Exhumed // Ingrowing
Split 3" Micro CD
7.4
Exhumed - Something Sickened This Way Comes:
4.5/5/5
It’s been three years since Relapse Records released Anatomy is Destiny and finally Exhumed has something new to offer, not that I missed Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated, I just didn’t care to pick up an album of cover songs. These songs have apparently been in the making since the summer of 2003 and they’ve just finally reached the metal community.
Exhumed have always been one of my personal favorite goremetal bands considering artists like Splatterhouse are good, but never really seemed to reach the levels of maturity the heavy hitters of the genre command. Granted all goremetal sounds frightingly like Carcass, but Exhumed have actually managed to break the majority of that stereotype with this new release. Something Sickened This Way Comes showcases the same thrashy gore infused metal of Anatomy is Destiny, yet Exhumed have come back stronger and wiser, playing with a surprising command of melody and variation while never disregarding the straight for the jugular ferocity I’ve always loved them for. The addition of Matt Connell (drums) to the mix gives Exhumed the impeccable tightness that they had lacked on earlier releases unlike their peers Impaled. “Something Sickened This Way Comes” showcases a wicked command of violent speed and technical musicianship, spiraling through melodic solos and straight ahead visceral gore metal. “Consumer or Consumed” is a quick burst of grindcore blasting that allows Leon del Muerte time to swap expertly from guttural lows to razor sharp highs before Exhumed gives a final, quickly abrasive rendition of the Napalm Death song “Life” before bringing a close to their calamitous split EP.
Exhumed is the perfect band for any fan of early Carcass work especially before Necroticism or any fan of Impaled. If “Something Sickened This Way Comes” is any indication of the quality of the gore soaked metal to come from Exhumed, fans should wait rabidly for their next offering. Absolutely brilliant work.
Ingrowing - To Clone And To Enforce:
3.5/4/4
From what I understand, this split with Exhumed is supposed to be somewhat of a teaser for an upcoming release on Obscene Productions. I never got to hear anything off their 2004 release Decameron of Grind, but I’m not too convinced I’ve really missed out on anything lifechanging.
“Biomechanized” starts off their section of the split, blasting away like a slower and more grind-obsessed version of Exhumed. The guitars have that same thick, over saturated sound so accustomed to grindcore, but the guitar work of Eddie and Rob is muddled, unrefined, and loosely played. The attack needed for this style of grind to be pulled off successfully is lost in the adequate, but uninspiring production of LOCO studio. Vlakin’s vocals sound like a tired version of Barney Greenway of Napalm Death until he releases the most horribly shrill, thin high scream I’ve ever heard. I love the trade off vocals of the goremetal genre, but not when they’re done like this. “Dance of Submission” goes off without a hitch, but it still sounds like nothing more than a forgotten B-side track that should have been long forgotten
Sadly, the minute long Regurgitate cover “Total Dismemberment of a Female Corpse” is the musical highpoint of To Clone And To Enforce, resulting in a somewhat anticlimactic and disappointing end to the split. They really didn’t do anything wrong, everyone is a competent and well versed musician, but the six and a half minutes of Ingrowing is a relatively disappointing affair. Uninspired and uninteresting.
