Coming from Whittier, California (LA area) we have the interesting and somewhat original sounding Exmortus. With riff work that is comparable to many thrash bands such as Destruction, Megadeth and Slayer and yet at the same time they have a good deal of death metal influence from bands like Nile, Morbid Angel and Death; not just in the vocal department either. Lastly, they seem to even borrow from the over the top shredders of the neo classical movement (ex Yngwie Malmsteen and The Great Kat). Finally after a few demos they have released an album, In Hatred's Flames and this album will burn you alive.
The album opens with no intro and no apologizes as it goes right for a nut shot with the title track. Sweeping solo work descends and ascends throughout the rest of the album. No track feels like a repeat of the last one as the riff structures have a good solid difference between them but, that sweeping solo work does get to feel a bit repetitive and uninspired as you listen to tracks like the instrumental "Axes of War". That track tells me they probably shouldn't do instrumentals in the future as they will just spend the whole song soloing and not add structure like they do with the songs with lyrics. Still the band is entirely built upon the dual guitarist dynamic and their lead and rhythm work. They work in a very complimentary fashion. They don't just trade off each doing their solos, no, they actually add to each other. Triumph of Fire has some phenomenal dual lead work that transitions straight into rhythms then back to the lead melodies. I call it guitarist without ego. They know that they sound better together. Bass work is....well this is a metal band the bassist is always a percussion instrument but, try to have a band with no bass and you know why you need a bassist. This is probably why the bassist does the vocals. He has some great vocals too. I wouldn't expect a voice so deep and guttural from this guy as they are all fairly young (early 20s). The lyrics which he unleashes are very battle oriented. Its all about fury, war, battle, might and the traditional topics metal seems to delve into. The highlights for the vocal melodies are in the song War Gods. Great chorus from where I stand and I could see the dynamics of it working well in a live setting. "WE ARE THE WAR GODS!!! RAISE UP YOUR AXE OF WAR!" Drums are speedy death/thrash metal style and make the guitar sound even faster. A last note on the production of the CD. These guys didn't use no stinkin' Pro-Tools and can play their fucking instruments. Listen to the start of Onward to Battle and then say this with me, Dragonforce are pussies. With those chops being able to be played in a natural setting where the computer isn't keeping you in time is fucking amazing. The finished production is clean but still has nice unpolished qualities to it that is only heard in some old death and thrash metal albums. Overall, the CD is very solid and being only 7 tracks it is easy to listen to it from start to finish and fully enjoy every second. Hail to Exmortus and may you burn in Hatred's Flames.
83/100; Excellent start and the length is perfect for the material but, the solos feel repetitive and uninspired as if they weren't sure what to do so they just go up and down the scales.
09-02-2007, 07:52 PM
