Interviews

Duane's World: A Quick Chat with Carnal Viscera

Duane James

May 28, 2024

7 min read

Carnal Viscera have been bludgeoning the ears of Australian metal and grindcore fans since their first show in 2018 and with upcoming supports with the likes of death metal titans Nile and Skeletal Remains on the cards, this hard touring five headed behemoth have quickly built a reputation as one of the Aussie undergrounds most entertaining live acts.With the announcement of one of the scene’s best drummers joining their ranks, the next 6-12 months in the Carnal Viscera camp are going to be anything but dull.I got the chance to have a yarn with frontman Tom about their much anticipated touring schedule, being co-owner/operator of Grindhead Records, hosting live metal shows on a boat around Sydney Harbour and the addition of their new drummer Luke Boyd, formerly of 12 Gauge Rampage."Yeah. We have been in talks with Luke from 12 Gauge Rampage. He told me he was no longer being the drummer for that band. So I saw an opportunity to work with one of Australia's best drummers and took it. Because that would only elevate our sound. He's just such a chill dude. So he fits our vibe internally as well as hopefully musically. I think with his speed and his technicality, it’s only just kind of make us tighter.During that conversation, I was like, if you're fucking leaving the band let me know man, because we need a drummer. I've seen your work and it's amazing. So he took quite a few weeks to think about it, and then I pestered him a little bit more. I was like, 'What's your thoughts on it, dude?' And he was like, ‘Yeah Nah fuck it, I'm in 100%’.”

Tom had to give a shoutout to the lads who’d filled in behind the kit for Carnal Viscera in recent times.“We've been lucky enough and fortunate enough that we've managed to work with another two of Australia's greatest drummers. Connor from Gosika and Junk (Jake) from Nembutolik. Jake has put blood sweat and tears into actually making sure that we stay a band while we went through the processes of trying to find somebody to work with us full time.”So when can we expect to see Luke behind the kit, especially with important shows like the upcoming Skeletal Remains and Nile shows ahead?“What we've discussed was Jonk would be working with us for at least the next three shows. So he'll be doing the Skeletal Remains shows with the Your Mate Bookings, and the Camden show that we've got coming up. Luke will be starting the processes of writing and recording with us up to the point of Nile. Then we'll be doing the Nile tour with him and then we'll go into a short hiatus to hopefully come out strong with an album early next year.”Getting that Nile support is a huge get for Carnal Viscera. What was it like getting the news of landing that gig?“I don't think it's really honestly sunk in. They're a fucking fantastic band, one I've listened to as a kid. I'm sure a lot of people have. It's a similar thing to when we did the Exhumed, it was just very surreal. Going to have to take a leaf out of the guys from Black Rheno's book and stop and take a moment to enjoy it while it's going on. But yeah, I don't think it'll hit me until the work is actually done. I'd be like, Get fucked. I played with Nile.”In addition to fronting Carnal Viscera, Tom is also co-owns and operates Grindhead Records, a four person operation that represents and promotes artists in the local underground live scene. One venue that Grindhead has secured is Sydney Harbour’s floating dive bar Simo’s. “Yeah that has been an exciting experience getting it to the point where it is even at now. We’ve been running shows on a boat in Sydney Harbour called Simo’s and hopefully we'll be able to continue to, into the next few years. Sydney's an extremely hard market to work in. It's very competitive, and it's very expensive. So we've been working our way through, even to our own massive detriment, the best way to achieve an affordable location for punters, but also a fun location for bands to play.”The chance to play on a boat on Sydney Harbour has been a draw card, not just for local bands, but international artists as well. Former Emperor bassist turned electronic musician Mortiis set sail in March, while Japan’s cockroach moshers Viscera Infest will make their way aboard from Japan in August.“Those dudes are the sweetest dudes ever. We reached out and asked, 'Would you like to come?' And they said yes. That's gonna be a lot of fun. Those dudes have been absolutely fantastic. I don't think they speak very much English at all. So most of our conversation has been through like Chat GPT and translator online. But I think we're all on the same page.”[gallery type="rectangular" columns="2" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/436227089_3852677708389801_3033705190523781260_n.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/435972633_840986478049712_5815138293461174730_n.jpg|"]Grabbing these international acts is important but bolstering the local scene is their primary focus. In the wake of covid, local artists filled the stages of Australia and in doing so created an impressive roster of Aussie talent. But now with the huge influx of international acts, it’s become far more difficult for our bands to get gigs at a time when iconic venues are facing closure as times are financially tough and Sydney's live scene is becoming a little crowded. So how does Tom see the local live scene surviving “With the flood of international acts coming back too, unfortunately that’s doing a lot of damage (to the local scene). It’s kind of knocked out the availability for a bunch of these really cool bands to get a shot because there’s just so much going on. But I think in places like Western Sydney, and all the surrounds of Sydney, they’ve still got these little cool bastions of metal. I think that’s going to be part of the future of the scene, watching those areas grow. Like Elton Chong’s (in Penrith) for example. Might’ve been one of the most responsive for the dirtiest grindcore bands I’ve ever seen. We’ve had massive crowds for that venue. So I think it’s going to be, watch the outskirts of Sydney and see what happens in those areas.”Definitely a part of it all is Carnal Viscera. With one of the best drummers in Australia now in the ranks, a slew of huge shows ahead of them and the promise of new music on the horizon it’s going to be a massive and interesting few months ahead. They’ve risen through the ranks and are ready to take charge while strengthening the local scene in the process.“Two of the things we’re going to try to do is, get the biggest we can, and work with the smallest we can. If we can do both then I think we’ll be doing well.”Amen.Words by Duane James@duanejames666