Customer Reviews

Slaughtercult

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Continuing with their obvious grind-era Carcass worship along with early 90's death metal influence (Cannibal Corpse and similar acts), Exhumed have released their second album, which lives up to the band's name, as initially portrayed on their debut, `Gore Metal.' Death metal was not at its peak at the time of this release; on the contrary, I'd say it was somewhat jaded. It was jaded from the endless death metal clones that were constantly making music parallel to their favorite bands - no new bands really stood out at all because we'd all heard their material before they'd even released it. During the time of the seemingly never ending clone bands, Exhumed decided to step in and offer listeners another breath of fresh air, while nuking all of the bastard bands by dropping the `Slaughtercult' bomb on their armies. Now the majority of those bands are nothing more than a bunch of bad ideas long forgotten.

A step up from the previous production efforts, the mix is more violent and less restricting than Gore Metal; less restricting in the sense that there is no computer-editing of the sort and the sound is not polished. Less polishing could be considered more restricting, but no one can deny that it adds to the nightmare environment of every instrument colliding at once, leaving your brain in a complete wreck and blood creeping out of all orifices. This is by far the most intense and most distinguished piece of work from the masters of `gore metal' (a style which Exhumed are recognized for coining) thus far - extremely loud guitars, bass, vocals, and drums slapped on top of each other; it's almost like a live atmosphere without the bloodthirsty audience.

The loud guitars grind and crush with savage down-tuning and never cease with sonically razor sharp assault. These riffs show direct influence from Carcass with unrelenting battery of thrash-like down stroke riffs combined with death metal strumming and tremolo picking. One could argue that there is some influence from Death, Slayer, Iron Maiden, or even Judas Priest in the solos by their sparseness alone; Exhumed didn't settle on creating a solo that would require the skill and effort equivalent to a masturbation session. They put a lot more thought into this part of the album by creating complex and attractive guitar solos on top of the chaotic mess of sound. These guitars embody the experience of taking a more hands on approach inside of a slaughterhouse by chopping up carcasses with loud and buzzing heavy machinery; a fitting sound for an album title like `Slaughtercult.'

The crushing bass demands recognition as it pounds, clicks, and crashes in the brutish mix of murdering and nightmarish riffs. Many people shrug off the presence of bass in death metal, as if it were just a little child and their presence is of little significance in a family of savage brutes. A small and innocent looking child couldn't possibly do any harm, right? Not in this case. This is the murderous defect child of the Exhumed family and Bud Burke isn't afraid to give listeners a dose of true carnage with relentless and bludgeoning bass work. The youngster doesn't want any money for candy or ice cream; he wants the blood and guts of posers...and the brutality reigns supreme in Bud's performance.

The drumming style in death metal is often repetitive, which is pretty much what goes on with the stern drums of Exhumed with tons of wild blast beats. Col Jones may not win an award for craziest speed, originality, or jaw dropping breaks, but he gets the job done. Some snare parts are a bit muted by the excessively loud guitars and the demonic vocals, but most listeners will be pleased with Jones' performance. Much like the other instruments, the speed is very consistent. For this aspect of Slaughtercult, this is a good performance...but brings nothing new to the table.

The trade off vocal duties between Matt Harvey and Bud Burke is pretty cool. Matt Harvey takes some aspects of Bill Steer's raspy growls and adds a little more aggression and speed. The higher pitched growls and screams most definitely resemble the vocal work of Carcass. Bud Burke, on the other hand, goes for ultra low growls, using Chris Barnes on the Cannibal Corpse album, `Tomb of the Mutilated' as a reference point. Although Harvey's vocals are often times the more dominant voice of the band, I think anyone can appreciate the two different vocal styles that both of these guys bring to the band - which can only heighten their stage presence and performance during a live show.

This monster album goes straight for the jugular with a keen knife, and there are no subtleties about that at all. This release is a keeper and worth looking into if you like huge balls of sanguinary death metal.

Exhumed are a great band because they take that unholy distortion and violence that typically you associate with grindcore but they don't fall prey to the short monotonous songs that grindcore bands sometimes turn out. Instead they rely on more musically sound death metal songs (since death metal in general places a much stronger emphasis on solid songwriting compared to the simple but direct violence of grind). So what we have here is music that contains that immediate and highly aggressive feel of grind but the songs are varied, interesting and don't all sound the same. Plus everything is about gore and thats always worth a mention. It's decently long too with thirteen songs and some great coverart. Fans of death and grind will like this

Despite being down one band member, which is always a loss, Exhumed nevertheless pick right up where they left off with "Gore Metal" on their second album, this one, "Slaughtercult". The same intense, menacing music is featured on here to please fans of extreme metal. Their signature, super-distorted bass comes in sharp and crystal clear, filling out the sound amazingly. The drums are also not of this world, as blast after blast, fill after fill, Col Jones proves that he's one of the definitive extreme-metal drummers, a title that's NOT easy to claim! The guitar work is also impressive, with grinding, crushing riff after riff and frantic, screaming, wild guitar solos, much like Slayer in a more darkly melodic key. There are indeed some darkly melodic bits and pieces here and there, such as the chorus riff of "Forged in Fire (Formed In Flame)" or the intro to "This Axe Was Made To Grind". The band also slows it down for a very catchy, headbangable, mosh-worthy groove on the last song "Vacant Grave".
Overall, an excellent goregrind/deathgrind/ death metal album, whatever you may call it. Fans of heavy-duty metal are sure to dig this one, because even with their tongue firmly in cheek (you can tell they must have been snickering a little bit when they wrote the lyrics, they're great lyrics, but there are some enjoyable puns thrown in nevertheless), Exhumed is able to push new boundaries and make interesting ultra-extreme music. Highly recommended! Thanks for the time, and peace.

You have to have this cd. Its heavy and very disgusting. Excellent band Exhumed are.They are the best death/gore metal band ever. Must have a very strong stomach before looking at their ablum covers. They are the masters of the sickest album covers ever.Music that is pure gore soaked in every track. This cd must be in every gore fiends possessions.So do youself a favor get it ..

Now Exhumed doesn't play pure GOREGRIND; in fact they claim themsleves as a death metal band. But don't let that fool you, because death metal today can mean many things : progressive DM, melodic DM, typical DM, etc. and Exhumed is none of them. This is Brutal DM (BDM) played with a huge grind influence. High/Low gory vox trade-offs, chainsaw guitars, and blasting drums together make this album an amazing Death/Grind event. But like i said, this is not pure GoreGrind, but a cross-over between Death and Grind, which seems very popular these days.
In conclusion, SlaughterCult is a must buy for extreme fans of metal/grind alike.

Exhumed are back at the axe again this time the blood is real. This one compared to their last cd Gore MEtal is much faster, heavier and better soloing. But, they managa to shred the finest of flesh. Fans of CARCASS will eat this baby up.

The clips I've heard have sounded really great...much like what Carcass would have been had they not sold out Metallica-style.

Anyway, I put the disc in my car CD player, and never got it back out. It seems the saw-blade shape is not particularly practical.

this one belongs in the collection of total /BRUTAL DEATH METAL..section. not for those with weak ears... not for those with weak stomach`s.... not for the wimp. listen too this cd , & then kill evryone, you`ll be glad you did! EXHUMED rule`s.

The best death/gore/grind in my opinion is by far exhumed...Don't get me wrong, i love cannibal corpse and gorerotted but exhumed still is my favorite band. Talk about fast, realy realy, fast riffs, gore like lirycs,disturbing artwork, and, just plain metal in your face ! I recommend.

Yeah, I guess it's fine. Well, the music is. The singing kinda irritates me. Not my cuppa tea. But still, musically this is one helluva album. And the voice...you'll get used to it. It's worth it. This is great deathmetal with a more screaming-like grindvoice rather than a grunting deathvoice. Strange combination, yes.

Yes, I know this review doesn't make any sense. Sorry.