Carcass’ return to the fray this year was the highest in profile among a number of notable death metal reunion efforts in 2013. It was also on the receiving end of the most before-the-fact stink-eye. Not without reason, many Carcass fans have never accepted their early-’90s turn away from grindcore and toward clean-toned melodic death metal. Given Carcass’ divisive catalog, the nearly universal praise that Surgical Steel has earned says a lot. The main thing it says is: These tunes are insanely well-written. This record doesn’t move far beyond the sound Carcass established 20 years ago with Heartwork, but it also doesn’t lose a single step on the songcraft front. Heartwork is one of the best and most influential death metal albums ever recorded, so yeah, these aging sluggers could’ve done worse. Flawless performances, massive tones, and timeless riffs — this is what heavy metal is all about. –Doug [LISTEN]