Carcass ( band ) Carcass From left : Jeff Walker , Michael Amott , Bill Steer , Ken Owen Origin Liverpool Country England Years active 1985 — 1996 Genres Goregrind ( early ) Death metal ( mid period ) Melodic death metal ( later material ) Labels Earache Records Carcass were a British death metal / goregrind band formed by Napalm Death guitarist Bill Steer together with drummer Ken Owen in 1985 . They were based in Liverpool . On their first demo , an Indian named Sanjiv did the vocals . In 1987 , bassist and vocalist Jeffrey Walker , formerly of the Electro Hippies , joined them . Carcass have been a very influential band within the death metal scene . History The band focused on topics mostly relating to the medical field and bizarre combinations of medical equipment and chemicals with human anatomy , such as `` Intenacious , intersecting / Reaving fats from corporal griskin [ ... ] Skeletal groats triturated , desinently exsiccated '' . This lyrical focus led many in the music press to falsely believe that one or more members of the band had studied medicine . There is more evidence to show that this lyrical focus was a method of pushing vegetarianism ( For example , `` Exhume To Consume '' ) . Typical Carcass song titles from their early work include `` Lavaging Expectorate of Lysergide Composition '' and `` Microwaved Uterogestation . `` Having started their career as a goregrind band , Carcass gradually changed their sound and lyrical content . Starting with Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious , the careful listener could hear music-theoretic experimentation beyond the atonal noise of previous work and the music of their peers . Their best-known album , Heartwork , was largely devoid of the gory lyrics and grind style that had been present on their earlier recordings , with a cleaner , more melodic sound , but retaining occasional forays out of more complex harmonies into amodal grind . With Carcass having signed to Sony before the release of Heartwork , some fans regarded the evolved sound as proof of the sellout they had expected . In contrast , many were very receptive to what was perceived as a new zenith of talent and composition in death metal , showing a command of motif development and harmony that is underappreciated even within the metal community . In fact , today some credit Carcass with being a very early founding influence for not just one , but two genres of metal - grindcore ( or , more specifically , goregrind ) , and the melodic death metal sound . Michael Amott left the band right after Heartwork was recorded and was for a while replaced by Mike Hickey who was later replaced by Carlo Regadas . Carcass broke up after releasing Swansong , which drew some criticism from fans for its melodic riffs which in some ways bordered on late 1980s thrash . Ken , Jeff and Carlo continued with the Blackstar project accompanied with former Cathedral bassist Mark Griffiths . Blackstar ( Later Blackstar Rising ) went defunct after Ken suffered from a severe brain haemorrhage . Michael Amott went on to found hard rocking combo Spiritual Beggars and Arch Enemy , a successful Swedish death metal band . In the biggest musical departure , Bill Steer reappeared in Firebird , a Claptonesque guitar-rock trio . In June 2006 , in an interview with Walker , he discussed the possibility of reforming Carcass , but it is unlikely that Steer will participate . Members Bill Steer - Vocals , Guitars ( 1985 - 1995 ) Jeffrey Walker - Vocals , Bass ( 1987 - 1995 ) Michael Amott - Guitars ( 1990 - 1993 ) Ken Owen - Drums , Vocals ( 1985 - 1995 ) Mike Hickey - Guitars ( 1993-1994 ) Carlo Regadas - Guitars ( 1994-1995 ) Sanjiv - Vocals ( 1985-1987 ) Discography Studio releases A Bomb Drops ... ( 1986 , Demo [ as Disattack ] ) Flesh Ripping Sonic Torment ( 1987 , Demo ) Reek of Putrefaction ( 1988 ) Symphonies of Sickness ( 1988 , Demo ) The Peel Sessions ( 1989 ) Symphonies of Sickness ( 1989 ) Necroticism - Descanting the Insalubrious ( 1991 ) Tools of the Trade ( EP ) ( 1992 ) Heartwork ( 1993 ) The Heartwork EP ( 1994 ) Swansong ( 1995 ) Compilation albums Wake up and Smell the ... Carcass ( 1996 ) Best of Carcass ( Japan 2-CD ) ( 1998 ) Flesh Ripping Symphony ( Bootleg ) ( 2003 ) Choice Cuts ( 2004 ) Videos Reek of Putrefaction Corporeal Jigsore Quandary Incarnate Solvent Abuse Heartwork No Love Lost Keep on Rotting in the Free World DVD `` Wake Up and Smell the Carcass '' ( Two full live shows and all music videos ) External links Carcass videos Categories : Vegetarians | British heavy metal musical groups | Grindcore groups | Carcass | Death metal musical groups | Peel Sessions artists In other languages : Deutsch | Español | فارسی | Français | Bahasa Indonesia | Italiano | עברית | Nederlands | 日本語 | Norsk ( bokmål ) | Polski | Português | Suomi | Svenska Carcass From left : Jeff Walker , Michael Amott , Bill Steer , Ken Owen 1985 — 1996 Liverpool England Goregrind ( early ) Death metal ( mid period ) Melodic death metal ( later material ) Earache Records 