Well that didn’t take long. After drummer Matthias Voigt of Heaven Shall Burn debunked rumors that he was playing on a new Carcass album, we started to question the rumors all together. However, in an exclusive interview with Decibel, vocalist/bassist Jeff Walker confirmed that the reformed Carcass IS working on their first album in over 16 years.

In addition to confirming that they’re working with producer Colin Richardson, Walker also states that Daniel Wilding of Trigger The Bloodshed is playing drums in the group. He also reveals that they’re still looking for a touring second guitarist (though not interested in a “name” player), while the album will be released sometime in 2013 through a yet-to-be determined label. But why has Walker and guitarist Bill Steer decided to record a new album after so many years? Here’s Walker’s explanation:

“Good timing, eh? Twenty-five years we first recorded Reek of Putrefaction. The incentive was off Bill. I’d verbally expressed an interest in doing something but I needed Bill to have the desire and hunger again and that’s exactly what has happened. He recalled watching Dan Wilding play on tour with us in 2008 and something about him struck a chord and he wanted to work with him. There was something about him that kind of reminded him of Ken, on a personal level as much as his playing. We’ve done this recording firstly for ourselves—there’s no label backing even as you read this—in fact me and Bill have spent a small fortune out of our pocket to see this through—it’s more of an artistic/personal statement than anything.”

Walker also goes into details regarding how the album’s sound is shaping up so far (apparently some tracks will feature Steer’s death metal vocals!). Check out the entire interview over at Decibel’s website.

[picture taken by Tim Tronckoe]