Exmortus – Necrophony
Release Date: 25th August 2023
Label: Nuclear Blast Records
Order/Stream
Genre: Thrash, Traditional Heavy Metal, Neoclassical, Melodic Death Metal.
FFO: Skeletonwitch, Havok, Revocation, Kreator, Arsis.
Review By: Rick Farley
Los Angeles, California based neoclassical, thrash metal maniacs return with their new hard hitting album, Necrophony. Four years in the making, album number six marks the savage rebirth of what the band always envisioned Exmortus to be. Now signed to the mighty Nuclear Blast Records, Exmortus looks to globally slay the universe with their infectious twin guitar brand of extreme metal.
On the surface, if you were to combine the neoclassical antics of Malmsteen, with a huge dose of Bay Area thrash, mix in traditional heavy metal with melodic touches of extreme metal and harsh vocals, you might have a general idea of what Exmortus sounds like. That however doesn’t explain how good Necrophony actually is. In every way it’s a fierce renewal of their already potent hook laden sound. Written from a completely fresh slate, the band is firing on all bloodied cylinders, and now have a found interest in darker storytelling as well. Previous albums up through 2018’s The Sound of Steel were focused more on fantasy, swords, sorcery, and stories of heroes, whereas Necrophony tells tales inspired by Tolkien, Lovecraft, vampires, the Evil Dead trilogy, and more personal life experiences.
Instrumental opener, Masquerade, eases you into a gloomy feeling with clean guitar’s and a slow walking bassline. It builds into twin guitar harmonies and backing militaristic marching drums with heavily muted guitars that convey the feeling that a great tragedy is about to take place.
“And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” Edgar Allan Poe.
Mask of Red Death bursts forward from the album opener with a thrashy gallop. Intricate guitars, slinky basslines and aggressive drums continuously pound with a rapid pace. Extremely hooky vocals and scream along choruses keep the catchiness at a high level. A middle section slightly reminiscent of the tight but chunky riffs on Rust In Peace, introduce a passionate shreddy solo that hits that exact sweet spot. The outro mixes marching type drums, muted riff patterns with neoclassical guitar harmonies, alluding to a triumphant mastery of sonic splendour. Inspired by Poe’s short story of the same name, this is easily a highlight both aesthetically and musically.
The shred-fest of Storm of Strings which is a roaring cover of Greek American composer Yanni interpreting Vivaldi’s “Summer,” goes so fucking hard, your flesh will melt clean off, dripping into a pile of classical, heavy metal goo.
Beyond the Grave is a speed demon of blackened tremolo picked riffs, and choppy blast beats. Super crisp guitar tones, slightly muted and rapidly picked, sound like the song could catch fire at any moment. If you don’t destroy something while listening to this song, you might as well just turn in your heavy metal ID card and cut your damn hair. Fierce headbanging violence ahead, warning you may feel vehemently battered at any moment.
At twelve songs, fifty-four epic minutes, Necrophony is an aural assault of your senses from every direction. Extremely energetic tracks balanced between high technicality and undeniable catchiness. The virtuosic twin six string attack of guitarists Chase Becker and Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez shredding solos, classical harmonies and tight thrashy riffs that are impossible not to air guitar while headbanging are the bands bread and butter, while the smooth, beefy basslines from Phillip Nuñez and hard charging drums from Adrian Aguilar keep the frantic hammering going throughout. Conan’s vocals are crisp, brash, and harsh. It all just works together flawlessly. In my humble opinion, Exmortus is everything I love about metal all wrapped up in a vicious package of incredible musicianship, sick grooves, insane shred, and hooky songwriting that should put a huge smile on damn near any metalheads face. Buy Necrophony immediately, grab a neck brace and proceed to the nearest pit. 
(5 / 5)
