The 2022 Exhumed album did not wow me, as it was brutal but lacked elements like melody or the finger-point of strong writing, relying only on raw aggression. There is more effort with the guitar harmonies leading into the title track. There is more purpose in the song as the riff is allowed to breathe and groove rather than just being an full on assualt. The growl of the vocals is also more feral, but along with this comes more dimensions of tone.
At times, I am getting more of a Carcass feel with this album, at others it seems thrash is more of the focus. There is an almost Pantera feel to 'Shovelhead" which was the lead single, making this the band's most accessible moment yet. This is contrasted by the more straightforward battery of guitars that is "Iron Graveyard"/ The bass leading into "Crawling From the Wreckage" forces them to slow things down. This added darker weight creates a Morbid Angel feel.
"Signal Thirty" feels more like Kreator, as it slows down into a more melodic thrash groove. "Death on Four Wheels" goes back to the unhinged approach of focusing on speed. The rest of the album sort of races off in thi direction with the last song more intentional in its focused thrashing. I will give this album an 8.5, which is a big improvement over what they did before. If you are already a fan, then you should be happily surprised. If you want some death metal with an almost Lamb of God-like energy to it, then this is worth your time. Dropping February 20th on Relapse Records.
pst28
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