Exhumation ‘Opus Death’ | Death Metal | Dunkelheit Produktionen

1. Soul Wanders 2. Upon Our Hordes 3. Witching Evil 4. Possessed 5. The Sleeping Darkness 6. Graveyard Alike 7. Labyrinth of Fire 8. Ironheart 9. Hymn of Death 10. Lullabyss

Indonesia has been one of my favourite countries for extreme metal in the last few years. It’s a primitive but powerful scene, and with that primal attitude, the Indonesian bands are unleashing band after band, album after album of the most raw and unrefined metal that I’ve heard in a long time. Remember what the first few Mayhem albums felt like? Or Possessed’s ‘Seven Churches’ and Morbid Angel’s ‘Altars Of Madness’? Those records came out at a time when the players in their respective scenes were most concerned with playing fast, playing heavy, and s that forced them to headbang and scream their goddamn heads off. Those of us who know our metal can hear the difference in a band like Exhumation; there’s a definite vein of Eastern Asian tradition to the guitar lines, but ‘Opus Death’, the band’s second record, takes that root and blankets it in an unholy celebration of everything that extreme metal originally brought us; relentless brutality, a fuck-the-mainstream attitude, and wildness. They achieve this with fast, thrashing riffs, a-tonal guitar leads, vocals that make one imagine the vengeful demons of Dante’s Inferno, and a propulsive percussive element that provides an elephantine pulse to the whole sound.

Granted; have you heard this sound before? Yes, of course you have. Have you heard it emulated in recent times? Again, yes. But, have you heard any other young band delivering this sound with honesty and spirit? Not to mention the fact that so many extreme metal bands, although good, are paying more attention to the mechanical precision of every last note, nuance and beat that some people describe them as soulless. Exhumation have delivered an extreme metal album with soul. 1349, who claimed their latest album tapped into some ‘Unholy source of inspiration’ failed to deliver on lofty promises. Exhumation are sounding dark, evil and downright cool, simply by offering up a rallying cry to those who wish to brutalise the old way. Now bang your fucking head. facebook.com/hailexhumation Label: dunkelheit-produktionen.de

Rating: 5/5

By DANIEL .R. WARNES for Taste Of Khaos Facebook