| Blackstar were one of the best
bands that I ever saw live. I didn’t even know at the
time that the band were essentially the Carcass line up
that had recorded the much maligned “Swansong” opus,
minus Bill Steer and with the addition of former
Cathedral musician Griff, until I saw them take to the
stage at the old Bradford Rio’s. Swansong had been
universally panned by the critics, confused as they were
by that albums wayward insistence of having a classic
metal approach and eschewing all but the faintest of
death metal. The band (and in particular Bill Steer) had
grown to dislike the heavier side of rock music and the
“wall of guitar” production of Heartwork, their most
successful (and arguably influential) album. Striding
out onto the stage, a truculent Jeff Walker spat into
the microphone, “Death metal is fucking over, get over
it”. Now that was an entrance.
Carcass imploded messily, smarting
from the stinging words of the hacks and disillusioned
with the music business. Blackstar was really a labour
of love, though disappointingly, it seems from most
recent interviews that Jeff has taken to speaking ill of
the album. There is no doubting that this is an album
that took preconceptions and conventions of metal and
threw them into the nearest bin. While the resurrection
of death metal was well under way by 1997, this was
really a good time rock based metal album with some
completely left field elements. Having loose, groove
laden guitar work, Barbed Wire Soul owes generous debts
to the twin guitar attack of Thin Lizzy, along with some
of the polish of the Megadeth of the period in terms of
the full fat production, courtesy of long-time Carcass
collaborator, Colin Richardson. That a NWoBHM influence
should be found within the work of the much-hallowed
Walker and Owen was scandalous enough, but added to this
mix the inclusion of a brass section and saxophone solo
alongside the frequent and joyous anthemic guitar licks
was enough to ensure that a number of the rock critics
of the day were scratching their heads, desperately
trying to categorise the band.
The sarcasm and humour that had
always been a feature of Walkers lyrics, but they
reached a refreshingly honest and frank peak on Barbed
Wire Soul. Many of the songs dealt directly with the
period of disintegration and media interest that the
guys in Carcass had been forced to endure. On opener
“Game Over”, Walker rasped, “Please criticise me / come
analyse me / Because I can take it all”. Elsewhere, on
“Give up the Ghost”, he seemed to be almost mournful
when he sang “So you don’t know what you’ve got until
it’s gone / Can’t change the tune, but I sure as hell
can change the song”. The ache and weariness of life in
the music industry was played out in the steam rolling
“Rock n’ Roll Circus”, while the candid nature of the
introspection of being in a new band on “New Song” was
tempered, as ever, with trademark black humour “Seems
like I am stuck in my old ways / Bitter jaded and
vitriolic / Yeah I have got the lot”. Musically, the
boys were on top of their game too. No, there weren’t
any of the extreme flourishes of the godly Necroticism,
nor any of the melodic death metal of Heartwork, but
this was honest to goodness heavy metal that put a smile
on your face. As testament to the brilliance of the
album, within a week of having it, no less than four of
my friends went and out and bought their own copies.
Tragically, shortly after the
release of Barbed Wire Soul, drummer Ken Owen suffered a
brain haemorrhage which rendered him incapable of
playing rock drums, and Blackstar were disbanded with a
whimper. Aside from this album, the only record that
remains of their work rests on the Peaceville “X”
compilation disc – a couple of cover versions (Thin
Lizzy – Running Back to You and Husker Du – The Girl Who
Lives on Heaven Hill). Their true legacy rests with a
timeless and still remarkably fresh sounding album that
never really got the attention it deserved. Truth be
told, although I am a huge Carcass fan, I’d much rather
see a second album from Blackstar than from an obviously
dysfunctional reformed Carcass – at least then I’d know
they weren’t just in it for the lucre.
Because I love you all, here’s a
brilliant track from the same album. Enjoy. |
