Just in time for Halloween, Exmortus have a new EP called Legions Of The Undead set to release on October 25th. This swift shot of metal mayhem embraces horror as the central theme. In addition to a couple of new savage tunes, Exmortus dig into some mind-blowing covers.
The new Legions Of The Undead is the first album to include Adrian Aguilar (drums) and Chase Becker (guitars). Along with guitarist/vocalist Jadran “Conan” Gonzalez and Philip Nunez (bass), they will be hitting the road in support of the new album with the legendary Death Angel.
Kicking off the album is the title track “Legions Of The Undead”. What I love about Exmortus is the fist-clenching head-banging excellence of their riffs. This tune is guaranteed to induce an opened mouth roar to the heavens as you clutch invisible oranges in metallic ecstasy. Conan and Chase cast spells from their guitars in a dazzling display of fretboard wizardry. Relentlessly keeping the pace brutal and tight is the stellar drum and bass performances from Adrian and Philip.
The other original song on the EP is named “Swallow The Soul”. There is a powerful classic metal vide that had me thinking. If a band like Helstar or Iron Maiden were starting off today, they might sound like Exmortus on this song. It has that combination of exciting musical performances tightly woven into a song that infects you with the need to bang your head.
Legions Ot The Undead includes three ambitious and entertaining covers songs that fit within the overall horror / supernatural theme. There is a fun and whimsical cover of Danny Elfman’s “Beetlejuice” theme. Then you have the frantic rendition of the “Psycho Theme” by Bernard Hermann. The original slasher theme gets a metal injection of chaos from Exmortus.
Finally, one of the best songs on the album is Exmortus’s take on “Night On Bald Mountain” by composer Modest Mussorgsky. Classical music embodies the sonic fury that makes them perfect for a metal interpretation. While listening to this amazing song, I could not help having visuals from the movie Fantastia playing in my mind. You can see the souls of the damned within the fires of hell as the guitars soar, bass thunders, and drums pound.
Legions of the Undead by Exmortus is a terrifying onslaught of bristling metal music. The only problem with this album is that it is too short. I want more! More dazzling classically inspired guitars and bass. More stone crushing drums. More hellraising vocals. More, More, More. In the meanwhile, I will keep this platter of neoclassical death spinning non-stop.
