1. Creation (intro)
2. Book of the Dead
3. The Slaughter Begins
4. And There was Pain
5. Deep Red
6. Parade of Chanting Ancients
Comment:
The return of this mythic band from Florida!! New stuff by one of the band that by the end of the 80's defined the sound of true Death Metal together with bands like MORBID ANGEL, DEATH, POSSESSED... The cult is alive!!
Not so long ago I reviewed Exmortis entire back-catalogue and I enjoyed every moment of it. Now it is time for a brand spanking new MCD to go under the knife. Will it be just as good as the old stuff but different or will it be just as good as the old stuff but a continuation. That this will be good I have no doubts about. How could it be anything but good? Death metal the old (but not old school) way can never be wrong. And boy is this great stuff. From the word go (after the intro) I’m blasted away by the shear attack of Exmortis death metal. That we all are pushing 50 seem to have no impact on either Brian Werking or me. This is the Rolling Stones/Beatles of my generation. This is the music we will take with us to our graves. Who cares if our loved ones don’t get it? We were there and we will be there till the end. Looking for the latest melodeath band, look elsewhere. Looking for some pretty damn fine death metal, look no further.
Exmortis main-man Brian Werking has suffered through lineup problems since this band’s inception. At one point, twenty years ago, the rest of the guys all mutinied and tried to take the name with them, eventually changing it to Horror of Horrors, but for a while there were two Exmortises. After a few tracks on tributes albums around the turn of the century and a pair of demo/rare tracks compilations earlier in 2011, Werking finally appeared to be ready to bring back Exmortis full time, and I could hardly wait to hear it. Once again, a stable lineup was apparently not possible, and from what I can tell, it seems as if Werking had to record everything himself for this short EP, and it sounds like it, with what appears to be a (well programmed) drum machine and no audible bass. Discounting the intro and outro, there’s really only about 14 minutes of music here, and that’s not much to go on. I don’t have any complaints about this long-awaited return of Exmortis’s decidedly Thrashy Death Metal, but even after 443556 listens, it isn’t really sticking with me after it’s over. A beefier production would have helped, but in any case, this EP feels more like a taste of things to come than anything else. Hopefully Werking can recruit a stable band to back him up and return soon with the very first full-length Exmortis album in the band’s nearly 25 year existence.
Originally formed in 1987, this US Death Metal band really has something in their arsenal to blow the cobwebs away in this recent inclement period of the year. Stinking with heritage and history, Exmortis are a three piece, with Brian Werking remaining the only original member on vocals and guitars. Couple that with the fact that Werking recorded the album in that death metal sanctuary Florida.
‘Book Of The Dead’ kicks off this EP proper, this powers into classic US death metal, and being positioned in Maryland and with its Deathfest; I cannot think of a more suitable location for this band to exist. Over these 6 new tracks, Exmortis terrifies your grandmother and bestows a level of camaraderie, almost a blood brotherhood. The roots sound that strong, ‘The Slaughter Begins’ takes up the speedier chalice and certainly gives you thoughts of Death and Autopsy colliding with early Slayer. But rather than saying it sounds like this, it sounds like that, the basic information you need is that this is authentic first wave US death metal. There may be many young pretenders and many bands who follow a slightly different ‘Left Hand Path’ as well as the Florida styled sound, but make no mistake about Exmortis are the real deal.
You have your riffing delights, like those on ‘Deep Red’ and you have a mix a slower earth shattering nastiness and heart attack inducing speed all over the place, but I can honestly say, there is not a weak moment on this EP. The only downside to this release is the fact that it is an EP, you will be left wanting more, more rotten nastiness, more terrifying screams and howls, and I would imagine that you will eventually get what you desire as I cannot see the buzz around this re-activated/comeback release dying anytime soon, especially not from these quarters.
USA's Death Metalers EXMORTIS have a new EP out titled "Resurrection... Book Of The Dead". EXMORTIS also have recently had a release of their old demo material and EP in one album titled "Darkened Path Revealed". Their new comeback EP runs at just under 18 minutes with a total of 6 tracks and leaves the listener wanting more. We start out with an interesting intro titled 'Creation' and then quickly jump into the chugging guitars of 'Book Of The Dead'. The track is your back to basics Death Metal and has a thrashy sound which fluctuates from mid tempo to fast tempo. The vocals remain guttural and remind me of POSSESSED. The solos on this song are just insane and really fit the rest of song. 'The Slaughter Begins' really rips the speaks wide open and shows how well these guys can still carry their own. Head banging guitar riffs and a hint of Thrash thrown in to add some spice. Don't expect double bass at 250 bpm, these guys keep it old school and simple with the bass drums on this song. Don't get me wrong the drums are still badass but the band shows that you don't need an insane amount of drums to get an awesome song. 'And There Was Pain' is where EXMORTIS shows a bit more in the songwriting and guitar chord structures. Chugging guitars in certain sections and blasting in others keeps the song entertaining. The song flows very well and punishes the listener with blast beats then quickly stopping before the lethal dose kicks in. 'Deep Red' has a "Seasons In The Abyss" - era SLAYER feel to it that I think compliments the EP very well. The guitar solos once again do not fail to impress and help carry the song to the next level. Overall a killer song that stands out not only for its unique guitar sound but is well written. The outro 'Parade Of Chanting Ancients' is an eerie piece that finishes off the EP in a simplistic manor. Overall this EP is well written and the production value compliments the music. EXMORTIS have really proven that they still have that "It" factor that makes them an excellent example of how to keep the torch burning throughout the years only to make a propelled comeback. Modern Death Metal bands take note as these guys helped set the bar and will not be dethroned without a fight.
Exmortis is a band that was formed in 1987 in Maryland and therefore can be counted to the First wave of death metal bands. Juts like many others from that era their success was minimal. Their 1989 demo ‘Immortality’s End’ is their highlight. After that demo the band fell apart although several different incarnations tried to get the band up and running again.
Now the band has returned after a long hiatus with guitarist/vocalist Brian Werking as the leading figure. Other original members are not involved anymore although drummer Aantar Lee Coates (Diabolic) was a possibility for a minute. In 2011 two different compilations with old material by Exmortis were released and last December this MCD with four new songs and an intro saw the light of day. Musically this is still old-school death metal with lots of thrash metal. It’s not that strange that early death metal simply was called thrash metal back in the day, death metal, for a large part, evolved from thrash metal. The tempo is pretty fast but don’t think about blast beats or anything like that, it’s more the tempo of old Kreator for instance. This is one of the bands that influenced the sound. Next to that you’ll have to think of bands like Possessed, Death and Slayer to get a bit of an idea. So definitely for the fans of the old-school sound. The production is solid although I miss a bit of bass. The guitars sound great though. So, a successful renewed introduction to Exmortis of which we can expect a full-length later this year.
Última edición del año 2011 por el sello Xtreem Music, y se trata nada más y nada menos de un Mcd de la veterana banda Americana EXMORTIS. El título que han puesto a este trabajo es el de “Resurrection…Book of the Dead” después de cuatro Demos, dos Ep's (añadiendo este último) y dos recopilatorios en toda su larga historia como banda ya que llevan desde 1987. Esto demuestra que EXMORTIS siendo una gran banda con mucha constancia y trabajo han tenido mala suerte en su camino, pero puede que cambie a partir de ahora siendo reconocido su música como un aplastante Death Metal sin añadidos.
Realmente Death Metal sin más mezcla de estilos es lo que vas a encontrarte en esta nueva andadura (aunque nunca se fueron) de esta banda Americana. El Mcd presenta seis cortes entre ellas una intro y donde cada tema supura en un alto porcentaje el viejo estilo de bandas Suecas, si nadie te comentase que este trabajo es del año 2011 fácilmente podría trasladarse a los año '90 del siglo pasado sin ningún tipo de miramiento. “Resurrection…Book of the Dead” es fundamental para aquellos que les guste las viejas glorias, con ritmos de guitarras rápidas y una voz cavernosa e infernal como en el caso del cantante de la banda Brian Werking. Un trabajo que cuando quieres darte cuenta termina y te quedas con ganas de mucho más, es un gran síntoma para esperar con gran atención su primer larga duración oficialmente después de 25 años en activo y que sin lugar a dudas tiene que ser el doble de aplastante que este Mcd.
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