Exmortem
Pestilence Empire

We are in 2002. The new millennium is well underway, innovations in metal music are scarce, and it is unlikely that the boom of the past will be repeated. But that does not mean metal cannot be played, and even if there won't be masterpieces, it can still be well-executed in the more recent times. One example is Exmortem, who, active since 1993, release their fourth album right in 2002, "Pestilence Empire."

Nothing that hasn't been said over the years, but the Danish band releases an album really full of aggression that almost seems to aim at intimidating the listener.

The record is powerful, possibly the most violent CD of the group; drums are blazing, where the double bass hits race quickly and resonate in the listener's chest, the use of cymbals is really very skillful, and each hit on a brass integrates perfectly with the overall complexity of the song, the drummer's performance is really good, the guitar riffs are interesting and never too predictable, maybe they could have been the subject of further study and thus variety, but nonetheless, the guitarist's work is more than sufficient. A sour note is the bass, which often becomes unrecognizable and gets lost in the wall of sounds. However, this is also due to today's productions that aim to accentuate medium-high sounds while neglecting, precisely, the bass. It's a mistake; the bass is an instrument that, if used skillfully, gives a unique richness and character to the overall sound of each track and would benefit from having its own space.

After this small "disquisition," we move to the singer's performance, which I find truly excellent. I might be exaggerating, but this Simon Petersen, in my opinion, has one of the most beautiful and expressive growls in metal, getting very close to the levels of Mikael Åkerfeldt and Paul Kuhr. The voice is very deep and dark, but this does not make it an incomprehensible and excessively strained singing; rather, it's a very determined growl and, in my opinion, full of emotion, where by emotion, one means a sentiment full of anger and inner resentment. A song of such power completely reflects such a state of mind. Contrasted with this fantastic growl part is a scream part; the use of this technique is very thoughtful, and even if it is not perfect from a purely stylistic point of view, the emotional part is very well developed.

In general, it is an album decidedly monolithic. The record consists of 9 tracks, and they are 9 punches to the stomach. Not a moment of pause, not a variation, but rather a hard and insurmountable sound wall, just listen to the opening track "Ghastly Grotesque," one of the best songs on the album in my opinion, or the following "Funerary Sculpture" and you will immediately understand what type of music you're dealing with.

Not recommended for those looking for refinement and melody in an album, these are 33 minutes of violence without any interruption.