Exhumed - Slaughtercult

An Autothrall Classic. Originally published here.


Exhumed, along with Impaled, are essentially the bastard Californian children of the great Carcass. While the latter may emulate the original a little more safely, Exhumed take the dual guttural/snarl vocals and apply them to a lot more 'thrust' in the music. This is fast, furious, vitriol, like a morbid butcher in a rush to clean up the body parts of his latest 'works' before the authorities arrive. Grinding, brutal guitars are not entirely void of melody, and each track on Slaughtercult is a veritable riff slugfest of undeniable pathos. Their second full-length effort, it managed to destroy Gore Metal in all conceivable ways and wound up one of the best death metal albums of Y2K.

Exhumed 2011. Photo © John Mourlas. All rights reserved.

This is just one of those unrelenting death metal events which remains entertaining throughout its entire playlength. Most of the 13 tracks clock in around the 2-3 minute mark, the perfect length to get you excited, rev your bonesaw, inject the formaldehyde, molest the corpse, and get the hell out of Dodge. The immediate one-two knockout punch of "Decrepit Crescendo" and "Forged in Fire (Forged in Flame)" is the aural equivalent of a nuclear explosion in your pants. Violent orgasms of spasming, grinding riffage and carnal lyricism.

Scalding and melding her minge
Smell the acid reek of pubic hair singed...
Melt and weld...Raze and smelt
Blistering crotch...Searing hot...

OUCH. "A Lesson in Pathology" once again features great grinding rhythms over the dual bludgeoning throats of Matt Harvey and Mike Beams, and the explosive leadwork is just awesome. "This Axe Was Made to Grind" is pretty much a metaphor for the entire career of this excellent band. "Carnal Epitaph" shows a slight Necroticism/Heartwork influence in its cold but full riffing. "Dinnertime in the Morgue" is simply superb, rarely have I heard cannibalistic grinding death of such intense quality. There is not a stinker in this bunch, unless you mean the stink of corpses, of which there are plenty available to play with. Other choice tracks on this morguenum opus include "Fester Forever", "Slave to the Casket" and "Funeral Fuck".

Eat, drink, and be merry
For tomorrow we die
Meat is just flesh, only temporary
On its pulpous provisions we dine
A carnal cornucopia
Of maturating bowels and offal
The bitter rasp of decay`s pungent taste
Permeates every putrid mouthful

Exhumed 2011. Photos © John Mourlas. All rights reserved.

Slaughtercult sounds insanely good even by modern standards. Perfect grinding tones over slightly lower drums in the mix than usual, but this is what creates the punishing sound. The vocals, though totally Carcass clones, create an added layer of percussion. The guitars slay, and not simply because of their aggression, but the amount of quality riffing interweaved with the forward propulsion. If you can sit or stand still while listening to this album, you are out of order. A robot. Exhumed is a whirlwind of chainsaw bliss, worthy of any mortician's meatpile. Like the yeast on a cadaver's nethers, it grows finer with age

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

This edition of An Autothrall Classic is inspired by an article Matt Harvey wrote recently. It consists of reflections about the evolution of death metal, as he has witnessed it, during the time he has spent in the scene. The article has just been re-published by No Clean Singing, so go there and check it out, it's a great read.

Zombiefication - Procession Through Infestation

Written by Justin C.


At the end of the summer, the latest album from Mexico's Zombiefication, Procession Through Infestation, quietly snuck out into the world. The release date wobbled around a bit, and I didn't see much of a publicity push either, which is a shame, because the band consistently puts out some of the best death metal around. Zombiefication's primary members are Arturo Vargas on vocals and and Jacobo Córdova on bass and guitars (credited as Mr. Hitchcock and Mr. Jacko, respectively). Córdova was recently lauded in these very pages for his participation in Majestic Downfall, and his work there is indicative of the quality of music you can expect from Zombiefication.

At the time of this writing, there are only two tracks available for streaming on Bandcamp--"Procession" and "Infestation"--but they're fairly representative of the album as a whole. If you dig what's playing there, I can't imagine you not liking this album. In fact, I can't imagine anyone not liking this album, period. Zombiefication does a lot of things well, but there are a few things that stick out to me in particular. The vocals, for one, show a fantastic variety. There are plenty of the de rigueur low gutturals, but Vargas isn't afraid to let his voice lift up into a higher, positively unhinged sounding howl. Added to that, Cordova is a fantastic guitar player and riff writer. It's nearly impossible not to have your brain infected by the doomy main riff in "Crossing the Rite" or not pound on your car's steering wheel along with the thrashier riff in "Infestation." They're heavy as all get out, sure, but they're also melodic and memorable.

The cherry on top of all this is how they structure their songs. Sometimes you're just in a mood for an unbroken WALL OF BR00TAL, but Zombiefication knows how to break up their sound. Don't worry, there are no 7-minute ambient tracks here or pointless spoken word interruptions--the relief comes in change ups in tempo and texture inside the songs themselves, like the quieter arpeggiated riffs that show up at the midpoint of "Infestation." During a particularly long and painful commute, I listened to this album almost three times through without a break, and I never got tired of it.

If you're nervous about only hearing two songs, I can understand that, but this is the sleeper death metal hit of 2014, and more people should be listening to it.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]

Blut aus Nord / P.H.O.B.O.S. – Triunity

Written by Craig Hayes.

Cover art by Katarzyna Urbanek

No matter the style, tone, or texture of their releases, what’s always stood out in the discography of Blut aus Nord is that the band exhibits a breathtaking array of ideas, creative prowess, and instrumental expertise. The avant-garde French black metal band has constantly reshaped their sound over the years, and it’s all been delivered with wholehearted (or, perhaps more aptly, blackhearted) commitment. The band’s trademark metaphysical aesthetic has shadowed all of the band’s work, but the strongest element that binds releases such as Memoria Vetusta II, MoRT, Odinist, or the band’s heralded 777 trilogy, is Blut aus Nord’s consistent desire to experiment and remain unpredictable.

There’s no change in that approach on Blut aus Nord’s latest split release, Triunity, where the band shares space with fellow French outfit P.H.O.B.O.S. Frédéric Sacri is the artist behind P.H.O.B.O.S, and while the one-man band gazes into the abyss for inspiration like Blut aus Nord, P.H.O.B.O.S. favours the world of droning doom and industrial metal. P.H.O.B.O.S and Blut aus Nord certainly operate at different points on the extreme music compass, but there’s a clear alliance of wills where both bands favour esoteric sounds that ignore schlock chills and aim for something deeper and more unnerving.

Blut aus Nord mainman, Vindsval, is joined by drummer Thorns on Triunity; and that live percussion brings a more organic punch to the band’s three songs on the release. “De Librio Arbitrio”, “Hùbris” and “Némeïnn” mix crooked and choral vocals with eerie synths, and, of course, Blut aus Nord’s contorted riffs and melodies all feature heavily. In amongst the layers of atmospheric and Gothic grimness, there’s a sense of meticulously arranged experimentalism, where Blut aus Nord’s evolving process also brings the presence of menacing otherworldly forces. For anyone who’s enjoyed Blut aus Nord’s previous exploring of ominous shades of darkness, Triunity is set to be as equally rewarding.

P.H.O.B.O.S. brings something very different to Triunity. As mentioned, there are ties that bind the two bands, but it's probably an intimidating prospect to be sharing a split with Blut aus Nord. No problem there, because P.H.O.B.O.S. easily holds their own on “Glowing Phosphoros”, “Transfixed at Golgotha” and “Ahrimanic Impulse Victory”. Where Blut aus Nord approach the infinite void with a sense of imposing grandeur, P.H.O.B.O.S. is more surgical in methodology. Deep space electronics are fed through bitter industrialism on P.H.O.B.O.S.’ tracks. Glitchy lurches, pitch-black drone, and warped synths and samples all twist around each other, as P.H.O.B.O.S. displays a knack for evoking urban decay, and the fear of a world well past the point of return.

While Blut aus Nord and P.H.O.B.O.S. each take very different routes through the darkness on Triunity, they meet at the point where nightmares are not so easily shaken off during daylight hours. Both bands bring that feeling of profound unease we know well when we look out the corner of our eye, and see that ever-present undercurrent of doom and despair waiting to strike. Call it all harmonious disharmony, or perhaps a shared sense of discord, Triunity offers two avenues of enmity that end where the truth of existence is laid bare, in all its disconcerting horror.

[Go to the post to view the Bandcamp player]