Exhorder – Defectum Omnium
Release Date: 8th March 2024
Label: Nuclear Blast
Stream/Order
Genre: Thrash Metal, Punk Metal, Groove Metal, Hardcore.
FFO: Grave, Entombed, Paganizer, Demonical, Unleashed, Dismember.
Review By: Rick Farley
Formed back in 1986, Exhorder should not need an intro, but sadly the band that arguably pioneered groovy thrash metal and possibly influenced Pantera to shift from glammy power metal band to the much thrashier version we know today are returning for album number four Defectum Omnium releasing March 8th, 2024, on Nuclear Blast Records. There is plenty of dispute from fans as to which way it actually goes, but the fact remains if it was not for Exhorder’s existence bands like Pantera and surely Lamb of God might sound just a little different. Who really knows for sure, but they do predate Pantera by a couple of years, so there is that.
Defectum Omnium, which returns more to their speedier, aggressive, thrashing roots of old, does mix it up in some interesting ways. Not always successfully as some ideas would have been better left alone, however there is still enough here for fans to wallow in the days of old. But is it enough to call this another worthy comeback?
After a twenty-seven years absence, the band returned in 2019 with Mourn the Southern Skies, which had them sounding reinvigorated, but shared a little less musically with their classic albums Slaughter of the Vatican and The Law. The band reinvented themselves and pushed the sound further with more southern elements, which resulted in a compelling, enjoyable album. Now five years later, Exhorder switches gears again and returns to their punky, thrashy roots. In theory this should be the more enjoyable album of the two, but sadly it is not, at least not for me.
It is not all bad though, by any means, but full disclosure, anytime a classic band dips its riffs into the realm of Nu-metal I tend to cringe. I’m not hating, it just does not work here and sounds completely out of place. I am looking at you Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well. The track starts out with a southern tinged acoustic guitar that is slightly menacing, then bursts into what is clearly straight from Bakersfield, California, 1994.
To be perfectly honest, there is a block of songs here that should have been left off the record, and it would have landed much better for me. The title song, track eight Defectum Omnium/Stolen Hope, track nine Three Stages of Truth/Lacing the Well, and track ten Sedition which is an upbeat punk song that sounds a little too much like a parody of a punk song. Don’t get me wrong, there are cool parts within these songs, but overall, it is a huge chunk of skippable space.
On the positive side of things, tracks like Wrath of Prophecies, Forever and Beyond Despair, and Year of the Goat all piss and snort fire with thrashy energy and unrelenting chunky grooves. Seriously wicked guitar solos from legend Pat O’Brian (ex-Cannibal Corpse) rip through these songs like knives. The Tale of Unsound Minds has a doom-laden riff straight from the swamps of Louisiana. Heavy riffs, an undeniable hook and soulful, edgy vocals from Thomas Kyle, who is pulling double duty this time around as a guitarist as well, makes it difficult to not bash your head repeatedly against a brick wall.
Production, done by Exhorder and Jens Bogren, sounds full, crunchy, and punishing. Glass like clarity, but still very raw sounding. The drums by Sasha Horn and bass by Jason VieBrooks both come through enough to keep it thick and chunky. Solid, and mostly, but would have benefited from editing and a little more focus.
(3 / 5)
