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░ ██ ██ Artist: Exhumed ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Death Revenge █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2017 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2017-10-17 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Death Metal ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Relapse Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ Innovation is an unlikely event at this point in █
█ the trajectory of California's Carcass-inspired █
█ death-grinders Exhumed, but I'm not sure if it's █
█ even needed. If they can consistently deliver the █
█ goods like they have with their 6th full-length █
█ (discounting the comps and re-recording of Gore █
█ Metal), and sound like they're having a whole lot █
█ of fucking fun doing so, then I just don't see █
█ myself growing the least bit bored listening to █
█ it. This is not a band which has ever let me down, █
█ not to say that all their records have been █
█ equivalent with one another in quality, but there █
█ isn't one among them that I'd put on and not enjoy █
█ to some extent. Having said that, Death Revenge is █
█ the most entertainment I've had since Anatomy is █
█ Destiny in 2003, and it wisely carries forward a █
█ lot of the little permutations they first made on █
█ that album to glorious results... █
█ In fact, I think Death Revenge serves as a sort of █
█ retrospective of all their output, perhaps never █
█ going quite as visceral or heavy as Gore Metal or █
█ Slaughtercult, but certainly putting the pedal to █
█ the deathgrind and keeping pace with some of their █
█ faster canon when it needs to. Much of the writing █
█ here is of a mid paced, clinical death/thrashing █
█ variety, consistent with Necrocacy and All Guts, █
█ No Glory before it, very heavily focused on eking █
█ out memorable riff patterns and then splattering █
█ them with all manner of wailing, amusing heavy █
█ metal leads. Exhumed started to take on a more █
█ melodic quality on that third album which they've █
█ maintained, and it simply adds so much more █
█ variety then had they just kept channeling █
█ Symphonies of Sickness or Necroticism. They never █
█ quite go full on heavy metal or rock & roll like █
█ their inspirations did as the 90s wore on, but █
█ keep the progressions punchy and intricate, with █
█ lots of flash and flair, as in cuts like █
█ "Defenders of the Grave" and "Dead End", busy and █
█ kinetic enough to mask the fact that you've █
█ probably heard most of these riffs before, and not █
█ afraid to splay you out with the meatsaw blasting █
█ when it fits. █
█ The mix is clean and balanced, maybe a little too █
█ dry or polished in places, but to make up for that █
█ it delivers clarity between the rhythms, leads, █
█ percussion, snarls and gutturals, even the bass as █
█ it pops and plunks and thunders along, often using █
█ a lot of simpler, sustained notes under the █
█ kinetic guitars to give the sound a nice █
█ roundedness. The leads here are every bit as █
█ precise and competent as on a Surgical Steel or At █
█ the Gates' At War With Reality; a component of the █
█ band that has become so important in that it █
█ precludes them just endlessly aping their first █
█ two albums, which were much more unhinged in that █
█ department. The blasting is furious enough to █
█ balance off against the headbanging mid-speeds and █
█ breakdowns. What's more, there are lots of subtle █
█ little nods here to thrash and death metal icons █
█ of past and present, specifically a few evil █
█ Slayer-like progressions or moments where you feel █
█ like you've been submerged in some long lost Death █
█ track from the late 80s. Lots of details for █
█ something that is essentially as straightforward █
█ as past outings. █
█ Furthermore, this is just aesthetically █
█ satisfying, with an orchestrated, cinematic █
█ piano/synth/string intro well worthy of horror █
█ classics in the 70s and 80s, reaching a huge █
█ crescendo before the bands kicks up the grave dirt █
█ and twists your head off in its zombified arms. █
█ The artwork choice is really fucking awesome, a █
█ folded up poster look from some cult US or Italian █
█ cinema which is more than likely gonna involve █
█ mobile corpses or some psycho you're not going to █
█ want (or get) a second date with. The lyrics are █
█ genuinely excellent, with a lot of effort put into █
█ them and a lot more elaborate prose than your █
█ typical gore mavens, a really cool grave robbing █
█ theme and narrative set in early 19th century █
█ Scotland! All the pieces are in place here, █
█ perhaps not for a true classic of the decade, or █
█ even a year's end contender, but just an extremely █
█ competent, seasoned record that seems rather █
█ timeless in its appeal despite the fact that it █
█ doesn't have all the best riffs and vocals exactly █
█ where you'd want to shove them. I even kind dug █
█ the cover of Exodus "A Lesson in Violence", if █
█ only because it was cool to hear them try some █
█ blasting and Schuldiner-like growls in it, instead █
█ of copying it straight up. █
█ Just a great album for applying your Halloween █
█ prosthetics, or kicking back some drinks while you █
█ wait for your buds to show up for a slasher █
█ marathon. Easily recommended to fans of Impaled, █
█ early 90s Carcass, Ghoul, Ex Dementia or the last █
█ three records by this very band, Death Revenge █
█ proves yet again that Exhumed is one of our very █
█ best, dependable American death metal acts, where █
█ so many of its peers and precursors flicker, █
█ falter and occasionally fuck right off. █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Introduction: Death Revenge Overture 2:21 ░
░ 2. Defenders of the Grave 3:51 ░
░ 3. Lifeless 4:00 ░
░ 4. Dead End 4:57 ░
░ 5. Night Work 3:22 ░
░ 6. Unspeakable 3:47 ░
░ 7. Interlude: Grave-Makers of Edinburgh 1:35 ░
░ 8. The Harrowing 3:58 ░
░ 9. A Funeral Party 2:21 ░
░ 10. The Anatomy Act of 1832 7:28 ░
░ 11. Incarnadined Hands 3:23 ░
░ 12. Death Revenge 3:25 ░
░ 44:28 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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