Miscellaneous rumours and information

Fact or fiction? The truth is out there!

Items with a [JW] by them are due to Jeff Walker, who's probably a pretty reliable source of information. For the latest rumours, be sure to join our on-line unofficial fan club!

Oh yeah... I don't really have the time or inclination to update this very regularly, so feel free to send me e-mail and I'll tell you what I know. --slayer@imsa.edu

• Black Star are close to signing with Peaceville/Music For The Nations, and will be recording in March-April, again with Colin Richardson. To dispell random gossip, neither Bill nor Jeff has had cancer (!), Bill didn't join Mahogany Rush, become a Christian, etc. Instead, he's trying to find musicians for his 70s retro thing, but is apparently having a few problems doing so. [MN, 2/18/97]
• Daniel from Australia tells me that Bill is apparently staying with his girlfriend in Sydney, giving guitar lessons, and that he's rather quiet, particularly on the subject of Carcass. (rumour has it he's become a born-again Christian, though this is apparently a bit dodgy)... I guess his blues project is on hold for the moment... also, it seems that Black Star has signed with Peaceville Records... [Nov 2 '96]
• Wake up... will be released in a black jewel box in the U.S. since the stores had some objections to the cover; the video is slated for release two weeks later, on Nov 19th. [JW, end of Oct '96]
• Apparently, Black Star is going on a UK tour in October with Anathema and Cathedral. [September 13 '96]
• From Earache... the Carcass compilations should be released on November 5, in the U.S. at least. The CD is called Dead and Buried, and is slated to contain five songs from the Swansong sessions, four songs from the Radio One rock show, three songs from the Heartwork sessions, four tracks from the Tools of the Trade E.P., two tracks from the Pathological compilation, and one track from the Grindcrusher compilation. The video is supposed to have two full concerts from their early years, "never before released," and is apparently called Wake Up and Smell the Carcass. Earache promises "the artwork will be as extreme as ever, so check it out!" (I heard also that some of the studio videos will be on the home video, such as Keep on Rotting in the Free World, No Love Lost, etc.) (this compilation was supposed to come out on October 15th originally, but since this is Carcass, it was predictably delayed). (oh yeah, the artwork is supposedly JFK's blown-apart head - I bet the band's pleased about that, hmm?) [August '96]
• Miscellaneous stuff... Carcass's B-sides compilation will be out in September, called Dead and Buried... I think it's supposed to feature the five unreleased tracks from the Swansong sessions, the tracks from the Tools and Heartwork E.P. tracks, and the Pathological compilation tracks. In other news, Mike Hickey's band has a demo available (any news on contact information, etc.? I saw it in a zine a couple of days ago, but I lost it), and Mike Amott is now playing in a band called Arch Enemy, reportedly doing material heavier than Heartwork. Oh yeah, Black Star recorded a seven song demo some time ago, but that's old news now, I'm just too lazy to update this regularly. [July 13th '96]
• It seems Swansong will be out on June 10th in Europe and the U.K., while those of us in the U.S. can still look forward to a release in a couple of weeks. It will be released in a special limited edition brain-shaped C.D. during the first week of release only. There are also plans to release the two singles (Tools and Heartwork), the five songs recorded but not released during the Swansong sessions, plus other rare tracks such as the Pathological compilation tracks, in the form of a compilation in the future. [May 21st '96]
• Reek and Symphonies are apparently going to be re-released in Japan with the original artwork. Reek supposedly contains two extra tracks, and the Heatwork E.P. will be "included in the pack." In other news, Jeff Walker's new project is called Black Star. [Renato, May '96]
• Apparently, Earache is re-releasing all of its albums which were on the Columbia label with bonus tracks. This includes Heartwork. [May 19, '96, Hate Box e-zine]
• (This is a synopsis of all that I've learnt over the past couple of months, but haven't put on there before now... May '96). Swansong will be out on June 4th, worldwide, but without some of the tracks recorded for the album (see Earache's web page for details). The missing tracks may be released at a later date, along with the group's BBC radio session and the two Heartwork E.P. tracks. Bill Steer is apparently now rehearsing with Year Zero, the last I heard, while Mike Amott has reformed Carnage.
• The Bjork remix has apparently been released, in Europe at least, on the single for Hyperballad. A Killing Joke remix will be released in the UK in March for the song Democracy. [JW, Feb '96]
• Bill Steer and Mike Amott are apparently no longer working together, as Amott recently went back to Sweden. Bill is now just 'hanging out', while committing unpardonable acts of blasphemy (he apparently now believes himself to have wasted eight years of his life in Carcass)... meanwhile Jeff, Carlo, Ken, and Griff (ex-Cathedral/Year Zero) have ten new songs written, along the veins of those they wrote for the upcoming Carcass album (specifically Keep on Rotting in the Free World and Black Star). This project is no longer Carcass, however, and is apparently even "more rock n' roll" than the new Carcass material. [John, JW, Jan/Feb '95]
• The new album will apparently be out sometime in May, as the band basically just has to "sign the dotted line" with Earache. There are absolutely no plans to tour, as Jeff states an interest in looking ahead to the future [JW, 1/14/96]
• The new album may be called Corporate Rot, or possibly Swansong. (The former Jeff's choice, but due to various objections the latter is under consideration). Regarding cover art, a painting has been done by the artist who used to do art for Crass. [JW, 12/15/95]
• Click here to see the latest news, thanks to Carcass's manager. [11/20/95] (although Jeff points out a lot of this info is pretty inaccurate... any conflicts were entirely due to musical differences, and there was no chance of the band ever touring again, as Jeff had decided to call it a day in October)
• Disturbing news... rumour has it that Bill Steer has left the band. A recent Metal Hammer article mentioned some sort of a split, and RAW said that their upcoming album could be their last opus. [Thanks to John for this upsetting information... 11/16/95]
  The rumour was confirmed from another source, as Steer is apparently dissatisfied with the band's new material. [11/16/95]
• I just called Sony, and apparently Carcass is no longer signed with Columbia. They were apparently dropped sometime before June, and are no longer on the roster. [11/16/95]
• From Terrorizer magazine (November '95):

  Year Zero has been joined by Jeff Walker of Carcass for some of the band's current UK dates. Walker, not to mention the other members of Carcass are apparently getting increasingly frustrated with their own label, Colombia Records. Their new album has been recorded but is still waiting to be mixed. The slow progress has resulted in Walker deciding to keep his hand in by playing with his doomster buddies..."

  [Thanks to Kari for sending this to the mailing list, 11/15/95... JW later mentions this never actually happened however]
• The currently rumoured title is Dismemberment [November '95]
• Earache is still getting paid for the album, as it contains a track from the Heartwork E.P. (possibly Rot n' Roll as that was a rumoured title for the album) [November '95]
• Carcass's new effort has been recorded, and has reportedly being mixed. Apparently Columbia has been having reservations about signing the band after hearing what they've "unleashed," according to rumours on alt.rock-n-roll.metal.death. [Apparently, the album had to be remixed, which may have contributed to the delay in release, as the original mixing was done around April '95]. The track listing is as follows: (as posted in alt.rock-n-roll.metal.heavy several months ago...)
  • Firmhand [Steer made reference to Third Hand in an interview]
  • Generation Hexed
  • Edge of Darkness
  • Room 101
  • Emotional Stateline
  • Black Star
  • Tomorrow Belongs to Nobody
  • Blood Spattered Banner
  • Ever Increasing Circles
  • Keep on Rotting in the Free World
  • Cross My Heart (Hope to Die)
  • Polarised
  • I Told You So
  • R**k the Vote
  • Child's Play
  • Ministry of Truth
  • Go to Hell
  The originally slated release date was September 25, but it seems likely we'll have to wait until the middle of January, just like Heartwork... also, Generation Hexed was recently featured in the October 28th issue of the British magazine, Kerrang...
  There's further information in an article at one of the other Carcass pages... apparently, this time Walker's written a couple of songs, and Carlo Regadas (the new member, replacing Mike Hickey) has also contributed to the music...