Live Review : Carcass + Unto Others + Conjurer @ O2 Academy, Liverpool on June 2nd 2023

Once again we are dragging the impartiality klaxon out of its cupboard, as the fact that I am subjecting myself to the delights of the 2:45am coach back to Manchester probably says everything you need to know about my dedication to the church of Carcass. For a diehard Carcass fanboy like myself, their majestic return to their hometown 29 years after their last show here is a must-see. Even if the collective might of the rail unions had tried to scupper the whole shebang. You see Jeff, Bill and the boys are the most influential band to ever come out of Merseyside (yes I know that's a controversial view but it's true) and I'm sure I was not the only one to be disappointed that during the segment in last month’s Eurovision Final where past winners reinterpreted Liverpudlian classics, they hadn't roped in Lordi to serenade us with a version of ‘Exhume to Consume’. 

Liverpool might not have a reputation as much of a metallic town, but the hordes have responded magnificently to this celestial return and not only has the show been upgraded from Academy 2 to the lofty Academy 1, but it is also absolutely heaving from the get-go. It seems like a no-brainer that a band who have pushed metal’s envelope as much as Carcass have chosen to take out with them a modern Incarnation of that pioneer spirit. It's very hard nowadays to actually put your finger in which genre Conjurer currently reside, they have morphed well beyond simple labels such as Doom, Black or even extreme metal. Their sound consists of layer upon layer of sonic complexity that is so rich in variance that it confounds any attempt at pigeonholing.

This is not a partisan crowd and the good people of Liverpool greet Conjurer with waves of adulation. The crushing heaviness is there for all to see and opener ‘It Dwells’ feels like being pummelled by a 10-ton granite slab. But as I say there is far far more to what they are doing than just the sheer enormity of the density. In the midst of the colossal riffs, there is real subtlety and intricacy to be found. It might feel counterintuitive but there is utter beauty at play within their monumentally crushing façade. They are proving to be masters at subtlety contorting expectation at every turn. Even though I have heard all seven tracks aired hundreds of times before, it still takes me aback when they turn left when I had expected them to veer right. From the brilliance of the performance and the reaction it is afforded, it will not be long until Conjurer are the headliner as opposed to the opener in rooms of this size.

Unto Others are a timely reminder that Goth is a direct first-generation descendant of Punk. Punk in its purest essence is the noisy anti-establishment upstart that metal always wanted to be. It can be argued that the main reason that metal survived into the 80’s was that it took punk dissident DNA and grafted it onto its own. 40 years later that flagrant cultural appropriation is still going on as Unto Others take the fury of fledgling Goth and fuse it with strident metal. The ethereal and atmospheric components of Goth are played down and instead we get something that is muscular and vociferous.

Unto Others have been busy making a name for themselves with those who like their metal with a dash of theatrical grandeur and it is clear that there is a sizeable contingent down the front who are losing their collective shit over the band. For the neutral or uninitiated Unto Others provide a gritty and unrefined entry drug into the murky world of Goth metal. For all their bombastic flourishes they still manage to remain heavy, pounding and most importantly relevant in tonight's esteemed company. You can see the linear line that connects them with both the ferocity of traditional metal and also the pomposity of Sisters of Mercy and their ilk. In all, a thoroughly interesting and immersive experience.

I have quite simply lost count of the number of metal’s infinite subgenres that Carcass are the forefathers of. During their initial time on earth they recorded five albums, each a fundamental 90° turn from their direct predecessor. It was as if on creating a new style of metal they then got instantaneously bored with it and hankered after the next opportunity to innovate. Their entire back catalogue has imperiously stood the test of time and tracks like ‘This Mortal Coil’ and ‘Incarnated Solvent Abuse’ sound as fresh now as when they first emerged 30 years ago. Even the (at the time) criminally over-looked and aptly titled “Swan Song” has been critically re-evaluated. It is easy to understand how alien ‘Keep on Rotting In the Free World’ and ‘Tomorrow Belongs To Nobody’ sounded at the time, however in these heady days of black n’ roll, they now make perfect sense.

At the heart of Carcass is the nucleus of Bill Steer and Jeff Walker. A chalk and cheese creative odd couple who quietly but effectively shaped the entire history of metal. Their on-stage demeanours couldn't be more different. The latter stands at the front like some weary general full of bile and irreverent small talk. Jeff Walker has morphed from an angry young man into an equally grumpy old(er) man, playfully belittling the crowd with deadpan dry Liverpudlian wit. Bill flanks him on the right, skilfully removed from the spotlight. Bill Steer is the guitar hero you've never heard of. The astonishing soloing on ‘Buried Dreams’ and ‘The Scythe's Remorseless Swing’ forever torpedoing the myth that extreme metal lacks nuance and technicality.

For all their act of being toe-curdling Curmudgeons, you can tell that being back on home turf means a lot to both of them. Jeff regularly and enthusiastically points out friends and acquaintances in the crowd, though he makes a point of asking that if he's ever seen on the Ormskirk train that he should be left well alone. The most emotional moment comes though when he starts to thank people in the room who were quintessential parts of the band’s development all those years ago. He then drags on Bill’s mother Kate who, according to Jeff, let them rehearse in her house and had their back when the neighbours came around to complain. The crowd burst into a spontaneous chance of Kate Kate Kate and you can tell even the most begrudging hearts on stage are touched.

The set is a perfectly balanced canter through 35 years of challenging metal’s boundaries and jurisdictions. Only debut album “Reek of Putrefaction” is ignored and the two dollops from its equally corrosive and nihilistic follow-up “Symphonies of Sickness” more than make up for the absence. Even the drum solo, usually the death-knell for any level of momentum in a set, is treated with a wonderfully comic level of mistrust and disdain. Jeff suggests that with only 26 minutes left of their contracted time, they could leave Daniel Wilding to pound away until the clock wound down. However, in an obviously stage-managed but still highly amusing about-turn Jeff gets bored after three minutes and we hurtle instead into the magnificence that is “Heartworks” title track. In many ways this is the quintessential "modern" Carcass composition, in that it deftly combines melodicism with driving intensity. The guitar refrains soars like a mighty eagle and then the whole track is brought crashing down to earth by Jeff’s guttural vocals. A frankly stunning act of song-writing that in my humble opinion, few are yet to match.

In his usual bittersweet manner, Jeff explains the rules of encores and then banters that we are not being loud enough to get one. However contractual obligations being contractual obligations they do return for a frantic one-two of ‘Tools of the Trade’ (resurrected after decades of being ignored) and finally ‘316L Grade Surgical Steel’. The latter bizarrely the only contribution from the utterly exquisite "Surgical Steel", their 2013 return to form. As the last notes ring out Jeff lets slip his grumpy old man persona and instead looks genuinely touched by the waves of appreciation emitting from his hometown crowd. There are choruses of thanks and a promise to return, probably sooner than 29 years (this is Carcass, probably is as good as you are going to get). I know it's a cliché, but age and experience just keep improving this band, and as we all march away to try and work out how the hell we are going to get home, there is a general consensus that we have just witnessed a masterclass in accessible extremity.

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Carcass, Unto Others, Conjurer