Artist: Exhumed
Label: Relapse Records
Release Date: 8/15/00
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Title: Slaughtercult Artist: Exhumed Label: Relapse Records Release Date: 8/15/00 |
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Abyss's Review:
Goregrinders Exhumed follow up last year’s Gore Metal with a brand new flowery sound that incorporates an entire string section, and lyrics that are beautiful and thought-provoking at the same time. The many acoustic passages are flowery and seductive, and the new, clean vocals remind me of a Supremes-era Diana Ross.
"A gore spattered death/grind album with a cover that makes a point to remind you as to what humans look like... on the inside." O.K. you got me, that was all bullshit. What Exhumed have really come up with is just what you’d expect, a gore spattered death/grind album with a cover that makes a point to remind you as to what humans look like... on the inside. To be honest, I’ve seen Exhumed at a lot of festivals (it seems like they hit every one), and while I’ve always liked them, I was never persuaded to pursue a further knowledge of them. I thought of them as a cool band to watch while drinking beer, but I wasn’t really looking for any sort of commitment (I’m such the gigolo, kind of like David Lee Roth but with a better hairline). This being the case I’m not very well acquainted with their previous efforts, so I don’t have much basis for comparison. I also have no idea if they’ve "grown" or "matured" since their last album. Somehow I doubt they have. This genre isn’t really know for it's evolution. Let's face it, Goregrind is basically a soundtrack to drink beer to, bang your head, and gross out your girlfriend.
So with all that in mind, I’ve gotta say that I’m digging this album. These guys aren’t the most talented band in the arena, but they definitely get the job done. And while these guys aren’t doing anything I haven’t heard before, what they are doing, they do very well. I like the fact that these guys don’t take themselves too seriously, and as a result this album can be summed up in one word. Fun. That’s what I keep thinking while I’m listening. This album is fun. I actually find myself smiling while listening to it. I can’t really explain it because blood and guts isn’t really a smiling type of thing, but I catch myself doing it nevertheless. Every song on this disc is pretty cool, and even though this band is very derivative (solos are way Slayer-esque) of a lot of other stuff, the talented songwriting keeps it afloat. The riffs are quite catchy considering how fast and brutal they are, and the rhythm section seems in constant overdrive. So my advice is to pick up this album, get drunk, don’t think, and just enjoy.
"Pick up this album, get drunk, don't think, and just enjoy."
Death's Review:
Kreator. Blood. Blast beats. Carcass. Gore. Dive-bomb guitar leads. Napalm Death. Chainsaws. Spiteful vocals full of hate. Slayer. Butcher Cleavers. Downtuned riffs and harmonized guitars. Destruction. Intestines hung up like sausages. Unrelenting speed. Sodom. Elements of each of these have been digested into the bile in the vomit which is Exhumed.
Exhumed obviously love metal. Each paragraph of the 2000 Exhumed press biography weaves in song titles from a different band which influenced them. Examples: "The next two to step into the circle of the tyrants were Matt Widener on volcanic vibrations and Ross Sewage on necromantical screams," or "The curse of lineup changes was still haunting the chapel when Derrel was told to fuck off and die. His replacement was a mortal in black, Leon del Muerte, who took over the thrashing and crashing guitars. The new terror squad participated in riots of violence with Vital Remains, Benumb, Sadistic Intent, and Man is the Bastard." Goes on for two pages like that. Fucking awesome. I thought for a moment about doing my review like that...
"The terrible certainty about Slaughtercult is that these symphonies of sickness are all lessons in violence..." "The terrible certainty about Slaughtercult is that these symphonies of sickness are all lessons in violence..."
...but realized that writing like that doesn't really make any sense. Or does it?
Anyway, Exhumed deliver unrelenting death metal with an old school thrash aggression and feel. Slaughtercult feels faster than Gore Metal, with a bit more of the low vocals. The record overall seems designed for those of you who appreciate old Slayer (listen to the lead on "Slave to te Casket") and Kreator (80% of the vocals sound so much like Mille would if he were singing this shit it is scary), but nowadays are definitely looking for something faster and more extreme in your new releases. "Decrepit Cresendo," or say "Funeral Fuck" have a Kreator-at-their-most-extreme feel, while "Slaughtercult"'s slow, basic riff which bookends the speed reminds me of Death's Scream Bloody Gore record for just a second.
"Exhumed deliver unrelenting death metal with an old school thrash aggression and feel." This mixture of the old-school aesthetic thrash and the old-scool aesthetic death (each sampled from an era when the distinctions between the two weren't quite so crystalized, with the ante appropriately raised on the gore imagery to accomodate for evolving societal shock levels and waning taboo) captures an attitude and feel which is largely lost on modern metal acts.
In short, Exhumed keep the spirit of thrash alive in the extreme metal underground, while guaranteeing that another generation of metalheads will be able to piss off their teachers and scare the shit out of the other kids by wearing their favorite metal band's t-shirt to school.
Hel's Review:
Consider for a moment, what do you expect the follow up to Gore Metal to sound like? What do you think the cover will look like? If your answer to the first question is rapid, aggressive riffing and general metal pounding and pummeling; and your answer to the second is horror-movie blood, gore, and atrocities – you would be correct.
"This is a damn fine release. In fact, some might say it's gore-tacular!" If you are unfamiliar with Exhumed, I would recommend familiarizing yourself as soon as possible. If you are familiar with them, why don’t you have this yet? If you do have it, I suspect I’m just preaching to the choir. But allow me to continue to elaborate for the uninformed.
This is a damn fine release. In fact, some might say it’s gore-tacular! The music is unrelenting manic chaos and contains charming lyric imagery, as evidenced by song titles such as "Funeral Fuck" and "Dinnertime in the Morgue". You can tell from just that, this is going to be fun.
On this album you will find time changes aplenty, which add depth and texture to already interesting songs. There are tons of shredding guitar solos as well, and frequently you will hear dual death vocals harmonizing. "Forged in Fire (Formed in Flames)" is a catchy little ditty, and "A Lesson in Pathology" features some incredibly thunderous double-bass pounding.
"Prepare yourself for some serious grinding, slashing, slicing, and dicing." Sure, I may not be the most objective individual when it comes to judging an album like this, any Abyss-like moron could tell you that this is exactly the kind of shit I like. But that really doesn’t matter. All you really need is to prepare yourself for some serious grinding, slashing, slicing, and dicing.
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