In the mid-nineties I loved Carcass. Go ahead, laugh. After all Carcass is a pretty stupid name. I get it. The fact remains though that what Bill Steer did with his guitar was otherwordly and almost single-handedly created not one but TWO cult favorite extreme metal genres. By the time I became fully aware of them though they were, sadly, on their last legs. And a band with a name like Carcass that plays a style of music most people hate didn't have anything to gain from a reunion. That was that.
Last year though the band surprisingly reunited and did a limited number of dates. None were near me. I cried tears of sorrow at having missed them yet again. They are back with round two now though and I'm off to Cleveland, OH this weekend to enjoy the unfathomable mastery of the mighty Carcass. A host of great, newer bands and fellow metal legends Samael will open for them as well. Sweet, sweet icing.
Perhaps the best part though is taking it all in with my cousin Patrick. He's only been into this style of music for a few years but has delved in with his whole heart. Each show he goes to with me is awesome because you can see the music excite and ignite something in him. He is connecting with it in a spiritual well- something that all great art does - connecting with the right person at the right time. It's an emotion that is very hard to replicate and I love watching someone experience it all for the first time.
So off we go in hopes of a great time. As my boys in Carcass would say, "Keep on rotting, keep on hoping!"
