More than five years after the release of its then latest album, The Sound of Steel, Exmortus finally ended fans’ anxious wait for new material over the weekend. The music in question came in the form of its brand-new and long-awaited album, Necrophony. Spanning 12 songs and nearly an hour in time, the band’s latest album was well worth the wait. That is proven in part through the record’s featured musical arrangements, which will be discussed shortly. The lyrical themes that accompany that musical content adds its own share of appeal and will be examined a little later. The record’s production brings everything full circle, completing the album’s picture. It will also be addressed later. Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of Necrophony. All things considered they lead the album to make this year’s field of top new hard rock and metal albums that much more crowded.
Necrophony, the latest album from Exmortus (the band’s sixth), is a strong, welcome new offering from the metal outfit. The record’s success comes in no small part through its featured musical arrangements. For the most part, the arrangements are everything that audiences have come to expect from the band. The speed and thrash metal style work from guitarist Chase Becker and front man and fellow guitarist Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez is as intense as ever. Gonzalez’s powerhouse growling vocals make the punch from the guitars all the harder hitting. Drummer Adrian Aguilar solidly keeps time throughout each song, adding his own fireworks to each work with expertly placed cymbal crashes and machine gun-fast hits on the snare and bass drum while bassist Phillip Nunez offers up just enough low-end through each of his performances, putting the final touch to each composition. The whole gives listeners a sound throughout the majority of the album that is once again easily comparable to works from the likes of Arch Enemy, Exodus, and Raider, just to name a few similar acts. The band’s familiar take on a well-known classical composition is present here, too. ‘Storm of Strings,’ the album’s latest single, finds the band taking on Antonio Vivaldi’s timeless ‘Four Seasons’ and not only that, but it takes on famed clarinetist Yanni’s own cover of the composition for what is an incredibly powerful work. That full-on instrumental comes across very much in the vein of something one might expect from Trans-Siberian Orchestra, only more intense. The band also puts some classical guitar style work on display in the form of the album’s opener – another instrumental – ‘Masquerade’ and again later in the album in ‘Overture.’ The modern classical style shredding is certain to engage and entertain any true blooded speed and thrash metal fan. All things considered the musical arrangements featured in Necrophony offer the noted audiences more than enough reason to hear this record.
The lyrical themes that accompany the album’s musical arrangements plays alongside said content to make the album even more appealing. The lyrical themes featured in this record prove to be anything but just run-of-the-mill content. Case in point is the lyrical content featured in the album’s single, ‘Mind of Metal.’ Gonzalez explained when the song premiered back in April, that the song’s lyrical theme was inspired by the works of author J.R.R. Tolkien. He said of the song, “It’s a tribute to the wizard Saruman and other like characters in the legendarium, for their will to power and domination by crafty and industrial means.” In other words, one could interpret the song’s lyrical message being a fantasy-inspired work that delivers a message of overcoming adversity. Needless to say if that truly is the case then it is one of the most original ways in which such a familiar topic has been approached. To that end it is proof positive of the importance of the album’s lyrical content.
Speaking of someone overcoming adversity, the band seems to address that message even more clearly in ‘Test of Time,’ which serves as the album’s midpoint. This is inferred as Gonzalez sings in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “I’ve seen the depths of hell/Been lost within my mind/In darkness I have dwelt/Now leave it behind/Chains/Constrained/I’m oppressed/Defy/All’s forsaken/I fight on/My strength remains/Test my mettle/Never rest/In the dark resist/I see the dawn/Arise/I take to arms/Onward/Ride forth/My deeds shall stand the test of time/Foul tyranny has no remorse/My deeds will stand the test of time.” This certainly comes across as the noted familiar message of battling one’s demons and overcoming that noted adversity. The seeming message is enhanced even more in the song’s second, much briefer verse, which states, “Living many lives/Our reality’s a coil/Combat our inner strife/Our eternal toil.” The message of battling inner strike certainly points to the noted message of overcoming those personal odds. The whole herein leaves little if any doubt as to the song’s message. To that end, the seeming theme here, coupled with the intensity of the song’s musical arrangement makes the song in whole its own fodder for another single as well as more proof of the importance of the album’s lyrical content.
Audiences who maybe want something a little more…unexpected get that too, in a pair of later entries, ‘Children of the Night’ and ‘Beyond The Grave.’ The songs are not singles, so one has to assume from the lyrical content as to what is being addressed in each. In the case of ‘Children of the Night,’ the song’s lyrical content comes across as centering on vampires, believe it or not. This is inferred through the mention of the “Children of the night/Waking from their tombs” in the song’s chorus and waking “with a bitten neck” in the song’s second verse. The mentions of the “children” being “offspring of the blood moon” adds even more to that inference. So again what is received here is, again, a presentation that seems to be about vampires. If that is in fact the case then many if not most goth fans will appreciate this song.
In the case of ‘Beyond The Grave’ the seeming reference to zombies (which for whatever reason are still so popular today in movies and on television) comes as Gonzalez’s subject asks in the song’s lead verse, “Will I become as one of them?” before noting later in the song’s third verse of having that “vital need to kill” and how “they’ve sealed my fate” in the chorus’ reprise. If in fact this song really does center on zombies then again, the noted goth fans are sure to appreciate this, too. Between this apparent theme, that of ‘Children of the Night,’ those of the other two songs and of the rest of the album’s songs, the whole therein makes clear why the album’s lyrical content is just as important as its musical arrangements. When the album’s musical and lyrical content are considered together, the whole makes for so much for Exmortus’ fans to appreciate.
Tas much as the album’s content does to make it appealing, its production is also its own important addition to its presentation. The production is so important because of the fiery, energetic nature of each song. There is so much energy in each song, and each takes the volume and turns it to 15. That means that the utmost attention had to be paid to each of the album’s songs to ensure the instrumentation and vocals were perfectly balanced in each work. The work put in to ensure no one element overpowered the others paid off, too. Each musician’s part compliments those of his fellow performers in each work expertly. The result is such a positive aesthetic to the overall presentation throughout the album. When this positive result of the album’s production is considered along with all of the album’s content, the whole leaves Necrophony another positive offering from Exmortus.
Necrophony, the latest album from thrash outfit Exmortus, is a strong new offering from the well-established act. The album succeeds in part through its featured musical arrangements. The arrangements are everything audiences have come to expect from the band, considering the group’s output over the course of its five other albums. At the same time, the arrangements here boast their own identity separate from those works and from one another even as subtle as the variances are from one another within this very record. The record’s lyrical themes add their own touch to the album’s appeal. That is because they touch on a variety of topics, both familiar and less commonplace. The record’s production rounds out its most important elements, ensuring a positive aesthetic element to the whole. Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation. All things considered they make Necrophony a welcome addition to this year’s field of new hard rock and metal albums.
Necorphony is available now. More information on the album is available along with all of Exmortus’ latest news at:
Website: https://www.exmortusmusic.com
