Artist: Exmortem
Label: Earache Records
Release Date: 2/8/05
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Title: Nihilistic Contentment Artist: Exmortem Label: Earache Records Release Date: 2/8/05 |
Judgment Committee Reviews | Rating |
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3 | ||
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3 | ||
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Abyss's Review:
I have to admit, I'm having trouble not thinking about Insision when I think of this band, another European act with a decidedly American death metal sound. And since this band is Danish (they're from Danelandia?) I'll forgive the awkward album title. Exmortem is a band that has been around for a long, long time . . . and yet I'm not sure I've ever actually heard them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if two years from now I get their next album and still can't remember if I've ever heard them. This is because this band simply isn't very memorable.
"One word review: Good." Of course, that doesn't mean they're bad, either, just not remarkable. The annals of metal history are chock full of quality, but forgettable acts, and I believe that is where Exmortem are destined to end up. If this all sounds harsh, it isn't meant to be, because I actually like this album. But liking it and suggesting someone go out and spend some hard-earned money on it are two completely different things. I mean hell, I get these things for free, so it's a lot easier for me to enjoy it than some kid that might have only enough dough to buy one album this month.
The only people who definitely need to get their hands on this album are those who miss the mid-90s era of American death metal. Morbid Angel especially, with some nuances of Immolation and Suffocation. And granted, this album is much better than Heretic and on a par with Souls To Deny, it just doesn't stand out in any way.
The production is actually quite good, the guitars have a great buzzsaw sound and the music is clear enough so that the listener can appreciate the technical intricacies laced throughout the record. This becomes most evident on "Black Walls of Misery" which sounds like it could've come off of Morbid Angel's Covenant. Not bad company to be in, for sure, but it's hard to forget it's emulating something that's over a decade old.
I like this band . . . I really do, I'm just not sure I'm going to remember them in six months. One word review: Good.
Death's Review:
Solid, well-produced, brutal death metal. What you expect is what you get from Exmortem. Cool, death metal riffs; Aggressive, death metal style. The music is good, for example, Ex-Dimmu Borgir drummer Reno returns to the fold and provides a performance highlight. Song titles like "The Human Rape Symphony" and "Division of Genocide Pleasure" help to tell the tale. There's nothing overly original happening here, but that's probably the point. True, pummeling death metal sometimes is just what you crave, and this stuff strikes me as a touch more proud and idealistic than your standard fare. I’m not sure this is the most important thing you can be spending your money on right now, but to give you a frame of reference, personally, I'm jamming new Kreator, Impaled, Overkill, Dark Tranquility, High on Fire, Soilwork and Jon Oliva's Pain, and eagerly awaiting the new Judas Priest and Life of Agony albums. If you're looking for something a bit more hate-filled, underground and brutal that's new for 2005, Nihilistic Contentment wouldn't be a bad choice.
"Solid, well-produced, brutal death metal."
Hel's Review:
I’ve never really spent any time with Exmortem until now. Now that I have spent some time with Nihilistic Contentment, I have a sense of why that may have been. Exmortem play competent death metal. In theory, this is a band that I would readily embrace. In reality, while I did appreciate this album, I failed to find anything particularly compelling about it.
"Nihilistic Contentment is an undeniably enjoyable album." The instruments are skillfully played and the songs are coherently written. Nihilistic Contentment is an undeniably enjoyable album. However, in many ways it repeatedly strikes me as merely competent. What this album ultimately fails to do is knock me on my ass. And at this moment in time, what I’m really looking for is that very knock.
I know that Exmortem has been around for a while now, and there is obviously good reason for that. I was entertained during my time with the record and do not regret having come to know it. On the other hand, I really am not certain it will make its way back into my player all that often. This is an album worthy of the time of the truly obsessed. Those looking for the ultimate in cream of the crop may not be fully satiated.
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