Sweden has produced its fair share of death metal bands.  Bands such as Carcass, Dismember, and Entombed (for the first few years of their existence) have all found success on some level.  Now, another band is ready to grab success by the throat and cut it open with precision.  The practitioners that make up General Surgery are in and they want to perform surgery on your eardrums and anything else that they see fit.  Guitarist Joachim Carlsson and bassist Andreas Eriksson took some time to talk to Metal Psalter about the band’s long road to success and their new album Corpus in Extremis: Analysing Necrocriticism, as well as offer a prediction of what will happen when they head to this year’s Maryland Death Fest.

Peter: For those who are just getting to know about General Surgery, would you say a few things about the band?

Dr. Andreas Eriksson:  Gore soaked death grind.

Dr. Joachim Carlsson: Old school, filthy, rotten music, and quite a lot of bad humor involved makes this a fascinating endeavor for me, personally.
 
Peter: What is it about the themes your band covers in the songs that fascinate you?

Dr. Eriksson:  Death, or perhaps not the events leading up to the moment of death, but more of a post mortem theme. Could it be more final and fascinating than that?

Dr. Carlsson: Mostly death, dying, and/or the dead or variations thereof. It's an endless supply of fun!
 
Peter: Seemingly, in the last three years, business has picked up for General Surgery, with Left Hand Pathology coming out in 2006, followed by some shows. How has that time benefited the band's ability to handle all of the things that come with being in a band?
 
Dr. Eriksson:  A lot, I would say. For instance, the old timers in the band have gotten to know us newcomers a bit better, so we're not treated as prospects or apprentices anymore.

Dr. Carlsson: People tend to take you slightly more serious after you have released an album, to put it that way. All of a sudden, we're not the novelty act anymore, but something that can draw a crowd on our own. As for being in a band, it's nothing new for anybody, we handle it very well, what with all the (mostly) ups and (some) downs. 

Peter: This year brings out a new album for the band in Corpus in Extremis: Analysing Necrocriticism. What are some of the details that you can give in terms of production and recording?

Dr. Eriksson:  We recorded and produced everything ourselves this time; except for some help with the mixing, that is. It was very intense work for a couple of weeks in late November last year. We are very excited to get out and play shows on this record and we're all very happy with the final outcome now that the album is out.

Dr. Carlsson: Well, we think it's the best one so far, and easily the album we've put most work in, so far. I think it's more cohesive and flows better than the first one; also, there's more variation to the actual material, which can be attributed to the fact that we approached the writing in a much more collaborative fashion than before. All in all, I think we did a very good job and I haven't heard much that would suggest the opposite. Of course, you can't please everybody, but that has never been our goal. 

Dr. Carlsson: Well, we think it's the best one so far, and easily the album we've put most work in, so far. I think it's more cohesive and flows better than the first one; also, there's more variation to the actual material, which can be attributed to the fact that we approached the writing in a much more collaborative fashion than before. All in all, I think we did a very good job and I haven't heard much that would suggest the opposite. Of course, you can't please everybody, but that has never been our goal. 

Peter: How do you feel the new album is an improvement on what was established with Left Hand Pathology?
 
Dr. Eriksson:  The new album is a bit slower all in all, I think, and it's also groovier and the songs are catchier, as well. More classic death metal and less grind, even though we do still blast a lot.

Dr. Carlsson: More or less, I think we have improved in every aspect on this record as opposed to LHP. So, we're going in the right direction without making compromises.  It's a bit slower than LHP, but that is by our own choice. We can't do the same album twice in a row. 

Peter: This year also marks the band's return to Maryland Death Fest. Having played at the festival before, what do you expect this time around?

Dr. Eriksson: Anything less than total mayhem would be a disappointment.

MDF is an awesome fest and the crowd really seems to like General Surgery over there, so it should be lots of fun.

Dr. Carlsson: I expect to be very drunk and miss at least 80% of the bands, which is par for the course when I attend the MDF. I also expect a good show, good times, and good drinks. That's about it, really. We seem to be quite popular at that fest so I really don't worry about it.

Peter: Are there any other shows planned in the near future?

Dr. Eriksson:  Death Fest Open air in Germany, mid June.  It should be fun!

Dr. Carlsson: As always, there's constantly some proposals up in the air, so we'll see what happens after the summer season is over.
 
Peter: Is there anything else you want to add?
 
Dr. Eriksson:  Our new album Corpus in Extremis - Analysing Necrocriticism rules.  Check it out!

Dr. Carlsson: See you on the road, or even better, see you in the morgue!

Erik Sahlström: Vocals
Joachim Carlsson: Guitars
Johan Wallin: Guitars
Andreas Eriksson: Bass
Adde Mitroulis: Drums

Formed: 1988 
Stockholm,  Sweden
Label: Listenable Records
Genre: Death Metal/Goregrind

CURRENT LINE-UP:

General Surgery

May 10, 2009

Interviewer: Peter

DISCOGRAPHY:

Necrology EP (1991)
Various Demos & Splits (2003-05)
Left Hand Pathology (2006)
Corpus In Extremis: Analysing Necrocriticism (2009)

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Click here for Peter's Review of General Surgery's
Corpus In Extremis: Analysing Necrocriticism

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