Carcass - Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)

Carcass was first formed as a school band by Bill Steer and Ken Owen that soon after disbanded. Steer then joined the D-beat band Disattack with drummer Middie, Paul on bass and Pek on vocals. After releasing a four track demo entitled A Bomb Drops ... in 1986, the bass player left the band and was replaced by Jeff Walker, formerly guitarist and vocalist of the Electro Hippies. Vocalist Andrew Pek changed his name to Sanjiv after a visit to India. At about the same time, Bill Steer joined Napalm Death (replacing Justin Broadrick) and recorded the second side of what became Napalm Death's first album, Scum. Walker also designed the cover art for Scum.

Disattack then changed its name to Carcass as the group changed musical direction. This led to a change in drummer and saw Ken Owen join the band. In April 1987, they recorded the Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment demo, the only Carcass recording featuring vocalist Sanjiv, who left shortly after. Walker, Steer and Owen shared vocal duties for the debut album, which was done in only four days. Despite the primitive production values of Carcass's debut Reek of Putrefaction (1988), with which the band was very displeased, it became a favourite of Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Due to his interest, they were asked to participate in their first Peel Session in 1989, where they debuted new material for their second album. The Peel Session was released as an EP with the band members adopting pseudonyms: K. Grumegargler, J. Offalmangler, and W.G. Thorax Embalmer. Also that year, Steer and Walker appeared as members of Lister's fictional band Smeg and the Heads in an episode of Red Dwarf.

Necroticism was originally released on 21 October 1991 through Earache Records.

 This album is the first to feature guitarist Michael Amott. Many of the tracks describe economical ways to dispose of dead bodies . Necroticism continues the move towards a predominant death metal sound which was started in Symphonies of Sickness, featuring songs with longer sections and complex structures, more akin to the then-burgeoning technical death metal subgenre.

 Ken Owen and Jeff Walker said during The Pathologist's Report Part III: Mass Infection that they rejected the descriptions of Carcass's music on this album being grindcore. While Owen acknowledges its death metal characteristics, both he and Walker expressed that they are more inclined towards calling their music on this album "progressive".

-Tracklist:

Side A:
1. Inpropagation     07:07
2. Corporal Jigsore Quandary     05:48
3. Symposium of Sickness     06:56
4. Pedigree Butchery     05:16

Side B:
5. Incarnated Solvent Abuse     05:00
6. Carneous Cacoffiny     06:43
7. Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition     04:03
8. Forensic Clinicism / The Sanguine Article     07:10

-Line up:

• Jeff Walker: Bass, Vocals, Lyrics
• Michael Amott: Guitars, Vocals (additional), Songwriting (tracks 2, 5)
• Bill Steer: Guitars, Vocals, Songwriting (tracks 1, 2, 4-8)
• Ken Owen: Drums, Vocals (additional), Songwriting (tracks 1-3).

 

Label: Earache Records.

 

 Recorded at Amazon Studios, Simonswood, UK.

 

 Mixed by Carcass & Colin Richardson.
Photography: Ian Tilton.
Producer: Colin Richardson.