Live Review: Carcass, Rome

There really couldn't have been too many better choices for tonight's support slot than locals Rome. In this incarnation, they've only been on the circuit for a short time, but when you take four ex-Devolved members and amalgamate them with Todd Hansen, the speed-drumming machine from The Berzerker, the results are always going to be fucking brutal. Surely soon to be ranked among the heavyweights of the national scene, tonight's set is likely a preview of many great things to come. 

When Carcass were last in town, back in 2008, they were the meat of a colossal sandwich, stuck between Down and Meshuggah. Each band played the Arena, respectively, over three nights running. While it was the proverbial wet dream of all wet dreams for many heavy music fans, Meshuggah, on their debut Australian  tour, were more than enough to overshadow the Carcass experience and fade its memory to a near-amnesiac state. Fortunately tonight the British grind legends have the time and space to fester in all their glory, and fester they do. With three projectors bathing the stage in all manner of garish imagery, including autopsy videos, the band serve up a balanced helping of young and old. They're pretty eager, however, to get to the core of the matter, and they do so through their most classic cadaver. After the brief 1985 intro they delve into Heartwork with Buried Dreams, Carnal Forge and No Love Lost not too far behind. By the time their sound comes into full effect, towards the end of the latter, they're coming across fierce and dynamic. For all the qualities of their music though, it's actually frontman Jeff Walker's hilariously sharp-witted between-song banter that delivers the most surprises and elevates the set to the next level. Whether it's having a stab at Australia for the Aboriginal genocide, or his, “What was the name of the venue we played five years ago? The Arena... more like the Commode” gag, he's on satirical fire at every turn. After Walker repeatedly taunts the crowd about their lack of physical enthusiasm and stamina, the band leave the stage around the 3/4 mark to serve punishment; that is, a dose of technicolour dance-pop. 

They reappear to tell the story of their newly-returned backdrop, stolen 20 or so years ago on the Brisbane leg of their first Australian tour, resuming with another run of songs and eventually the joyously-titled Corporal Jigsore Quandary rounds out the set. An encore is signalled as the Swansong cover art is splashed over the screens. And though there are no surprises here, Keep On Rotting In The Free World and Heartwork's glorious title track bring it home in buckets of bloody fun.