Interview with Bill Steer (Carcass, Firebird)

Bill Steer, Carcass and Firebird guitarist, replied to our interview at the Rock Your Brain Fest (Sélestat) and speaks about his musician past, compositions methods into Carcass but as well about the future of Carcass.

Hello Bill ! Thanks to have accepted this interview with Guitariste-Metal.fr ! How is Carcass going ?

This is not the first festival we’ve done this year because we did the Hellfest, Fall of Summer and now we are doing Rock Your Brain. This is unsual because normally we only play one festival in France a year but the two last festivals were great so I hope that this one will be great too.

What were the influences of the band when you created Carcass and now ?

When we started the bandI would say we were very influenced by the underground death metal scene. And when I say underground, I mean the days of tape trading. For example, a band like Death. We love them, but it was particularly the demos, I do not want to sound like an elitist because I hate that kind of position, but their sound was so raw, and that is really what kicked us off. I guess when “ Scream Bloody Gore“ came out we loved the album, but it didn’t have kind the same edge as the “Mutilation” demo. But I can see how that happened because it was a new thing for a band like Death to go in a studio and make an album for a semi-respected label. It was a new thing for all these bands, and not only for Death, but also ourselves. When we had “Reek of Putrefaction” recorded we were not ready to do that at all. It took a while to communicate with engineers which never record extreme music and don’t really like what we’re doing.

Ok we have to back to the point so early influence of the band was bands like Death, Master Repulsion, Macabre, Insanity…. A lot of underground bands. Once we were up and running some of us drifted back to bands we liked as kids. In my case, that would be things like Motorhead and Thin Lizzy. Some of that came into the music, too. All of us have tended to love Mercyful Fate and King Diamond. There are a lot of different types of old metal, really.

Speaking about that, Jeff Walker told, in an old French magazine, around the Heartwork release, that he was a big fan of Europe and it was quite surprising for a young French metal fan like me !

We haven’t really been the kind of people who just listen to extreme music. I would say that maybe, in a period of my life, for 2 years in my teens , I was a kind of “musical facist”. By the time I was 18, I was already going back to music I liked as a kid, like Tank.

How do Carcass compose a song ?

The album was written by three persons, that was Jeff, Dan and myself. It was exactly like the old days, we would start with a bunch of riffs that I brought in, things I had jammed on and that I was happy with. That is the beginning of the process. But it takes a while because the tunes I would bring in can turn up radically different after the others guys have been involved. Jeff specially is very good at arrangements and coming up with ideas I would have never thought of. So sometimes the initial raw material is very different from the end result.

Ok thank you ! And what about the lyrics, does it come after the music ?

Yes, Jeff does the lyrics after, usually. I do not know what his process is but he works very hard on his records. Everytime, Dan and myself do a rough rehearsal demo of a tune, Jeff comes with his arrangement ideas. Once we had some kind of basic recording of it, he would have lyrics and finished vocals within a week. He was really inspired, I mean everything we did in that period was very focused and energetic, it was just so much fun raising the album.

Could we say that Jeff lyrics are still relevant today ? I mean the lyrics he wrote in the 90’s and the one from the latest album.

I think so because with Surgical Steel I have had the impression that the people have judged it on the title, maybe some song titles or the sleeve-out. So they assumed that Carcass is going back to surgical gory lyrics but that is not really the truth because if you actually look at the lyrics of each song it’s completely different subject matter but he’s done it in a very clever way which will keep both set of people happy. For people who want the old vibe, it’s there. But people who want something a little bit more substantial… A lot of lyrics are quite political, some are personal, it’s very idiosyncratic to Jeff Walker, his world views, it’s very personal to him.

Let’s speak about you if you agree. What is your gear, I mean guitars, amplifiers and pedals ?

I use Gibson Lespaul Customs, I have both of them, a 76 and 77. The guitar is not yellow but it became like a weird creamy kind of color. The other one is a burgundy, or wine red as some people call it. I use any strings really from whichever company gives a cheap deal. I use this blue Dunlop picks, the blue Tortex 1mm.

Speaking about the amps, on the record you are mostly hearing the new Fender EVH amplifier (5150 III). But when we do festivals you are really at the mercy at whatever they want to give you. If you are lucky, as tonight, you have the 5150 head, which is really similar.

We just came back from a tour in Asia, and it was kind of random. You’d get one of the new Marshall heads which sound a bit fizzy. I love Marshall for old rock, or for early heavy metal. I’m not a fan of the recent amplifiers they made and I don’t really understand what they’re trying to do.

In addition, about the gear, I do have a tuner, a noise gate, a MXR micro amp. It’s the tinyest little boost for some moments, just not solos, but also for single string parts. It doesn’t really sound different, it just a little bit thicker and it might boost the level a fraction.

What about the tuning of the Carcass records ?

It’s always B, everything is down of 5 offsets.

Could you please speak about your beginning as a guitarist ?

I guess I start really to get into music particularly with Saxon, Motorhead, Iron Maiden. I guess it was just a natural thing, you wanted to have some of that excitement for yourself. Iw anted to play, even if I was only 12 years old. So gradually I got into guitar. I had a friend of the family show me how to play a few chords. And I just kind of took it from there. Playing lead guitar was a mystery to me in those days. But it’s an ongoing process. You are never happy with how you play, unless you’re being a maniac. I think maybe around 16, I was messing around. I did not really know what I was doing. Gradually I found things that work for you, certain groups of notes that work with certain chords. I didn’t have musical theory in school. I still don’t.

Any guitar heroes ?

The guys in Iron maiden, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Dennis Straton before. Fast Eddie Clarke of Motorhead. I saw the Woodstock film when I was a kid, so naturally Jimi Hendrix. And Alvin Lee from 10 years after Rory Gallagher. Those are some of the early people who excited me. When I watched those, I thought I would love to be like them when I get old. Now my favourite guitar players may be slightly different, I’ve explored more found players who have really impressed me.

As an established guitar player, what advice can you give to a new player ? How can he improve his playing ? What was your trick to get better ?

There is no substitute for playing as much as you can. ‘Cause I think about the period between the second album, Symphonies, and the third, Necroticism, there are definitely a jump in the playing levels, for all of us. And that came from doing our first proper tours, playing at home, taking rehearsal more seriously, all of those things. Being self scritical. We’ve been around older, more experienced players, for example when we toured the States with Death. They’ve been around longer than us and could play better. I went home with that fixed in my brain. I wanted to get on their level. I am not saying we ever did. But it was our goal. The other side, besides practicing, is listening. I think a lot of players don’t listen. They just want to shred, regardless of what’s happening underneath musically. That’s like finger exercices. It’s impressive in its own way, but does not make great music. You got to do something that resonates with the musical environment, cause people to feel something. Just playing relentless finger exercises at high speed is just a massive turn off for me.

You’re the inventor of grindcore and melodeath with Carcass. How is it different to play blues with Firebird as a guitar player ?

Very different. Although I would have to say, in my opinion, that Firebird is not a blues band. People tend to say that, but to my ears, that was a hard rock band, influenced by older music, and it’s got a blues-y edge to it. But to me blues is… well, you’re either looking at the original country blues artist, like Charley Patton and Robert Johnson or you’re looking at the original electric blues artist, like Albert King or Freddie King. I don’t think we touched that at all. We couldn’t. I can’t play blues. It’s hard rock with a blues-y feeling. But yeah, it’s a totally different discipline. There is so much more oxygen to the music. Every night, myself and Ludwig, the drummer in Firebird, we would play everything slightly differently, because you can with this kind of music. With extreme metal, there isn’t really much room for manoeuvres. I would certainly change a few bits and solos. But there is not a lot you can get away with. It’s way more disciplined. You can’t go there, all drunk and sloppy. Although I have, on occasion, but that’s an accident. I don’t like doing it. With Firebird, it was easier to sort of be loose, and being in the moments. It was a good thing to do. It was almost like going out there naked, because you don’t have effects. I just plugged directly into the amp, there was no second guitar behind me.

Could you tell us more about your involvement with Angel Witch and Gentlemans Pistols ?

Angel Witch came about because I am good friend with Will, the bass player. The band has had countless line-ups over the years, any Angel Witch fan would know this. Kevin found himself back in South London, and looked for new members once again. And he pulled together a new version of the band featuring Will Palmer and Andy Prestridge. There was another second guitar player at that time called Chris. I think that line-up lasted 2 or 3 years. For some reasons, they were having problems with Chris. And they called me, asked “would you wanna do this, as second guitarist ?” and the answer was a straightforward yes, because I love Angel Witch. It’s one of my earliest favourite bands. It was a nice feeling of completing the circle, going from that 12 year-old kid listening to the album over and over again in your room to actually be able to play the songs with the guy who did all the music. It was very exciting. I guess I played with those 2 years. Luckily there were no clashes. I was in 4 bands at the same time. It was messy, but we managed to do it. We hit a certain point where I could see there would be problem with the schedules. Carcass was getting busy again, and I just spoke with the Angel Witch lads and said “look, I can tell there is going to be some issues with date clashes. So if you’d like to find someone to replace me, that would probably be best for you and for me. “ And that was it. They got a new guy called Tom Draper, which is really good. But yeah, I loved it, it was so much fun to do.

With Gentlemans Pistols, I have been playing in that band even longer. I think it’s what, 4 years ? So I had known them for a while. Back in the Firebird days, we toured with them and all became good friends, and I love the guys as people. And as musicians, I love the songs. So I was kind of a fan of the band, but we were mates. When they had problems with their lead guitarist, they called me. I was very keen to do it. I played on the second record, and there is a third one yet to be released. Probably early next year. So yeah, it’s been a very quiet time with that band, the last 12 months, due to label and line-up problems. But I am really excited to see what happens with this record comes out. Cause the songs they have written (and I say they cause I did not write anything, I just play lead) are great.

You play different styles, but I can tell it’s always you playing. I think you have a sound and a signature when you play. It’s very melodic. You are eclectic.

So now we are just reaching the end of the interview…What is the future for Carcass ? A new record ? More touring ?

The touring seems to go on and on. If I remember correctly, we spent a long period of time on the album. The writing process was, looking back, fairly quick. Then there was the recording process with ended up being longer than we expected. The main reason for that is actually the mixing phase. At that point, Colin Richardson, our producer, lost faith in the band. What it really came down to is that he did not really want to do the record any more. So we had to find somebody else. It took Colin a while to actually confront his feelings and tell us. Once he did, we got Andy Sneap and instantly there was a resolution and we had a finished album within 4 nights. It was brilliant. Hats off to Colin for what he did during the recording. He was good. But we’re so grateful to Andy for saving the project cause it was feeling kind of desperate for a few months. So suddenly, there was a time when we would have to actually release the record and naturally we would have to play live. We had to quickly find a second guitar player. That’s Ben Ash. He came ready. We started doing shows. There was a few little bits. There was a few low-key club dates in London. Then we did the South American tour. From September, which is when the album came out, up till now, we have just been non stop touring.

Yeah, you can see Carcass at all festivals…

Yeah, it’s been great. It’s been exhausting, too. But I like to get busy, and the other guys do, too. So that’s nice. We just got back from the Asian trip. Then we’re doing this (the festival in Sélestat), then we go home for 2 days. Then we go to America for another tour. Then we have a South and Central American tour. And then I guess it’s Christmas. I’m hoping that, after New year, we can start working on new material, because, of course, we would like to do a new record.

Please, put some spoken samples at the beginning of songs !

Yeah, we will probably think of that !

Do you have some final words for the french fans or guitarists ?

Thank you to all people who supported us, and especially the people who came down to these last 2 festivals and made them so enjoyable. We did not necesarrily go in with high expectations, we thought “yeah, this is going to be worth doing, it’ll be fun”, but I was very shocked at how good the response was. I think that, in Europe, France has probably been the most surprising for us in terms of being way better than we thought it would be, because you cannot take these things for granted. There are certain europeans countries where we do well, others where we do really badly, so we’re grateful for what we have !

We’re done. Thank you for the interview!