EXIMPERITUS

EXIMPERITUS     "Meritoriousness of Equanimity" 

By Dr. Abner Mality

I've been waiting a long time for this one! The mysterious Belarussian band with a name longer than the alphabet (EXIMPERITUS is just a tiny chunk of it) has returned, so it's time to grab your dictionaries as well as a neck brace. Their last album "Sahrartu" was a masterpiece of ultra-heavy yet mystical death metal and I was lucky enough to talk to the band, which is a rare occurrence. They channeled the misery of living in their oppressive land into songs so heavy and grinding that it felt like somebody dragging a pyramid over your body.

"Meritoriousness of Equanimity" is their follow-up. How does it stack up against "Sahrartu"? To be honest, I still like "Sahrartu" more but this is a worthy album. It takes more than one listen for its full force to be known. Opening track "One Step Long Infinity" is much shorter than we're used to from these guys and it is also rawer, more immediate. The album features a mix of shorter tracks, moderately longer tunes and some atmospheric interludes. I really love the longer and generally slower tracks like "Finding Consistency In the Fourth Quadrant of Eternity" and "The Untimely Fruit of the Unsaid" best. They have the ancient majesty of epic songs from NILE and MORBID ANGEL. The guitar solos can be incredibly melodic and atmospheric despite the overall heaviness of the band. 

As you can see from the song titles, EXIMPERITUS tends to be long-winded almost to the point of parody, but their approach to death metal is utterly serious. They are said to be influenced by the philosophy and mythology of ancient civilizations like Sumeria and Assyria. And much of the riffing retains a sound of those cultures.

The band did stumble with final track "Standing At The Skirt of the Ruins of Human Nature", which sounds unfocused and a bit awkward. But overall, this is death metal for the thinking man, especially those sick and tired of the tech-drenched age we live in.

WILLOWTIP RECORDS 

EXIMPERITUS