Exhumed – To The Dead
Release Date: 21st October 2022
Label: Relapse Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Gore Metal, Grindcore, Deathgrind, Death Metal.
FFO: Carcass, Impaled, Aborted, Repulsion, Napalm Death.
Review By: Rick Farley
The storied career of deathgrind legends Exhumed really doesn’t need an introduction. I mean, what could be left to say about these maniacal gore slingers. Well, for those of you unfamiliar, I will oblige. Formed in 1990 by then fifteen-year-old guitarist/vocalist Matt Harvey, who was heavily influenced by Carcass, Repulsion, Terrorizer and early Entombed. The band spent several years releasing demo’s, splits and E.P.’s before releasing their monumental debut album, Gore Metal in 1998. An album chock-full of disgusting lyrics, art and sloppy, grindy dual vocalist death metal. The band would go on to release two more quintessential gore drenched albums and one release of just cover songs before starting a lengthy hiatus in 2005. The first two albums would end up launching and inspiring thousands of clone bands. Very much like those early death metal and grindcore bands who influenced and inspired Matt Harvey in the early nineties, which are still an important part of their core sound to this day. Feeling rejuvenated, Exhumed reformed in 2011 and since have released five more albums, been on extensive world tours and have had several line-up changes. Now fast-forward to 2022, and we’re getting album number ten, To The Dead, releasing on Relapse Records. Does it stand up to the greatness previously set by their legendary discography? You’re fucking right, it does.
To be fair, I have been a fan since the band’s debut and do not believe they’ve ever released a bad album. There are a couple that I feel are much weaker than others, so I’m not a total fanboy either. For me, Slaughtercult is the absolute pinnacle of Exhumed and stands far above most other gore metal albums by any band since the early nineties. So, while I was excited to be offered this review, I was also a little nervous.
The rotting stench of grindy blast-beats with speedy chainsaw riffs of opening track Putrescine and Cadaverine put my mind at ease. Matt’s infernal screams and bassist/vocalist Ross Sewage’s phlegm filled gutturals go together like an infection festering its pus until it bursts. Everything to love about Exhumed is here on track one. Gruesome sharp hooks, catchy Carcass influenced melodies, brutal gut-wrenching grind, blistering solo’s, chunky headbanging groove and kick pedals ready to pound your flesh to a mushy mess. With a fantastic retro sounding mix, this entire record touches on every horrifying iteration of Exhumed, like a bunch of entrails from several bodies sitting in one putrid pile.
Drained of Color’s serpent like riffs, underneath blast beats with Ross’s extremely low gutturals, sound uneasy and leaves you with a tense, anxious feeling. The simple but catchy chorus of Rank and Defiled will inspire fists in the air right before the melodic but heavy grooved sections full of sadism, seduce you into thinking things will get easier to handle, but they don’t. The vomit inducing speedy grind of Carbonized never relents its ferocity, including the savagery of its disjointed guitar solo pulverizing your skull into dust. The crunchy riffed No Headstone Unturned has a slight Swedeath feel in between the fast thrashy guitars, stabby d-beats and jarring blasting. All the gore, chainsaw hooks, flattening heaviness, sickening grind, and vomiting dual vocals that you can handle, putting To The Dead as my second favourite Exhumed album ever. Yes, it’s that good.
To The Dead sounds like a body bag on fire, stuck in the open cavity of a rotting corpse that’s been mutilated and maimed by a chainsaw, with fleshy bits splattered everywhere. If that doesn’t make you want to hear this, you’re already fucking dead. This is a revolting, celebratory fun time. 
(4.5 / 5)
