Exhumation - Eleventh Formulae
Indonesia
Pulverised Records
Upon first hearing this monster of an album, I am met with a wondrously ominous harsh noise intro that transitions into very old-school vein dissonant death metal. “Eleventh Formulae” is the band’s third full length and 5th release overall. Formed in 2008, Indonesia’s Exhumation have their sound locked in. This full-length has a lot going on, from pummeling blast sections, galloping segments and old-school death thrash worship. There is even some old-school black metal sprinkled into the mix which is almost always a recipe for making extreme music sound 100 times better.
The sound of “Eleventh Formulae” as a whole if I could sum it up in two words would be primitive and chaotic. The production is absolutely perfect for the style. Not too raw, but not too over produced. That perfect middle ground where I can hear all the instruments fine, but it maintains a lo-fi bestial atmosphere.
The three “Formulae” tracks that are present mid album and at the end add to the band’s disgusting and vile atmosphere as well as creating a dynamic full album listening experience. Definitely some thought was put into this album to keep things captivating, which can be a difficult task when writing black or death metal full-length albums. The vocals have dynamic in them going from full harsh vocals to an almost ritualistic shouting sort of vocals.
Clocking in at a minute shy of 40 minutes, there is not a single mediocre track on Exhumation’s latest offering. The chaotic, frantic style of lead playing with divebombs almost shows influence from the first three Morbid Angel records. This is a death metal full-length that in my opinion verges on being black/ death and death/thrash at the same time. The final “Formulae” track comes in, surprising me after 2 minutes of dark ambient to mid-paced instrumental riffing, almost sounding similar to Sweden’s Craft or Carpathian Forest, ending the album on a strong note.
This is very refreshing death metal to listen to and the only complaint I have is not hearing it sooner, noting that it was released back in February of 2020. Though every track is consistent, the strongest songs here would be “Inferno Dwellers”, “Arcane Dance”, and “Blood Trails”. For fans of Necrovore, “Morbid Visions” era Sepultura, Sarcofago, Morbid Angel and Venenum. (AR)