CARCASS
JEFF WALKER
THE HAMMER INTERVIEW
Played on Red Dwarf. Namechecked on Friends. Responsible for nu metal?! Whether you’re a diehard fan or death metal noob, chances are there’s still plenty about Carcass you don’t know. Frontman Jeff reveals all…
WORDS: DAVE EVERLEY
• PICTURES: ESTER SEGARRA
Few people do dry irony like Jeff Walker. Carcass’s singer and bassist has just been recounting the tale of their 1996 album, Swansong, a record that could’ve fallen into a major label black hole if they hadn’t wriggled out of their deal. “It could still be gathering dust on a shelf,” he says. “Some people wish it was.”
This arched-eyebrow view of the world in general and the music business in particular has served him well since co-founding Carcass with guitarist Bill Steer and original drummer Ken Owen in 1986. The Merseyside band’s initial trajectory saw them transform from pathology-fixated grindcore malcontents to major label death metal powerhouse, before a sudden split in 1996 brought it all screeching to a halt. Yet absence makes the myocardium grow fonder, and a 2008 reunion saw Carcass greeted like returning heroes.
While the band’s post-comeback work-rate has been slower than before - upcoming album Torn Arteries is their second since reforming – Carcass’s status as one of the most influential bands of the last three decades is unassailable. “We’re just some death metal band,” says their neverknowingly-overstated frontman. “That’s all we ever wanted to be.”
What band made you want to do this?
“Probably the Sex Pistols. They were the first band I got into when I was nine or ten. They were brilliant. I didn’t think, ‘This is a punk band.’ They were just playing rock’n’roll.”
What was your first band?
“I joined a band called Bomb Culture around 1985. It was very 80s, very postpunk – synths and drum machines. Then I joined [crust-punks] Electro Hippies for a bit before I got kicked out.”
How did your parents react when you said you wanted to be a musician?
“There wasn’t a conversation. I get on great with my parents, but they knew fuck all about my bands until Carcass were on MTV in the 90s. Then suddenly they’re proud. But when you’re a longhaired layabout doing fuck all, they’re not so proud.”