Carcass return to Australia this week as part of the massive ‘Deathcrusher‘ tour that has them sharing the stage with Napalm Death and Extortion in Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, before they shoot over to New Zealand straight after.

The band continue to support their recent album ‘Surgical Steel‘ which came out back in 2013.

Listen to that album below while you read guitarist Bill’s answers to our Hotseat questions.

Limited tickets remain for this weeks shows, re-cap the details below, and sort out your tickets.

LISTEN

THE BASICS
Name : Bill Steer
Band : Carcass
Job In Band : Guitarist
Website Address : www.facebook.com/OfficialCarcass
HOME
Hometown : Have had several, but Heswall for the longest duration
Hometown is best known for : Very little indeed
Best venue in your hometown : There are no venues
THE BAND
How did the band first come to exist? A bunch of teenagers getting together to make a racket some time in the mid to late ’80s.
Any particular story behind the name? Not really, I was just leafing through a Thesaurus and the name “Carcass” sounded good to a fifteen year old lad.
What’s your most recent release? Tell us a little about it… “Surgical Steel”. This was released in September 2013 and was the first album we’d recorded since “Swansong” back in the mid ’90s.
Got a personal stand out achievement of your band to date? Appearing at a festival with Chas & Dave last year.
OFF THE STAGE
What was your first introduction to music that made you think seriously about playing it? Hmm, tricky one… That’s back in the mists of the past. It was a gradual thing arising from hearing and seeing various bands, and wanting to emulate what they were doing in some way, however small.
Any particular band / album or song that you personally credit as a major influence? Motorhead “The Golden Years” EP.
Your first band name, and what style did you play? Carcass. Prior to that it had been a case of either playing in other people’s bands, or just messing around.
Most prized music related item you own? You mean apart from my guitar? Then it would have to be a rare record, like the second Patto album or first Urchin single…
When you’re not doing band related stuff, what are you usually found doing? Walking, reading, having a drink with friends.
The thing you most look forward to just before a tour is… Playing.
The thing you least look forward to before a tour is… The tedious rituals of airport security.
ON THE STAGE
When on offer, what’s your one must have item on the rider? Single malt Scotch.
Favourite place you’ve toured… and why? Very hard to name a single place. But if I must, it would be Japan. A fascinating country with a unique mix of ancient and modern culture. The people are extremely polite and the food is fantastic.
Most memorable show you’ve played? and why? Probably supporting Iron Maiden in Mexico a few years back. That was the first band I’d ever seen as a kid, so it meant a lot to be allowed to share a stage with them.
Got a favourite song to play live? In all honesty, it’s not easy to name just one. And it varies from time to time. Generally we’re really enjoying playing the newer material as it is relatively fresh. But then it’s also quite a buzz doing some of our earlier stuff like “Exhume To Consume”.
Any pre-show rituals? None of us do anything particularly outlandish prior to going onstage. If we have the time and space, two or three of us might run through a tune or two just to warm up a bit. But that doesn’t seem to happen very often for one reason or another. Otherwise it’s just a few blokes in a room having a drink and making bad jokes. Embarrassing stage moments? There have been plenty. Perhaps the obvious one to mention would be a gig in Dublin we did back in the early nineties. We finished our set, left the stage and the audience began to shout for more. That was fine as we’d kept a couple of songs in reserve. However Ken had clearly felt differently and thrown his last two drumsticks into the crowd. The chanting got louder and louder until we had to get one of our crew to go onstage and ask for the sticks to be returned. Let’s put it this way, it didn’t look very good… One stick was eventually thrown back, then a couple of minutes later the other one was found in the hands of someone leaving the venue to get a taxi.
What do you find is the hardest aspect of touring in a band today? I’d rather look it at it the other way. It’s a hell of a lot easier for us now compared to, say, 1990. There isn’t much to complain about now, to be honest.
RIGHT NOW
Last song you listened to? “Bare Trees” by Danny Kirwan and Fleetwood Mac.
Last album you picked up? Gibraltar, “The Spaceward Sessions”.
Which band or album is currently on high rotation? The entire works of Algy Ward and the original Tank.
Tell us an up and coming band or artist you think we should go and listen to right now? Kunt And The Gang.
What’s on the cards for the next few months for the band? A lot of travel. Australia, New Zealand, various parts of Asia. Then a few festivals over the summer.
IF ONLY…
You can pick any one album for your band to cover in full, what would it be and why? Tough one. We’re so clearly not a “covers” band. Some groups are good at tackling other people’s stuff but not us.
You can pick any one band / artist to cover one of your albums in full, what would it be, and why? Eddie Shit. He could maybe have a crack at “Symphonies Of Sickness”. It’d be nice to hear those tunes with his vocal delivery and the necessary lyrical alterations.
One band you wish you were able to see live but never had the chance? One venue you have yet to play that you would love to? Humble Pie. Hammersmith.
The chance comes up to fill in for a member of a band for one tour, which band would it be, and why? Well, it wouldn’t be one of my favourite bands… I’d probably ruin it!
A headline tour overseas comes up, tell us two bands you’d take along to support your band. Not sure about that one, to be truthful… But if we were to reverse that scenario, two bands we’d like to support would be King Diamond and Slayer.
PLUG TIME
Got any final words? We reach the hallowed land of the Antipodes in mid-April and are very much looking forward to seeing our brethren there.
TOUR DATES

NAPALM DEATH
With guests CARCASS and EXTORTION
APRIL
16th – Capitol, Perth [18+]
17th – Prince Bandroom, St Kilda [18+]
18th – Factory Theatre, Marrickville [18+]
19th – The Hi-Fi, Brisbane [18+]
—> Tickets available now.
—> For more information, visit [Here].

TOUR POSTER
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