Teutonic Thrash Metal veterans, Exumer, return with their latest album Death Mask Messiah, and after more than four decades the band really have absolutely nothing left to prove.
From the raw, youthful aggression of their iconic debut album, Possessed by Fire, through to their impressive, and some might say unforeseen, 21st-Century resurgence, the German veterans have consistently demonstrated that old-school Thrash can still sound dangerous and fresh without simply becoming an exercise in nostalgia. Death Mask Messiah arrives with an unmistakably aggressive mission statement: this is Exumer stripped back with the intensity dialled up another notch.
The album opener and title track immediately sets the tone. Built around sharp riffs, raging drums and original vocalist Mem von Stein’s snarling vocals, Death Mask Messiah, is a furious slice of contemporary Thrash that still carries the unmistakable echo of the 1980s but never gets swallowed by history. Tracks like, Blinding Skies, and, Ravishing Waste, deliver the classic riff-heavy, raging Thrash Metal that fans of the band’s classic material will immediately recognise, while, Frozen Ground, provides an opportunity for the riffs and rhythms to lay back a notch and breathe. The Thrash is definitely front and centre here, but so is the influence of 40 years of Extreme Metal, and we hear hints of this throughout the album; adding to the “auditory milieu” and keeping the music fresh and interesting. Closing track, Unchained Angel, is particularly enjoyable; originally recorded by iconic US Heavy/Speed Metal band Nasty Savage, the cover features Nasty Ronnie himself on guest vocals. Lyrically, the album has a dark and serious tone, dealing with manipulation, misinformation, fanaticism and social division; perfectly in keeping for Teutonic Thrash. In contrast to much of American Thrash Metal, both musically and lyrically, German Thrash has always had a darker and more brooding tone and it’s easy to see why those early 1980s albums were such a strong influence on the emerging Norwegian Black Metal scene.
Production on the album is excellent with a powerful modern Metal sound but without too much rounding off of the rawness and roughness that has always made Thrash what it is. Guitars are abrasive and prominent, drums are punchy and driving and the vocal sits well within the mix, while the new rhythm section of bassist Alex Voß and drummer Jerome Reil brings additional weight and momentum. The result is an album that sounds less like a veteran band attempting to recreate the 1980s and more like an experienced band rediscovering just how much fun it is to be brutally aggressive in a modern studio environment. It does have to be said that there is an element of “stylistic homogenisation” across the album when it comes to the sound and the production, and some listeners may find that the unrelenting aggression could make it difficult for individual songs to stand out, but the band compensate for this with strong songwriting and an abundance of memorable riffs.
Ultimately, Death Mask Messiah, is exactly what an Exumer album should be: aggressive, uncompromising, brooding, riff-heavy and unapologetically Thrashy; respecting the band’s past without becoming imprisoned by it. After four decades, Exumer still sound hungry, angry and energised and I for one look forward to what they still have in store for the future.
Rating: 8/10 – Great
Wayne McAloon | Now Spinning Magazine
