Band: Exhumed Country: San Jose, California
Style: Death Metal/Grindcore
Label: Relapse Records
Back when I was first getting into death metal, the original stuff, not melodic or progressive, but the real stuff, I stumbled upon goregrind. The likes of Carcass and Cattle Decapitation really got me going, for one reason or another, and I eventually found Exhumed. Sure, maybe they weren't as consistent as I would have liked, I'm referring solely to that cover album, "Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated," but they always had great material.
I'll get this out of the way immediately, like Carcass, who are one of my all-time favorite death metal acts, Exhumed has always made use of the dueling vocals, the guttural lows and the higher-pitched screams, something I love hearing. Besides that, you gotta love that this thing just makes the grinds forward without mercy. This is brutal and disgusting, maybe a bit too polished for some, but still just fantastic gore metal. I also have to say that this is a great line-up, how can you really go wrong with a line-up with Danny Walker, Leon del Muerte, and Wes Caley in it, along with Matt Harvey, but that's really a given at this point. This is no-nonsense death metal/grindcore done with passion and attitude, fuck yeah!
I love a death metal band that can write a hook, and these songs are just bubblegum sweet with them. I have to say that besides the vocals, there are some moments on here that just catch my ear as being very Carcass-esque, the middle riff of Your Funeral, My Feast and the harmonies in I Rot Within just scream of "Heartwork." The songwriting on here is just fantastic, not a bad track on here, to be honest, just great riff, memorable guitar and vocal lines, but still brutal and disgusting as ever. The drumming is just great, though I wouldn't expect anything else from Danny Walker, just fantastic fills and blast-beats through the roof. Like I said, I already love the guitars and vocals, but the bass, while not overly big sounding in the mix, is certainly heard and, actually, provides a low-end to this album, hear tracks like Necrotized or Funereality for those low-end bumps. Plus, song-titles, album closer, So Let It Be Rotten... So Let It Be Done, awesome, and the title is too.
I don't like to curse in reviews very often, but this is just fucking great, very few death metal albums have gotten me this pumped up and energized while listening to them. This is easily one of the best death metal albums I've heard this year. This comes highly recommended, if you like death metal and grindcore in any way, you have to hear this.
Overall Score: 9
Highlights: As Hammer to Anvil, Distorted and Twisted Into Form, Necrotized
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