Earth Rot
Amplifier
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Six years have passed since Carcass tore the Capitol apart during their reunion tour of 2008. Now the kings and pioneers of grindcore and melodic death are back in Perth. It was a 14 year hiatus from live shows for Carcass the last time they were in town. This time they arrived with a new album and new guitar player in the ranks. There was a late change of venue on the night, after the band chose to move the show to the Amplifier after ticket sales weren’t has high as last time they came (sold out). Not a problem
Support act Earth Rot are made of past and present members of some of Perth’s best bands including, Advent Sorrow, Sensory Amusia and Claim The Throne. Throwing down a style that mixes black metal with death ‘n’ roll, they have that distinct old school Swedish death metal guitar tone. With shades of Dismember and Black Breath, this is fast, filthy and heavy. The crowd filed in early and Earth Rot made most of the early turnout and a 40 minute set with an energetic performance. No doubt a band to watch out for.
The atmosphere electric with anticipation, the crowd making the most of the cheap drinks. With the weekend around the corner, the hype was immense. Then the moment had arrived. Carcass ripped straight into the classic Buried Dreams to open the set. The place erupted and started overflowing with people, the crowd pushing the capacity and spilling out into the beer garden. Carcass flawlessly hammered through songs from every album in their catalogue, classic after classic. Yep, even from Swansong. Genital Grinder and Pyosified (Rotten to the Core) were some of the tracks played from their early days that satisfied the old school grind heads.
The sound was huge. The riffs from guitarist Bill Steer were fucking colossal. Bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker was also on fire, spitting each word with aggression and attitude. A Congealed Clot Of Blood, Cadaver Pouch Conveyor System, The Granulating Dark Satanic Mills and Captive Bolt Pistol from the new album Surgical Steel all smashed the crowd with relentless force. Live and on record these songs stand up to anything Carcass have done. However it was the songs from arguably their two masterpieces, Heartwork and Necroticism – Descanting The Insalubrious, that really got the crowd going.
The energy and intensity from crowd and band did not let up all night. The gave the packed crowd a five minute breather before laying down a four song encore, including Blackstar, Heartwork and Keep On Rotting In The Free World, which was dedicated to a fan for lending them a cowbell for the song.
Not a note slipped, not a beat skipped – Carcass were simply flawless. Tonight they showed why they are such an influential and loved band in the metal world. And judging by the faces on the crowd after the show, it showed that it’s damn good to have Carcass back.
PAUL DI SCERNI
