How did I get into metal? Well, I don’t particularly have a
clue. In fact, I can barely remember the first “metal” song I heard. It is
impossible to find out, because I would have to go back to the time when I couldn’t
even identify “metal” music in the first place. Loosely, I could pick Linkin
Park’s “Numb” from the Meteora album as the first ever (though it is more
alternative than pure metal, but it’s a metal subgenre nonetheless). It was in
my mid-teens that I actually got the exposure to foreign music and subsequently
started listening more and more of it.
I had this MP3 player my uncle got me all the way from Germany, and since we only had a cassette player in our house back then, I didn’t have a lot of music CDs or MP3s. I had been collecting music for quite a while when I finally got exposed to Metallica, and Iron Maiden and slowly and gradually developed a taste for heavy metal music. And then one day, I found this mp3 in a music store nearby which had a collection of songs from over 15 bands, incorporated into one. That’s where I first saw “CARCASS”. I already knew the meaning of the word and thought it was so cool to have a band with such a name. And thanks to Google, I was aware of the band itself and its music, despite having never heard them before.
From what I had learned, CARCASS was a band that was highly respected within the metal community and played grindcore and melodic death metal subgenres. A four member band which initially had a (proper) line- up of Bill Steer, Jeff Walker, Michael Amott, and Ken Owen. In fact they were considered the pioneers of the subgenres. There were bands like Cradle of Filth and Cannibal Corpse I had a slight clue about, and was exposed to extreme metal before. So I was kind of excited already. I put the MP3 in my player and navigated to the CARCASS folder, and the beginning riff of “Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites” started playing. I still remember the feeling. It was extraordinary. Pure brutal, abrasive metal music playing through my woofer. It was some kind of elation. Absolutely thrilling! All the tracks from that album were incredible. My favorite track was (and still is) “Swarming vulgar mass of infected virulency”. I wasn’t into guitar playing already in those days, but I had ears for drumming, nonetheless. The drums Owen played, and the abrasive riffs and solos from Bill in that album were tremendously aggressive, enthralling and adrenaline pumping. Simply brilliant! They are the epitomes of English extreme metal music, not as BIG as Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath perhaps, but they certainly are the Kings of their genre. These scousers have evolved into being immortalized in the world of metal music. CARCASS represents on your face extreme metal music, with ingenious and fearlessly vociferous lyrics, and unique solid metal sound.
That was where it all began, a couple of years later, I had a collection of all the CARCASS albums. From the Heartwork, Swansong, Necroticism, some EPs to Surgical Steel. Now that I play a little bit of guitar myself, I am further excited about Bill’s riffs and the “guitar layering” he used to do in those albums. I absolutely love Amott (from his excellent guitar playing in Arch Enemy, such a cool band) and Jeff’s lyrics have always been some kind of revelation to me. I have personally learned a lot from all of his songs and the ideas behind those astounding (albeit sometimes grotesque and horrifying) lyrics are highly impressive. Whenever I listen to “Heartwork”, “R**k the vote”, and “Incarnated solvent abuse”, I feel an urge to leave my feet off the ground. These guys have basically provided my musical journey with a basic layer, a deep imprint if you like. I am fond of a lot of other artists and music, but these guys have been a constant inspiration I always look up to. They bring me that sensation no other musical group can come closer to providing.
I am glad music is not a contest and there are some other artist who have a deep rooted impact in my life. I simply adore and admire other similar metal artists (in terms of making music that I can relate to) like Tool, Opeth, Katatonia, Inflames, Dark Tranquility, Cryptopsy, etc and I have a collection of favorite songs from them as well which I think cannot “not listen to” every once in a while. It feels terrific being a fan of the genre since quite a while now, and the way I can indulge myself in a different world of artistic music is fantastic too.
The intro riff, and Ken Owen’s outro cowbell from “Rock The Vote” keep ringing in my head unconditionally, and frequently.
I had this MP3 player my uncle got me all the way from Germany, and since we only had a cassette player in our house back then, I didn’t have a lot of music CDs or MP3s. I had been collecting music for quite a while when I finally got exposed to Metallica, and Iron Maiden and slowly and gradually developed a taste for heavy metal music. And then one day, I found this mp3 in a music store nearby which had a collection of songs from over 15 bands, incorporated into one. That’s where I first saw “CARCASS”. I already knew the meaning of the word and thought it was so cool to have a band with such a name. And thanks to Google, I was aware of the band itself and its music, despite having never heard them before.
From what I had learned, CARCASS was a band that was highly respected within the metal community and played grindcore and melodic death metal subgenres. A four member band which initially had a (proper) line- up of Bill Steer, Jeff Walker, Michael Amott, and Ken Owen. In fact they were considered the pioneers of the subgenres. There were bands like Cradle of Filth and Cannibal Corpse I had a slight clue about, and was exposed to extreme metal before. So I was kind of excited already. I put the MP3 in my player and navigated to the CARCASS folder, and the beginning riff of “Cadaveric Incubator of Endoparasites” started playing. I still remember the feeling. It was extraordinary. Pure brutal, abrasive metal music playing through my woofer. It was some kind of elation. Absolutely thrilling! All the tracks from that album were incredible. My favorite track was (and still is) “Swarming vulgar mass of infected virulency”. I wasn’t into guitar playing already in those days, but I had ears for drumming, nonetheless. The drums Owen played, and the abrasive riffs and solos from Bill in that album were tremendously aggressive, enthralling and adrenaline pumping. Simply brilliant! They are the epitomes of English extreme metal music, not as BIG as Iron Maiden or Black Sabbath perhaps, but they certainly are the Kings of their genre. These scousers have evolved into being immortalized in the world of metal music. CARCASS represents on your face extreme metal music, with ingenious and fearlessly vociferous lyrics, and unique solid metal sound.
That was where it all began, a couple of years later, I had a collection of all the CARCASS albums. From the Heartwork, Swansong, Necroticism, some EPs to Surgical Steel. Now that I play a little bit of guitar myself, I am further excited about Bill’s riffs and the “guitar layering” he used to do in those albums. I absolutely love Amott (from his excellent guitar playing in Arch Enemy, such a cool band) and Jeff’s lyrics have always been some kind of revelation to me. I have personally learned a lot from all of his songs and the ideas behind those astounding (albeit sometimes grotesque and horrifying) lyrics are highly impressive. Whenever I listen to “Heartwork”, “R**k the vote”, and “Incarnated solvent abuse”, I feel an urge to leave my feet off the ground. These guys have basically provided my musical journey with a basic layer, a deep imprint if you like. I am fond of a lot of other artists and music, but these guys have been a constant inspiration I always look up to. They bring me that sensation no other musical group can come closer to providing.
I am glad music is not a contest and there are some other artist who have a deep rooted impact in my life. I simply adore and admire other similar metal artists (in terms of making music that I can relate to) like Tool, Opeth, Katatonia, Inflames, Dark Tranquility, Cryptopsy, etc and I have a collection of favorite songs from them as well which I think cannot “not listen to” every once in a while. It feels terrific being a fan of the genre since quite a while now, and the way I can indulge myself in a different world of artistic music is fantastic too.
The intro riff, and Ken Owen’s outro cowbell from “Rock The Vote” keep ringing in my head unconditionally, and frequently.
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