'd rather die of clogged arteries than malnutrition.
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08.01.2015 - 03:09
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Guest on 08.01.2015 at 03:05

Better McDonalds than vegan/vegetarian.

I'd rather die of clogged arteries than malnutrition.

These derisory food metaphors are getting confusing.
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08.01.2015 - 08:09
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Guest on 08.01.2015 at 03:05

Better McDonalds than vegan/vegetarian.

I'd rather die of clogged arteries than malnutrition.


I think "completely clueless" is the best description of what you said...
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08.01.2015 - 14:31
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Daniell on 08.01.2015 at 08:09


I think "completely clueless" is the best description of what you said...

Apparently professional food critics are also "clueless" http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/watch-what-happened-when-food-critics-were-unknowingly-served-mcdonalds-9812768.html

I'd take a McDonald's double cheeseburger over quite a few of the restaurant meals I've had. Then again I suspect some people only taste the pound / dollar sign, rather than the food itself.
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08.01.2015 - 16:28
Daniell
_爱情_
Written by Guest on 08.01.2015 at 14:31

Apparently professional food critics are also "clueless" http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/watch-what-happened-when-food-critics-were-unknowingly-served-mcdonalds-9812768.html

I'd take a McDonald's double cheeseburger over quite a few of the restaurant meals I've had. Then again I suspect some people only taste the pound / dollar sign, rather than the food itself.


The way I understood the message I quoted was apparently not the way you understood it. I meant to say that vegetarian diet is definitely more healthy than McDonal's pig chow. The fact that he associates vegetarian cuisine with malnutrition kind of supports my way of interpreting his words.

On a side note, I stopped eating meat (except fish) 2 years ago, and started to exercise regularly (bike and jogging). I lost 16 kilos and I've never felt better than I do now.
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08.01.2015 - 16:33
!J.O.O.E.!
Account deleted
Written by Daniell on 08.01.2015 at 16:28

The way I understood the message I quoted was apparently not the way you understood it. I meant to say that vegetarian diet is definitely more healthy than McDonal's pig chow. The fact that he associates vegetarian cuisine with malnutrition kind of supports my way of interpreting his words.

On a side note, I stopped eating meat (except fish) 2 years ago, and started to exercise regularly (bike and jogging). I lost 16 kilos and I've never felt better than I do now.

As long as you get everything the body needs, especially if you're a pregnant vegan (which I'm sure you're not) then it's apparently safe. I wouldn't know personally though as my vegetable intake is served covertly to me by blending / cutting it up finely. Left to my own devices I would probably eat pizza and pasta for the rest of my life.
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