Exmortem - Nihilistic Contentment (2005)

If Nihilistic Contentment suffers from anything at all, it's that the album seems to settle for being a perfect hybrid of the two before it. That's not to say it's at all bad, quite the opposite; it simply doesn't bring anything new to the formula, with the guitar tone jerked straight off Berzerker Legions and the more interesting, adventurous riffing of Pestilence Empire. But for those potential listeners who might have found the fourth full-length to be a little murky and ominous in production, this is a far more brazen boot to the ass with a lot brighter tones and perhaps a more equivalent mesh of drums. Which is a good fit for what might have been their highest profile recording to its day, out on Earache's fledgling subdivision Wicked World which had once scored great efforts by new blood like Decapitated and December Wolves. I was pretty happy with this when it first came out, but as the years pass it simply doesn't stand to memory as much as the records which bookend it...it's quality enough to add to that impression that Exmortem was a truly consistent band, never once plunging into the mediocrity that hovers over the death metal underground like a cloud of smog...too bad more people just weren't paying attention.

Just because I don't hold it in the highest esteem of the Danes' career, don't mistake that for lacking some substance. In truth, the weirder riffing passages that shone through on Pestilence Empire are even more pronounced amidst the blasting surges. It may have (and remain) the most thoughtfully composed album they put out, and it often reminds me of a mix of Morbid Angel's Blessed Are the Sick and Covenant with a bit of Gorguts' later 90s absurdity circa Obscura. There's a lot going on at any one given time, and Smerte really varies up his own vocals with a mix of the guttural barks and a harsher, higher pitch that resonates more with what he does in Horned Almighty. Variation is paramount, with a pretty even range of full on blasted components, zipping and zooming atmospherics and slower, amorphous grooves which are loaded with deft and seamless double bass patterns. You absolutely get a lot of that sliding jerkiness (i.e. "Symbols of Inhumanity") found on left field death metal recordings where the constant transitions were well-meaning, it's not exactly random placement but you do feel like you'll be getting into one part and they're off to another before it fully develops. Still, Nihilistic Contentment seems like the most technically ambitious of their outings, even if the techniques just seem to be emphasized from particular tracks on its predecessor. It wasn't necessarily anything 'new', but they were clearly attempting to open that tear in space/time and make it such.

Actually liked that weird, jarring percussion/piano interlude "Swamp of Decadence" and wished it were longer, or that they would have promoted similar atmospheres elsewhere on the album, which would have certainly made this stand out more against the crowded genre in which it got lost. Production-wise, while my own preference might be for Pestilence Empire or their swan song Funeral Phantoms, this was the record that most death metal or brutal metalcore fans would most appreciate. The meat of the rhythm guitars is just dripping with fatty juices, and the more intricate guitars feel coiled, springy, and organic, very much in line with Obscura or From Wisdom to Hate. Bass is likewise voluptuous, while Galheim's drums here are just unbelievably tight and one of his overall better performances; bittersweet, because it was his last recording with Exmortem, but he certainly didn't let his bandmates down. Nihilistic Contentment is just this really tightly wrought showcase for the entire band, if they had gone further into atmospheres or written the tunes just a little more strangely, I'm sure it would be talked about alongside your Gorguts, Immolations, and Ulcerates, though the Danes wouldn't ultimately dwell on this specific sound. That said, definitely not a boring ride here; better than Dejected in Obscurity or Berzerker Legions and worth tracking down if you skipped it upon release. Six good albums, some a little better than others, not one a disappointment. Exmortem. May they go down in history with a little more respect than initially received.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (absurd posturing of the deformed)

Exmortem - Pestilence Empire (2002)

It's got to be discouraging when you've released four records and each is on a separate label, and in fact this curse would plague Exmortem for all six of their full-lengths, signed to a 'who's who' of European extremity. For Pestilence Empire, it was Osmose Productions out of France, who likely provided the most visibility for these Danes, and thank fuck they took advantage of that by producing what was clearly their best album to that point, securing a more solid four-piece lineup, with a new rhythm section (bassist Mephistopheles, drummer Galheim) coming over from a number of previous, deeper underground projects in which they had worked together; which translates into a really tight execution here as they complement Sigtyr's more involved and intricate riffing passages.

As Dejected in Obscurity was to Labyrinths of Horror, so too is Pestilence Empire to its predecessor  Berzerker Legions. Against a reliable backdrop of comparable, blasting excess, the songwriter is far more atmospheric, evil, roiling and surgical in its construction, and while that doesn't necessarily manifest into a highly original set of tunes, its certainly their most otherworldly and accomplished recording in terms of both technicality and raw punishment. Tunes like "Pestifer" are possessed of these out-of-left-field dissonant chord structures and sliding weirdness that seem to channel amorphous Lovecraftian horrors while persisting in a churning, nihilistic undertow thanks to the excellent fucking guitar tone. "Malus Invictus" basically takes the unrepentant speed of the prior album and injects some punchier, unexpected riffing twists and a double kick sequences you can feel deep below your chest cavity. The finale, "A Tyrants Hunger" has that sort of peppy and clinical technicality in its architecture that reminded me heavily of the first Decapitated or some of the faster Vader material of the 90s, with some choppy evil old Pestilence death/thrash harmonies.

This new bassist and drummer made it seem all too effortless, and even though the album might still rely a little too much on sheer blasting, Sigtyr had arrived at the perfect counterbalance, which was to make just about everything he played either interesting or malevolent enough to surrender any shortcomings. I'd also add that Smerte sounded louder here, his voice taking on a more cavernous aesthetic where it's clearly bouncing back and forth to contrast the more busied guitars. About the only real gripe I could offer against Pestilence Empire is that it still could really use some outbreaks of whipping, wild, incendiary leads in the Morbid Angel fashion where they would just leave the listener speechless. As it stands, Sigtyr puts so much work into the construction of the guitars that there were points where I just wanted the guy to take off into the stratosphere and I felt like I was still left on the launch pad. They need not even be too technical, just frenzied and messy and thrilling. Otherwise, Pestilence Empire is quite spotless in presentation, I like the dark and moody sound which isn't brickwalled or overproduced, and this remains in my opinion their very best album. If someone wanted to know where to start with the Danes, track down a copy of this and their 2008 swan song Funeral Phantoms and explore what should have been a better known band.

Verdict: Win [8.25/10] (leading the syndicate of death)

Exmortem - Berzerker Legions (2001)

Exmortem's third album, Berzerker Legions is perhaps their least interesting and most straightforward, but that their nadir is still a relatively good time speaks to how solid they've always been. Never quite a dull moment if you like your death metal blasted and relentless, but what I thought was the most curious about this one was the lineup. After seven years, not a single original member remained...Exmortem now revolved around the Dejected in Obscurity guitarist Sigtyr, and he hooked up with a pair of total powerhouses to record this. One is Reno Killerich, who by that point hadn't quite carved out a name for himself as the temporary Dimmu Borgir drummer, but had played on Panzerchrist Soul Collector; and the other, vocalist Simon 'Smerte' Petersen, who may be known to you for fronting the excellent Horned Almighty, where his wretched growls are really a lot more impressive than he is here, but not so much that you can't make a distinction.

With Killerich, you know this thing is going to be a blasterpiece, and to that extent you won't be let down. A lot of faster paced material circa Morbid Angel/Hate Eternal with a fibrous level of distortion that tears out a gajillion tremolo picked riffs, some of which are assembled catchier than I might have dreaded. There is notably less variation than on Dejected in Obscurity, so I felt entirely dependent on the riffing patterns and vocals to carry the material, and thankfully it succeeds, with the caveat that it's not the sort of record I want to spin often or in its entirety. Honestly, I feel similar to a lot of the Panzerchrist offerings, in that the disc is meticulously constructed aggression which simply doesn't rise above its brutality, its genre standards, to walk with the giants of the genre. Just a lot of intense drumming and traditional death metal riffing with a ghastly vocal presence that sometimes gets lost in the barbarism if you're not paying close enough attention. I just find Smerte's attack far more effective over the black/punk or black/rock leanings of his currently active band, but if you listen in you can here he's got a great sustain to his growl and they seem to often throw a few filters on him which gives the album a somewhat futuristic/apocalyptic impression.

Berzerker Legions is quite unforgiving, and not always in a good way, so it suffers for the same reasons records by Diabolic, Krisiun or Malevolent Creation often fall into systemic dispassion...the real lack of a distinguished or resonant atmosphere. To this point, granted, the Danes had only put out two records that weren't exactly bastions of depth in songwriting, but this one further cemented them as third or fourth stringers on the European scene, and it just lacks the character of the better efforts. It could really use some great lead sequences or pulverizing breakdowns to help break up the speed. That said, it's a real neckbreaker and not at all a bad album to pick through if you really value intensity and couldn't care less about subtlety or song diversity. Beyond the intro it goes into nuclear overdrive, nothing nuanced or unique ever happening, just a load of repetition that makes use of Killerich's speed without ever teaching us why he's this fantastic, up and coming drummer beyond his ability to batter away for a half hour. And that's frankly just too much for this to match any of the other Exmortem full-lengths, and coupled with the forgettable cover image of bursting, incendiary bodies, its reasonable why this seems to have been entirely neglected.

Verdict: Win [7/10] (waiting for a new age)

Exmortem - Dejected in Obscurity (1998)

There's probably no way Exmortem could have known that the title to their sophomore outing would prove a summation of their entire career, but it's funny to think that, so I WILL. Sadly, this was yet another good album arriving at a time when brutal death metal was exploding, and possibly overlooked because the Danes might have lacked that same sense of technicality that bands like Suffocation and Cryptopsy were reigning over while converting the legions of metalcore fans and nu metal expatriates into the realm of better taste. Dejected in Obscurity is the sort of album that might have appeared in the earlier 90s, basically retaining the debut's old school evil tremolo picking progressions and injecting a little more uptempo aggression with the frivolous lead sequences that one was lacking.

This isn't quite so dense and opaque as Labyrinths of Horror, sacrificing a fraction of the morbidity for a more dynamic sense of pacing; but it strikes a lot of the same nerves with the guttural belching. I felt that the guitar tone here was a little less impressive, but at the same time thinner and cleaner and better suited to let the syrupy bass lines through in the mix. The wails and slides of the brief solos add an entire new level of vile contrast, and the drums are a lot scrappier and give the whole disc a more calamitous appeal (the last album Mike Nielsen would record with the band). Backing vocals have changed slightly to a more indistinct bark, which I didn't care for as much as those on the first album, since they gave it a bit of a grindcore spark that was really unnecessary, but these aren't exactly an obstacle or distraction; they play a somewhat insignificant role when competing with the growls or shifting riff patterns. Dejected in Obscurity also benefits from a wider level of variation than its predecessor, they fiddle more with the listener's mood and expectations while remaining consistent through the faster paced material which plays like a blend of older Morbid Angel and Poland's Vader.

Not an immortal record, exactly, just another 'good one' from the later 90s that you might not have heard, because it has no real gimmick or selling point beyond the fact that genre completists will enjoy its purity of purpose. You can tell here that these Danes were probably really into the more malevolent West Coast thrash mayhem in the 80s (Slayer, Dark Angel, Possessed) because they really lay on that sort of intensity and excitement thickly, which was so formative to Florida's budding death metal evolution, which definitely had a hand in Exmortem's stylistic choices. I would say this was one of their worst records, and it's still entertaining, which says a lot for just how damned consistent they were until their eventually disbanding in the following decade (and century). The cover's a little bland, and the production doesn't really stand out beyond a reasonable level of concussion and clarity, but those seeking some genuine 90s death metal thrills without needing to join the 'Cult of the Old New' should add this to their radar, along with just about everything Exmortem ever recorded.

Verdict: Win [7.5/10] (into the gory cave of darkness)

Exmortem - Labyrinths of Horror (1995)

Another of those casualties of the mid-90s death metal era, who nonetheless managed a substantial career of six strong albums over 15 years. More than anything else, Denmark's Exmortem might have suffered from having forgettable artwork on most of their albums, because they just might have been the best band in their scene, easily elbowing out more visible contemporaries like Iniquity, Invocator and Illdisposed in terms of consistency and long-term appeal. Labyrinths of Horror is only the tip of the iceberg, but remains one of the first outings of theirs that I would heartily recommend. Now, more than ever, the cloud of old school death gnat...advocates born through the later 80s and 90s should give this group some of that long-delayed affection they always deserved, because they sit so perfectly balanced upon that precipice where simplicity meets brutality, borrowing only from some of their most impressive forerunners, and ensuring the listener that he or she will feel completely run through. Impaled. Gore. Trampled. Left to ponder the wisdom of becoming a death metal fan in the first place. Yeah, motherfuckers, you should have just gone with Weezer.

Denmark never really had a unified 'scene' aesthetic, unlike the Scandinavian sects of Sweden and Finland, so this doesn't precisely sound like Panzerchrist or Corpus Mortale beyond the obvious similarities in growls, guitar tunings, and general unfriendliness of the genre. Labyrinths of Horror is possessed of this rich, ripping guitar tone which can run with most of the Swedes, but the total nihilism of the main vocals and mindless blasting that often breaks out here has more in common with the US scene, specifically Florida and New York, some ungodly union of Obituary and Incantation. There's also quite a bit of Dutch inspiration, particularly via Pestilence or Asphyx, largely in the backing vocals which take on the grotesque pallor of Martin van Drunen (with a little John Tardy for good measure). Really, though, this debut shows the Danes at their most 'innocent' and straightforward. Labyrinths is an entirely riff-driven, ugly death metal record with about as much subtlety as a trash bag of human body parts left stinking behind the slaughterhouse. Doesn't take a huge leap of logic to realize what happened there, and what will happen to you if you were to fuck with these guys...guttural, slimy, evil, and eschewing melody for pure, punishing viscera.

Not a lot of atmosphere, and the riffing progressions are not necessarily the most memorable nor the most malevolent in composition, so it's clear Exmortem did not have a debut on their hands which would rival icons of the first wave like Left Hand Path, Realm of Chaos, Altars of Madness, etc. Intelligent, viral lead outbreaks are also not really a part of this picture, it's all too 'working class'...this butcher isn't working the leanest cuts of meat for an upscale banquet, he's just hacking into whatever is unfortunate enough to happen along. But at the same time, there's a particular timelessness to the meaty rhythm guitar tone, the spankish drum production and the overly ominous, deep Craig Pillard-esque growl which still makes me pull the covers over my head and pray for the killer to pass me over and kill the person in the next house. Alright, I'm exaggerating...I'd just shoot the bastard, but it's difficult to imagine even a handful of bullets putting this grisly beast down. Labyrinths of Horror isn't unique, it's not innovative, it's not melodic, it's not the best album by Exmortem and it doesn't care. In fact, there's nothing 'labyrinthine' or complex anywhere, which is the worst you could say for it. Simply a mouldering heap of rot, flies buzzing all over it, rats pulling at scraps as you gaze on in horror of how a living, loving, laughing being could become just yesterday's meat. You know you want a bite.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (recommending amputation)

Exmortem - Funeral Phantoms (2008)

I had been eagerly anticipating this release since I saw it announced some months ago. Exmortem is one of my favorite Danish death metal acts, I have always enjoyed their fusion of Scandinavian tone with a slightly more American approach to the riffing, and they have produced some killer records like Dejected in Obscurity and Pestilence Empire over their substantial career.

Funeral Phantoms certainly doesn't disappoint, opening with the brutal strut of "Black Opium". Sledgehammer riffs crawl with a barbaric menace. "Souls of Tyrants" chokes the life out of you with its dense grooves, and then they pick up the pace with the insane "Fixed in Slime" and title track. Some of my other picks here are "Slow Death Regimes" and "For the Grave of History". There is a World War conceptual theme throughout the lyrics and I feel they really represent this in the brutality and desolation of the songwriting.

This is yet another superb album for the Danes. The tone of the album is like a bulldozer leveling a ghetto. Simon's vocals are perfect guttural and he lets them ring when is phrasing each lyric, only adds to the decimation and truly connects this band to their old school influence. If you are a fan of simpler riffing in death metal and overall brutality, place this right behind Hail of Bullets debut as a must have for this year!

Verdict: Win [8/10]

http://www.myspace.com/exmortem