New Zealand based death metal horde, Exaltation, conjure up a gruesome sounding onslaught of unapologetic brutality with the release of their debut full-length album, “Under Blind Reasoning.” Taking a plethora of elements from old school death metal, the band is able to record an album that sonically divides deep into the blackened abyss of inhuman extreme sounding chaos.
Working with Sentient Ruin on the release of the album, Exaltation is really looking to offer listeners a punishing extreme metal release from start to finish. If you are a fan of 90’s death metal then I think this album is going to be something that catches your attention right away. Similar to bands like Morbid Angel, Immolation, Deicide and Hate Eternal, once Exaltation starts unleashing their style of decimating sounding riffs and cataclysmic blast beats, you are instantly thrown into an oblivion of unfathomable destruction. I thought the recording quality was unbelievably solid and it definitely strengthens the band’s sinister lyrical concepts.
Out of the eight songs on the album, you will find that selecting a favorite is extremely difficult, because each track nails down the qualities of what one would hope to hear from a merciless sounding death metal release. The guitar and drum parts on the opening track, “Iron Rebellion,” come crashing down with tremendous force, thus creating a landscape of monumental devastation. I really enjoyed the drumming on this album and the second track, “Impending Deceased,” is a crash course in how one should go about recording drums on a death metal release. The drummer provides such raw force as well as an intense blitzkrieg of blast beats to accompany the agonizing riffs.
The band is also very dynamic when pertaining to their compositions, especially on tracks like, “Ascension” and “Impious Massacre.” I think, “Ascension,” captures the ruthless and unforgiving nature of 90’s Morbid Angel and the song sounds like a track that one might expect to have heard on an albums such as, “Formulas Fatal to the Flesh” or “Gateways to Annihilation.” Each track on the album seems to be recorded with a great amount of effort and attention to detail. For example, “Blaspheme Mortality,” is one track that features a surge of violent and sickening aggression to conjure up a haunting sounding dominion of brutal death metal. The demonic sounding vocals perfectly compliment the bone crushing instrumental arrangements as the band drags you further down an endless road of unspeakable carnage.
In the end, “Under Blind Reasoning,” is a death metal release that I highly recommend checking out if you are a fan of scorching and fearsome death metal. Exaltation is not some modern death metal act that waters down their sound by coming up with mundane sounding riffs and unnecessary breakdowns. I can honestly say that this is one death metal act which stays true to the blasphemous formula by laying down some juggernaut sized riffs for fans to immerse themselves in a sea of pestilent sounding death metal. The album comes out July 29th, so make sure to go order your copy from Sentient Ruin now!
Check out the song "Ascension" below:
Great review Robby.
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