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EXUMER “Death Mask Messiah”
EXUMER “Death Mask Messiah”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Holy Hassenpfeffer! Germany’s thrash greybeards EXUMER are proving that not only is there still a place for great German thrash, it is better than it ever was. I’ve followed this band’s adventures since 1985, but it is 41 years later that they have released their greatest album, which is indisputably “Death Mask Messiah”!
This is blazing no mercy thrash that will destroy your neck more than a high speed automobile accident. Hard to believe that such a veteran band can burn with this much fire, but EXUMER hits hard from the first seconds of the title track all the way to the final cover of NASTY SAVAGE’s “Unchained Angel”(featuring no less than Nasty Ronnie himself!). Riffs are always super-important in thrash, but even more important is INTENSITY. That can’t be faked and I’ve never heard EXUMER more intense…and more precise…than they are here.
That title track gets things off to a cracking start, but it gets better from there. By the time we get to “Sin Bleeder” and “Eradication” you’ll know this is for real. Mem Von Stein, who has sung for the band since Day One, sounds better than ever…not just sonically, but in terms of real anger! The album seethes with it but never crosses into death metal territory. The highpoints of the album come late. “Fratricide” unleashes an all-time great “skank” riff in its mid-section that blows your mind, while “Frozen Ground” is insane energy. If the album has a slight weak spot, it’s the NASTY SAVAGE cover, which is not bad, but a notable drop from EXUMER’s own material.
Perhaps it was the horrid state of the human race that lit a fire under these guys. I don’t know, but I’m grateful for whatever it was. I can already tell you this blows way past the recent offerings from ANTHRAX and EXODUS. Grab hold of “Death Mask Messiah” and hang on for the thrash ride of the year!
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