Atypical titles, typical sound

Even though made of veggies, the cover art for the long-awaited Torn Arteries album is a pretty medically accurate depiction of a heart. It’s a shame the actual music on the album didn’t seem to have as much heart as the cover implied. While it was an enjoyable listen, Torn Arteries was not life-changing. It seemed to be missing a signature sound to make it truly stand out. 

This album was very punchy, clean and had sharp production value. However, it didn’t sound like it was written in a collaborative environment. It sounded more like different parts were written in different rooms and then pieced together to try and make a song. On top of that, the songs sound like they were thrown together without thought to create an album. It’s obvious that these guys are true musicians, but this album just doesn’t sound cohesive or complete. 

The album opens with a short but intense drum fill, courtesy of Dan Wilding, on the title track “Torn Arteries.” It’s quickly followed by a guitar riff featuring a very obvious choice for the genre, the double harmonic minor scale. It then jumps into a segment of classic thrasher vibes and layers in syncopated lyrics to drive the intensity to a short, mildly-fulfilling groove. Its bridge was a pretty masterful guitar solo, and then the song ended as abruptly as it started. This track would have been better placed at the end of the album.  

The track that would better serve as an opener could be “Wake Up And Smell the Carcass/Caveat Emptor.” This track will wake people up, eyes bulging, and take them on a journey. ‘Buyer Beware’ that this track isn’t just a sheer wall of sound; it’s an entire saga of well-melded composition. Now that’s a solid opener. 

The stand-out song was “Eleanor Rigor Mortis.” Outside of the punny title, it had an extended, much appreciated mosh-ready groove. Metalheads are always down for a good groove and chant. It also put Bill Steer’s guitar skill front and center with a killer opening solo, ending solo and several overlaying licks that added intrigue because of its slight middle eastern influence. 

On the song “Under The Scalpel Blade,” the lyrics “Caduceus rise; Caduceus writhe” produced such vivid imagery but fell flat because it did not have an equally vivid musical theme. With lyrics alone, one could just imagine the Caduceus coming alive in the surgical room; the snake wriggling off the Rod of Asclepius and then slithering away, joining us from birth or death, or in their words, “From the maternity ward to the cold morgue.” Think how much impact it would have it was depicted auditorily as well.

The album ended better than it started. With a bit of a play on words, “The Scythe’s Remorseless Swing” gave a soft bluesy/swing intro to a strongly menacing song. One could imagine the Grim Reaper playfully enjoying a stroll down the road to this song before breaking into a complete rampage. This deviance of musical style was very welcomed.

The album artwork is certainly thought-provoking and with song titles such as “Kelly’s Meat Emporium” and “Dance Of Ixtab (Psychopomp & Circumstance March No. 1)” the track names and many of the lyrics are absolute literary fire, but the actual music left something to be desired.

The very end of the album treated the listener to the sound of flies buzzing around what one could assume to be a dead carcass. It symbolizes that even if something is dead, it can still give life to something else. Carcass’ founding fathers, Steer and Jeff Walker, may be vegetarian, but that doesn’t mean they eat the same thing every day. It’s time for them to spice things up and add a little signature sauce. Torn Arteries is not a quintessential addition to the death metal genre, but it’s certainly a start after the band’s long hiatus, and it will be intriguing to see what else Carcass can serve up.