Paul Groome of Drop-d recently conducted an interview with CARCASS guitarist/FIREBIRD frontman Bill Steer. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
Drop-d: Your guitar playing style differs greatly between CARCASS and FIREBIRD. Did you find it difficult to change your way of thinking back to CARCASS, or was it like fitting into an old glove?
Bill Steer: It was actually. I was really apprehensive. I didn't know if I was capable of playing that style of music. But it ended up being just like flicking a switch. I just locked right back into it. I later realized that, because of so many gigs and rehearsals and recording with CARCASS, it was sort of programmed into my muscles. So it ended up being quite easy. The most interesting thing was getting back into that whole scene though. It's a whole other world that I hadn't been involved in for such a long time. And also playing to huge audiences, which was very weird for me.
Drop-d: Yes, I had heard that Jeff [Walker; bass, vocals] and Ken [Owen; drums] were very aware of the influence that CARCASS had on the metal genre but it was something that really surprised you…
Bill Steer: Yeah, it's true. I really was quite sceptical about the whole thing, and then once we were out there….wow! What a shock! I realized quite quickly that in some ways CARCASS are more popular now than we ever were in the old days. And also it's attracting a lot of younger people who were scarcely alive when we were doing our thing. Which is really great…I mean, if the music stands up THAT well with people who don't have a nostalgia factor, they just like the records from hearing them recently, that's all to the better.
Drop-d: Did you find the chemistry between Jeff Walker, Michael Amott, Daniel Erlandsson and yourself when you first got back together to jam?
Bill Steer: Well, it started off with Michael and I just getting together in his kitchen. That was just the first step. Rather than get a whole band in a room, and find out that it doesn't work or whatever, we thought, let's just try this one-to-one without any pressure. And it was fine, yeah. I've played with several guitar players over the years, but with Mike, I really felt there was something going on. We would spur each other on. He would come up with some great riffs, and the inspiration I would get from hearing him playing would get me going… Those older records were full of moments like that.
Drop-d: And would it be enough get CARCASS back in the studio?
Bill Steer: At the moment, it's simply not practical. I wouldn't rule it out entirely. That's just foolish. I mean, I think I was quoted once as saying, "I'll never play in CARCASS again," but here we are… But ARCH ENEMY are extremely busy, and there's a fair amount of pressure on Michael and Daniel to limit their involvement with CARCASS and concentrate on their main thing, ARCH ENEMY. So I really think something drastic would have to happen before CARCASS would release a new recording.
Read the entire interview from Drop-d.
CARCASS performed at this year's Gods Of Metal festival, which was held June 27-28, 2009 in Monza, Italy. Watch fan-filmed video footage of the concert below (courtesy of "ginmetal").
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