Carcass
Photo: Nuclear Blast Records

The reunion metalheads never expected would happen is going down this fall, as influential metallers Carcass will be returning to North American for the first time in more than 15 years, starting September 5. That's when they'll be kicking off a 15-date reunion trek in Worcester, Massachusetts, with Necrophagist and Dying Fetus coming along for what could be a bumpy ride.

For longtime fans of the band, a Carcass reunion has always been something of a pipe dream — one fueled by innumerable rumors that only left them feeling cheated. But according to frontman Jeff Walker, the timing couldn't have been more right — or urgent — for Carcass' resurrection.

"If we don't do this now, Carcass will be erased from the history of rock, to a certain extent," he reflected. "There's so much access to information out there, [but] it seems to me that the new generation of kids just really don't know sh--. They don't really know who Black Sabbath is, never mind Carcass. There's definitely a generation of kids out there who are not aware of Carcass, because we haven't been around for 15 years. A year is a long time in metal these days."

While the band's members have been kicking around the idea of reuniting for years, Walker said he was reluctant, at first, to hop onboard. He credits guitarist Michael Amott, who went on to form Arch Enemy following Carcass' demise in 1995, as the driving force behind the reunion.

"I guess, over the last few years, we've kind of drifted into each other's circles again — myself, [guitarist] Bill [Steer], and Mike. And Mike's kind of — I don't want to over-exaggerate this — but, he's always been the keenest to do this, because since he formed Arch Enemy and has been out on the road again, he's kind of realized what kind of phenomenon Carcass is," Walker said. "Mike's always been kind of hassling me and Bill on the side about doing something, and so I guess the stars aligned at some point, because for years, I said I'd never do it. If [drummer] Ken [Owen, who suffered a brain hemorrhage in 1999] couldn't play, I thought it would be a bit like Led Zeppelin playing without [John] Bonham. How can you kind of find a way around that?"

But Carcass — like Led Zep — did find a way around it. They enlisted Arch Enemy kitman Daniel Erlandsson, and asked Owen if he had any objections, which he didn't. Then all of them agreed they'd give Owen a portion of whatever profits they made from a reunion.

"That made it morally justifiable for me," Walker said. "It seems, to me, nostalgia is the new rock and roll. Not to sound arrogant, but I'm well aware of the importance of this band, even if no one else is. There's a generation of people who were into Carcass who've grown up now, that never saw the band. And now they have some disposable income. They've created the demand for this reunion."

But don't expect this reunion to extend beyond this year. Walker said that, as it stands, the plan is there is no plan. Carcass aren't secretly writing a record, and after this tour, Walker's not sure what will happen.

"Never say never, but I can't see it happening — I can't see it working," he said. "For something like that to happen, everybody's head has to be on the same continent. It's different from when you're a kid. Now, you've got three guys in the band who've had their own bands and have either been frontmen or the main songwriters, so I think there would be a lot of arguing. Maybe we'd have to get that therapist in that was working with Metallica. With all the money we've made this summer, we could pay for a one-hour session with that guy.

"It would be sad, I think," Walker continued. "These bands that start playing again, some of them get carried away, and they write an album, and they start saying, 'It's the best thing we ever done.' And then it just isn't. We don't want to be one of those bands. We don't want to be doing this next year. I could maybe see us playing again in some of the countries that we're not touching this year, but let's see if we kill each other when we're in North America on a tour bus. We're getting on great, but we want to keep that chemistry and not get burned out. We don't want to be doing it just for the money, because it can turn into a chore — that's what happened the first time. It seemed like work, and it wasn't fun anymore, so I figured, 'F--- this, I'll go get a job.' If you're doing something just for the money, I think having a job is a bit more honest than playing in a band just for the money."

In Walker's opinion, Carcass couldn't be returning at a more apropos time, because he thinks the current metal scene is bordering on laughable. "I think it's depressing," he said. "It's like everything just merges into one nowadays. Everything's sounding the same. The problem with the modern metal scene is, people are too busy copying bands wholesale and not actually taking an influence and doing something new with it. I don't think it's laziness; I think it just comes down to imagination and intelligence."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Last Saturday in Dallas, Ben Falgoust become the only other vocalist in Ozzfest history — after Ozzy Osbourne himself — to perform two sets with two different bands. At this year's one-day-only Ozzfest, the frontman first performed a set with Goatwhore, and two hours later, joined Soilent Green onstage for their set. Of course, Ozzy had done it back in 1997, when he performed with his solo band and Black Sabbath. But Falgoust said it was no big deal. "Ozzy did it, and even Zakk Wylde's done it, playing with Black Label and Ozzy," he said. "Other people have done it, but, as far as vocally, it's just me and Ozzy. It's good company to be in; he's the dude that basically created this niche. I think it would be pretty grueling to do it for a full tour." Soilent Green will be on the road through August 17 in Orlando, Florida, with Kingdom of Sorrow and Scum of the Earth. Then they head out in October with Testament. In the meantime, Goatwhore have been writing new material, with plans to hit the studio in early '09. The band is eyeing a May 2009 release date for its next LP. ...

Rumor alert: In Flames, All That Remains, 36 Crazyfists and Gojira will reportedly team up for a run of North American dates this winter. When this tour is finally confirmed, we'll be bringing you all the dates, so hold tight. ...

Five Finger Death Punch, In This Moment, Bury Your Dead and Another Black Day will be teaming up this October for a lengthy North American tour. It kicks off October 3 in St. Louis and and runs through November 22 in Fresno, California. ...

While Velvet Revolver continue their search for a new frontman, bassist Duff McKagan has been busy with his other band, Loaded, who have a five-song EP, titled Wasted Heart, on the way. It drops September 22 through Century Media, with a full-length to follow in early 2009. ...

Underoath, the Devil Wears Prada, P.O.S. and Saosin will also be hitting the road this fall, beginning October 15 in Buena Vista, Florida. That tour's booked through November 11 in Portland, Oregon. ...

Job for a Cowboy, Hate Eternal, All Shall Perish, Animosity and Annotations of an Autopsy will be touring together starting November 13 in Pomona, California. That tour wraps December 16 in Tucson, Arizona. ...

Vision of Disorder will release their DVD "Dead in NY" on November 11. The offering will feature live footage shot two years ago on Long Island. The band will be playing a reunion gig on August 16 at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, New York. Be there. ...

New Jersey's own God Forbid are hard at work on their forthcoming studio set, which should land in stores early next year. Oddly enough, the disc will feature a cover of English alternative act Muse's "Stockholm Syndrome." Apparently, guitarist Doc Coyle is a big fan.

• Carcass
• Soilent Green
• Vision of Disorder

Soilent Green
Photo: Metal Blade Records

It's been nearly three years since we've heard from Soilent Green, but on April 15, the Southern sludge stalwarts will make their return with Inevitable Collapse in the Presence of Conviction, the long-awaited follow-up to 2005's Confrontation. But don't just assume Soilent's members have been sitting around, twiddling their thumbs these last few years, because nothing could be further from the truth.

According to singer Ben Falgoust, he is often asked if the band has thrown in the proverbial towel, or if he ended up exiting the fold to focus full time on Goatwhore, the currently on-tour black-metal band he also fronts. But he claims the band has never once considered pulling the plug on Soilent — everyone's just been busy with other projects is all. Guitarist Brian Patton is also involved with Eyehategod, while guitarist Gregg Harney is a member of Spickle. Drummer Tommy Buckley is also a member of Crowbar, and bassist Scott Crochet plays in a band called Hostile Apostle.

"We all have other bands we need to devote time to," Falgoust explained. "While the rest of the guys are off doing other projects, I'll be home, writing. They'll write while I'm out with Goatwhore. We're not trying to put off one band in favor of another, but when a release hits, I'm obligated to go out with that band as much as possible. When April comes around, Goatwhore's tour with Exodus ends, and I'll be heading out with Soilent again."

That April tour, he said, will be a North American run featuring three other bands on the bill. Falgoust said he wasn't at liberty to discuss any details regarding the trek but that all would be revealed in the coming weeks. While fans have been made to wait three years for Inevitable Collapse — which was produced by Erik Rutan (Cannibal Corpse, Vital Remains), who also helmed Conviction — Falgoust said he's sure they'll find it was well worth it.

"Soilent is what Soilent is, but with each record, I think different angles are approached in writing and execution," he explained, saying that the new LP contains elements of the band's previous albums. "The guys [in the band] are really hard on each other about stuff. They'll get to parts in a song where they feel like they're repeating something from a past record, and they'll get into an argument about it, which basically forces us to break away from that mold.

"This record has something new to it — a new edge, I'd say," Falgoust continued. "I don't want to be the guy who says this is our best record yet — all I can say is, when it comes out, you'll just have to check it out, and everyone will have to judge it for themselves. The sound on this record is f---ing amazing; it's just all-out. The guitars sound so sick. I thought Confrontation was awesome, but I think we blew that record out. [This album] sounds ridiculous."

The singer said that, with Inevitable Collapse, Soilent Green wanted to create a guitar lover's wet dream. While some bands focus more on making the drum or vocal parts more prominent on their albums, Soilent wanted the guitars to stand out more.

"The defining feature of a metal band is the guitars — it's what metal is," he explained. "How many records have come out in the last few years that are supposed to be metal, and the guitars are wimpy and low in the mix, and the vocals and drums are overpowering? On a metal record, the guitars are supposed to stand out — and they do on this record. Patton's tone is really good, and Rutan brought that sh-- out. Don't get me wrong — you can hear the drums, and the flow of the bass underneath, and the vocals. But the guitars are just lethal and have that low-end bite to them. It just sounds awesome."

Since Falgoust and the rest of Soilent really wanted the guitars to take center stage, the singer had to take a different approach with his vocal performance on the LP.

"I'm a professional introvert," he confessed. "I deal with people, but in a way, I really don't feel like dealing with people. I like to be by myself. I stay home a lot and watch movies. A lot of the lyrics deal with hatred — I sort of have this obsessive compulsive kind of hatred in me. But before we started working on this record, I'd sing over a good bit of stuff. This time, I sat back and said, 'I think that part needs to flow — no vocals — like a jam part people can get into and have fun with.' Soilent's pretty crazy, but when [a song] gets to that element, where it just rocks out, I thought those parts needed to breathe a little more, so I backed off from smothering them in my vocals. I had to learn the art of actually rocking out to it."

Strangely, Falgoust said an outside force bled into the creative process for him and, in many ways, became an integral part of the entire ordeal.

"I started watching 'Squidbillies,' " an animated series that runs on the Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block. "I became totally addicted to it. Every day at the studio, I would watch one or two episodes, and it became part of the process for me. It was addictive."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe recently checked in with Metal File about the Virginia metallers' next studio effort, which he said they'll embark on this year. "We're going to be writing a new record," he confirmed of the yet-untitled LP, adding that he's going to jet to Japan in February to "kick it with the wife" before putting his nose to the grindstone. "[I'm going to] try and take a deep breath for a few months before we start writing a new record," he said. "I figure we'll start heading into the ... practice space in late March or something." Blythe also pulled back the curtain on a side project, revealing that he's been ganging up with Steve Zing, a founding member of Glenn Danzig's Samhain act. "I saw him and Danzig recently, and I'm going to do something kinda creepy with [Zing]," Blythe said. Adding to what looks to be a busy '08, he added, "I'm working on a lot of different writing projects with different magazines. I'm working on a comic book now as well." Lamb of God recently launched a contest with Sirius Satellite Radio and GarageBand for a contest that asks fans to remix a song from the band's 2006 album, Sacrament. Winners of the contest, which ends February 21, will win a trip to NYC to meet the band at the premiere of its forthcoming, yet-untitled spring DVD. Go here for more info. ...

The long-awaited studio-album reunion between ex-Sepultura and Soulfly frontman Max Cavalera and ex-Sepultura drummer Iggor Cavalera is scheduled for release on March 25. The Cavalera Conspiracy's Inflikted marks the first time the two brothers have recorded together in over 10 years. "Cavalera Conspiracy is about a sense of being released," Max said in a statement. "You bottle [up] a monster for 10 years and then let it out. It's explosive, and we waited a long time for this beast to be set free." The album was recorded in July at Undercity Recordings in North Hollywood, California, and produced by ex-Machine Head guitarist Logan Mader and Lucas Banker of the Dirty Icon production team. Special guests include Down and ex-Pantera bassist Rex Brown, and Max's stepson Richie Cavalera (Incite). A tour is being planned for the spring. ... Testament singer Chuck Billy will perform at the Longest Walk Kickoff Concert on February 9 in Oakland, California. Billy will sing with his brother Andy and Grammy and Native American Music Award winner Star Nayea. The concert is a benefit for Longest Walk 2, a 4,400 mile trek across the U.S. that aims to draw attention to environmental issues. Testament's new album, The Formation of Damnation, comes out April 29. ...

Celtic Frost are putting together an album tentatively titled Monotheist Companion that will feature unreleased songs from 2006's Monotheist sessions and rearrangements of tracks from the album. The disc is scheduled for a summer release. In addition, Demon Entrails, a CD of raw, early-'80s demos by Hellhammer — the band fronted by Celtic singer and guitarist Thomas G. Warrior — comes out February 18. ... Japanese conceptual psychedelic doomsters Boris will release their new full-length album, Smile, April 29. The group will precede the release with a one-off show in New York on March 4. ... New York electro-metal renegades Mindless Self Indulgence will release their new album, If, on April 29. The first single, "Mastermind," will be issued digitally February 12. ...

God Forbid recently reached out to their fans to come up with a good title for the group's upcoming DVD, which is pegged for a May 27 release. After combing through the pile of submissions, the band chose "Beneath the Scars of Glory and Progression," which was submitted by David Cazares of Chino, California. "He made out jobs a lot easier," guitarist Doc Coyle said in a statement. "Maybe we'll have our fans name everything from now on." It's not clear if Cazares will receive some sort of reward for his effort aside from this extra praise from Coyle: "[The name] captured, in a statement, what this DVD really says about God Forbid. The concert and documentary featured on the DVD are positive forces in our band's movement from turbulence to continuous kinetic growth. It deserved a title that illustrated that, with all the bad things that have happened to us, even more good things happened, and we look forward to an even brighter future." God Forbid will enter New Jersey's Trax East Recording Studio later this month with producer Eric Rachel (Atreyu, In This Moment) to work on their sixth studio album. ...

Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris played lead guitar on the debut album by Fierce Allegiance, The Meaning of Sacrifice, which was produced by Ken Olden (Damnation AD). The melodic thrash/death-metal band from Washington, D.C., is currently in talks with several labels about releasing the disc. In the meantime, the tracks "No Way Out," "Crime and Passion," "Viking" and "Lost G'neration" can be downloaded on the band's MySpace page. ... Psychedelic stoner band Danava will release their second disc, UnonoU, February 19. The Portland, Oregon, group will support the disc with a North American tour with Acid Mothers Temple that starts March 13 in Los Angeles and runs through April 8 in San Francisco. ... Misery Signals have entered the studio with producer Devin Townsend (Strapping Young Lad, Soilwork) to record the follow-up to their 2006 sophomore disc, Mirrors. "I'm psyched about the new record," singer Karl Shubach said in a statement. "It's got a lot of elements that weren't in last one, a lot of parts that are just heavier with a lot of off-time polyrhythm, like Meshuggah." "This is going to be a record that brings the band to a new level," Townsend said. "The rock will continue to roll in a fastidious way." ...

It's rare for indie-rock icons to have any affinity for heavy metal, but David Pajo is an unusual breed. The former guitarist of Slint and ex-member of Tortoise, Stereolab and Zwan has created the full-on metal band Dead Child with Michael McMahan (the brother of Pajo's ex-Slint bandmate Brian). The group's full-length debut, Attack — which combines elements of doom, thrash and NWOBHM on songs like "Twitch of the Death Nerve," "Battlesnake Chalice" and "Eye to the Brain" — is scheduled for release April 8. ... Our condolences to the family and friends of Gruntruck and Skin Yard singer Ben McMillan, who recently died from diabetes in his Seattle hometown. He was 46. McMillan suffered with the condition for eight years and succumbed to his illness after experiencing complications from a related blood-clotting disease. Skin Yard predated the grunge scene and featured producer Jack Endino on guitar. After the band broke up, McMillan formed Gruntruck with ex-Skin Yard drummer Norman Scott. The group released two albums, 1991's Inside Yours and 1992's Push, before calling it a day.

• Soilent Green
• Lamb of God
• Celtic Frost
• Testament
• God Forbid

"Heavy Metal Thunder"
Photo: Chronicle Books

A few years back, metal journalists James Sherry (Metal Hammer, Kerrang!) and Neil Aldis (Rock World, Terrorizer) decided to sift through their record collections and put the best of the bunch into coffee-table-book form. That spawned "Heavy Metal Thunder," an extensive archive of the most kick-ass metal-album art of the last four decades, set to land in bookstores June 1.

According to Sherry, the book's intended to guide lifelong metalheads down memory lane — a time when you'd buy an LP based solely on the image that graced the sleeve, a time when ridiculous album covers were a genuine art form.

"We wanted the book to be entertaining for people who aren't necessarily into metal," he said. "I wanted it to appeal to people who are really heavily into the music and can look through the book and go, 'Oh, I remember that record — I had it when I was a kid.' ... But we also wanted it to appeal to people who have no interest in the music and can look through it and go, 'These covers are hilarious.' We're not afraid to poke fun at it."

The book's documents everything from the earliest days of groundbreaking bands like Black Sabbath and Judas Priest through today's current class of metallers, like Mastodon and High on Fire. The book covers all the bases, with chapters devoted to black metal, death metal, nü metal, thrash, stoner rock and glam rock. There's even a forward penned by Anthrax's Scott Ian and an interview with Derek Riggs, the man who created Iron Maiden's symbolic Eddie icon.

"We were originally going to do each chapter in a different theme," Sherry explained. "We were going to have a chapter of all covers that just featured men with swords, which there are many. It's an ongoing theme in old metal records. We wanted a whole chapter on glam-rock covers, fantasy covers, ridiculous covers — even covers with babes on them. That became way too complicated, so we decided to do it genre by genre."

Several chapters are devoted to specific bands that've become known for their album imagery. "One of the first things we decided was that we had to give Manowar their own chapter," he said. "With this book, you get a taste for the imagery of each genre. I just think that metal, more than any other music, is very visually led. As a child, I would often buy records on the strength of the album cover, on how metal the cover looked. That doesn't happen anymore. Kids can hear stuff before they buy it."

One of the more amusing chapters is the one that examines the punk-inflected thrash era. "I love the thrash covers because it's all pre-computers, and these bands would have a friend who would say, 'Hey, I could draw you a picture for your cover,' " Sherry said. "That's why there was so much drawn artwork on those sleeves, and some of it's just terrible, but brilliantly funny as well."

Several album covers were cut from the book, including Marduk's 1995 masterpiece, F--- Me Jesus, and Autopsy's 2003 album, Sh--fun.

But Sherry's favorite album cover, and one of the first that readers encounter in "Heavy Metal Thunder"? "I love the first Black Sabbath album cover, because I think that one's genuinely creepy. You kind of look at it, and it's genuinely a quite scary album cover," he said. "I like a lot of the black-metal covers, too, because there's just something a bit creepier about them that's genuinely quite scary, whereas it's hard to get too scared by men with swords."

The rest of the week's metal news:

Megadeth have signed to Roadrunner Records for the release of their upcoming album, according to a source close to the deal. The studio sessions — held at Sarm Studios, outside of London — were filmed by director Michael Sarna (Anthrax, Obituary) and are available at Megadeth.com to fan-club members. ... The first batch of dates for Rob Zombie's American Witch Across America Tour with Anthrax has been revealed. The trek will kick off in El Paso, Texas, June 30 and last — at least until more dates are announced — through July 28 in Billings, Montana. ... Trivium have finished recording their upcoming CD The Crusade. On Thursday, frontman Matt Heafy started tracking vocals at Audiohammer Studio in Orlando, Florida, where the band also recorded guitars and bass. Heafy is co-producing the disc with Audiohammer owner and previous collaborator Jason Suecof, and the album will be finished by the end of May for a fall release. Songs include "Ignition," "Contempt Breeds Contamination," "And Sadness Will Sear," "Vengeance," "To the Rats" and "Contemporary Plague." "There's one acoustic song, a Skid Row/ Mötley Crüe-sounding song, a Def Leppard, Southern-rock metal song and then 11 ridiculously technical thrash songs," Heafy said. "It's a solo insanity CD, but in a good way." ...

Bloodsimple — which features ex-members of Long Island, New York, hardcore icons Vision of Disorder — are working on material for their sophomore LP. The band plans to record the effort this summer, and guitarist Mike Kennedy claims "the new tunes are sounding killer so far." ... Hold on to your horns: Cattle Decapitation have infiltrated the mainstream. Icing by Claire's, a teen girls' accessory shop, has built a storefront display of a trendy-looking punk-rock girl wearing a Cattle Decapitation T-shirt. Even more flabbergasting, the shirt she's wearing was only sold on tour. Icing shoppers will be pleased to know that the new Cattle Decapitation record, Karma Bloody Karma, comes out July 11 and the band will be on tour through July 22. ... Nepotism is one thing, but this is ridiculous: Incubus guitarist Mike Einziger has produced the debut album by Agent Sparks, which features younger brother Ben on guitar and stepbrother Paul Fried on bass. The disc, Red Rover, comes out June 20. Ben Einziger and Fried were previously in Audiovent, which featured Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd's brother Jason on vocals. The group released Dirty Sexy Knights in Paris in 2002, but broke up soon after. ...

Horse the Band will hit the road with Gatsbys American Dream, Portugal. The Man and Forgive Durden starting May 24 in Salt Lake City. Dates are scheduled through June 14 in Nashville. ... Candice Night, the singer for Blackmore's Night — ex-Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's new outfit — will be crowned 2006 Queen of the Fairies at the Western Pennsylvania Fairie Festival, which takes place June 10-11. Attendees can enjoy the parade of the Fairie Queen and her court, special guest fairie artists, the astrologer to the queen, and holistic and metaphysical-medicine practitioners. ... When most metal singers shout "Kill!," they're living a fantasy, but Manowar frontman Eric Adams causes as much carnage with handheld weaponry as with his vocals. On June 27, Adams will showcase the brutality on the DVD "Wild Life and Wild Times," which he created with outdoorsman and wildlife journalist Chester Moore. The disc features the two bagging emus, American bison, snakes, elk and wild boar with shotguns, bows and arrows, and hunting knives. ...

Soilent Green, the Acacia Strain and Demiricous will tour together starting June 10 in Cleveland, with dates running through June 30 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ... This year's nominees for the second annual Peta2 World's Sexiest Vegetarian poll include Rob Zombie, System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian, Cannibal Corpse bassist Paul Mazurkiewicz, Dillinger Escape Plan's Liam Wilson and Atreyu guitarist Travis Miguel. Cast your vote at Peta2.com/OUTTHERE/o-sexyveg06.asp. ... Every Time I Die will re-release 2005's Gutter Phenomenon on June 13 with a bonus 30-minute DVD. The footage was edited from their upcoming DVD "Sh-- Happens," which is scheduled for release this fall. Every Time I Die will head out on the Warped Tour starting June 15 in Columbia, Maryland, and remain on it through August 13 in Montreal. ... Misery Signals have started working on their second album, Mirrors, with producer Ben Schigel (Zao, Chimaira). The album will feature new singer Karl Schubach, who replaced Jesse Zaraska in January. Mirrors will be the follow-up to 2004's Of Malice and the Magnum Heart and is scheduled for September. ... Progressive metallers Behold ... the Arctopus have signed with Black Market Activities. Look for their forthcoming LP to drop sometime in late summer or early fall. ...

• "Heavy Metal Thunder" Photos

• Megadeth
• Trivium
• Manowar
• Bloodsimple
• Horse The Band