Surprise! Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have surprisingly released their new joint album Carnage. The 8 track album was first teased last month by Cave in a Q&A series with Red Hand Files. It is the first non-soundtrack album from the duo and was recorded over the course of weeks through the lockdown. In a statement, Cave described the album as “a brutal but very beautiful record nested in a communal catastrophe.” Ellis then added “Making Carnage was an accelerated process of intense creativity. The eight songs were there in one form or another within the first two and a half days.” CD and Vinyl formats will be released on May 28th via Goliath Records.

Cave will also join Ellis as a featured artist on Ellis’ joint album with singer Marianne Faithfull titled She Walks In Beauty, which is set to be released on April 30. This album was also recorded over the COVID-19 lockdown. The project will also feature  Brian Eno and cellist Vincent Ségal.

Last year, Cave performed a solo-piano performance titled Idiot Prayer, which included a performance of his unreleased track “Euthanasia.” The special performance ended up having a live album and being played in movie theaters. He also played a special cover of T.Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer” as part of the tribute album AngelHeaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan and T. Rex.

Cave and his band The Bad Seeds released their latest album Ghosteen in 2019.

Carnage Album Tracklist
01. Hand of God
02. Old Time
03. Carnage
04. White Elephant
05. Albuquerque
06. Lavender Fields
07. Shattered Ground
08. Balcony Man

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat