General Surgery - Corpus In Extremis
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General Surgery‘s Left Hand Pathology was so successful at its aim that it made me mad. That aim was impersonating Carcass. Covering songs in tribute is OK; mimicry without anything more, like parody or commentary, isn’t. Left Hand Pathology was essentially a Carcass record – only it wasn’t by Carcass, which made it very unnecessary.
Decedent Scarification AestheticsPerfunctory Fleshless Precipitate
Corpus In Extremis (Listenable, 2009) still has blatant Carcass-isms – angular yet serpentine riffs, some Jeff Walker-esque vocals. But thankfully the band leaves the Carcass nest often. Calling its style “unique” would be a stretch, but its aspirations are higher now. Riffs are steely, their execution laser-guided, and the focus and technique far exceed those of Carcass back in the day. Carcass, of course, had originality and atmosphere on their side. Still, this record is a physical weapon. No progressive steps toward death metal here – this is two bars of intro, then two minutes of defleshing. Grindcore has long run its course creatively, but kicking ass never gets old.
Buy:
Relapse (CD)
eMusic (MP3)
Amazon (MP3)
Starting May 9, General Surgery plays a week of US West Coast dates and the Maryland Deathfest. See dates here.
