Review: Exhumed ‘Horror’

What more do you need to say about gory death metal icons and legends Exhumed? Well nothing really, as their musical legacy will always speak much louder, so simply put Horror is their newest work and it fits into their discography as neatly as a mortician’s saw through bone. Continuing their 2010s comeback with stronger and more mature material, Horror is their reminder that they can still shred with the best of them.

Opener Unsound is an immediate knife thrust to the jugular, where you’re hit with instant brutality and savage vocals. Maddening solos puncture the assault, as a relentless drumming battery powers everything along at a breakneck speed. Anyone who thinks Exhumed would have mellowed with age have no idea what they are on, as this is as fresh and exhilirating as they have ever been. Beset by some killer thrash riffs, Ravenous Cadavers follows suit and the more said about the grinding carnage of Scream Out In Fright the better.

Horror is their newest work and it fits into their discography as neatly as a mortician’s saw through bone…

Exhumed have really re-embraced their grinding roots on Horror, with the longest song, Slaughter Maniac, clocking in at a mere 2:23. The band are going hell for leather with the shred and the grind here, tearing through prime cuts like Ripping Death and the superlative grinding of Rabid like there was no tomorrow. It always feels good when a band that has been on the go since 1990 can come back feeling vibrant and vicious, not just rehashing the same old songs. It has been a long time since Exhumed were this precisely savage, and it is welcome.

You get fifteen songs in twenty six minutes, which feels both too short and yet absolutely perfect. There is no messing about, just gory guitar work laced with some poisonous vocals and the confidence of veterans just hammering out great material. Not every album needs to be an epic, and in Exhumed‘s case this makes you want to experience the whole thing again straight away. I mean, the best song here is called Naked, Screaming And Covered In Blood, if that doesn’t make you want to throw horns and go crazy then what will?! Horror reminds everyone that all these new bands are great, but sometimes there is nothing quite as satisfying as the old school.

Label: Relapse Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram

Scribed by: Sandy Williamson