Review Summary: Gore fun 7.0 (Home Video Edition)
Reek of Putrefaction marks the beginning of the gore chapter within the extreme metal realm, and even though at the time of its release this distasteful topic lacked its own sub-genre (it was branded as straight grindcore, which was erupting at the time), the artwork and lyrics on Carcass' debut were undeniably one of the most disgusting products from the late 80's. This album, and the two that followed, became a stylistic template for several bands that mixed grind and death metal around pathological matters of the flesh, such as General Surgery, The County Medical Examiners or the Californian Exhumed, who managed to stand out from the pack through their debut album
Gore Metal, which many consider to be responsible for redefining the genre. Carcass' formula remained scrupulously preserved, namely the dynamics and contrasts between the two guttural styles, the lyrical concept, and the relentless blending of grind and death metal. Exhumed's main purpose was never to innovate, but rather to carry on, and solidify, what Carcass started a few years earlier. Although it may seem reductive, music doesn't necessarily have to be artistically relevant, the ability to entertain is also important for a significant number of listeners, who enjoy some immature fun from time to time.
With a career spanning more than 20 years, you wouldn't expect Matt Harvey & Co to suddenly change their style and start adding flute and obscure folklore motifs to their music. In this sense, Exhumed's seventh release is exactly what we would expect from these gore veterans, a straightforward goregrind offering with all the clichés we're entitled to: death, mutilation, corpses, butchery, anger, flesh, bones, bloody naked bodies, reanimated cannibals and, obviously, horror, tons of it. Nevertheless, despite its predictability,
Horror features some particularities that I would like to highlight, starting with its grind approach, which is more pronounced than in previous albums. This aesthetic is mirrored in the tracks length, which never exceed three minutes, or even just a few seconds as in "Utter Mutilation of Your Corpse", but also in the predominantly core signature of tracks such as "Ripping Death", "Dead Meat" or "Scream Out in Fright", which closes with a surprising Tom Araya-esque scream. Even though the grind approach isn't new to the band, the way it manifests itself in
Horror should be underlined. The band's full maturity finds its peak in tracks that successfully balance the best of both worlds (death and grind), such as the massive thrashy opener, "Slaughter Maniac", "Naked, Screaming, and Covered in Blood" or "Rabid". These songs are probably the ones with the closest connection to the most recent past, and my personal highlights. The production is thick and clean, as usual, however the band would gain by making it dirtier, thus giving a more chaotic feeling to the album, making it denser, heavier and more contemporary, and since I'm pointing out less positive aspects,
Horror also lacks greater contrast between tracks, out of the box moments that could add some interesting dynamics to an album that sometimes seems too monochromatic and one-dimensional. Even a slasher movie needs interludes and suspense.
As I mentioned before,
Horror is exactly what we could expect from Exhumed, a straightforward assault which wastes no time in great subtleties or progressive sensibilities, and even if the formula is already worn out, I will always find time to put my Carcass shirt on, grab my old VHS, and have some good gore fun.
