Another grand dissolution and recombination event allows for the strength and stature of Yogyakarta, Indonesia-based death metal duo EXHUMATION to reinforce per this explosive and dark-arcane fourth full-length album. ‘Master’s Personae‘ is at once a streak of black lightning, an invigorating event, and a scouring death’s spell which lingers in the carbonized crater that it leaves. In a shock of still-thrashing 80’s conscious blackened death by way of 2010’s-twisted esoteric death metal sojourn here these folks stride closer to maniac personality by way of ancient vibrancy and alchemic mastery of their own mutated expressive forms. The resulting event should be revered as one of the most compelling and convulsive death metal releases of this year.

Exhumation formed circa 2008 wherein numerous musicians began developing a vision of death music spearheaded by guitarist Ghoul and soon after vocalist Bones would round out the core duo. Each of their first three major releases featured drummer A.K. in session and from the start their style was rooted in ‘old school’ death metal of morbid-thrashing precision, taking on exacting angles upon approach and eventually drawing from more harried and abstract alchemic notions. Since I’d written at length about their discography and gave a very favorable review of album number three (‘Eleventh Formulae‘, 2020) I will sum those events as ‘Opus Death‘ (2014) was the greater point of notice for their efforts as their sound shifted from something like mid-90’s Polish death metal (see: ~early variations on Deicide, Morbid Angel) towards the cryptic and olden-connective stampede of bands like Obliteration, the sadistic 80’s black/death blur of Venenum and the ripping terror of groups like Force of Darkness as they blur black metallic thrashing death’s past into present. In most every way ‘Master’s Personae‘ improves upon the graces and grotesqueries of its predecessor, taking raving command of its attack in extension of said directive.

On paper much has changed in order to refine and alter the sensorial grit of Exhumation‘s sound as they’ve reached out to several guest musicians for session bits, such as lead guitars from J. Magus (Vile Apparition, ex-Sewercide) and new drummer A. Nokturnal, but also guest spots from folks in Obliteration, ZOM and Possession et al. to add to the otherwise in-the-moment bash that ‘Masters Personae‘ delivers. The living and breathing insanity of 80’s black/death metal is the basal emotion applied here, layered by the chaos of many hands into an ear-spiking live wire result. The energy of this record as a listening experience is surrealistic, chaotic yet practically applied, as close to “garage” death metal as one can get while still putting on an unreal performance. The finalized sound design (between Bable Sagala of Watchtower Studio and Jack Control Enormous Door Studios) works well when going between cranked headphones and a large stereo setup for the sake of allowing some collision between the vocal and guitar layers but allowing the rhythm section to lord over the directive of each song. From the maniac pulse of “Pierce the Abyssheart” through the estranged heavy rock kicks of “Perilous Tongue” the versatility of these production values show tensile range and representation.

From the outset ‘Master’s Personae‘ seems to draw from classic thrash tumult, early 2010’s Scandinavian death abstraction, and their own desire for classic affect in creating a piece of ranting escalation per opener “In Death Vortex” which spirals upward rather than tunnels into chasmic dread, keeping the energetic thresher at a whipping pace enough to provide an outrageous sense of motion. Vocals are exasperated, ranting and sputtering in between growled emphasis while still managing something declarative a la Bølzer yet entirely impatient, rooted in a late 80’s black-death accost. The momentum of the opener rides right into “Pierce the Abyssheart” and this is where we find the personality of the band exploded across the stage depicted, haunting and rocking in numerous tangents while the piece stampedes through. In fact all of Side A, with the exception of a brief bookend (“The Martyr’s Lament”), upholds this jogging fast and stabbing deep pace as they swing and blast through the first four songs, each about four and a half minutes long and structured after classic death and thrash metal forms. It might be fair to see ‘The Formulas of Death‘-era Tribulation in the genetic code of this dynamic but this observation won’t hold up by direct comparison, instead I would redirect the ear toward ‘Black Death Horizon‘ for a sense of space and timbre but not as an implication of speed.

Though we seem to be reaching peak dementia within “Funereal Dreams” the real pusher on the album for my own taste is the momentum-stoking ramp of “Chaos Feasting” a weaponized and inward piercing song which showcases both the blackened thrashing thrust applied to this album and the room they give their bigger movements to breathe and extend their impact. Leads are tuneful yet extremophilic in their reach, a bit of early Morbus Chron (or similar) in there knocking around before the last third of the song does a fine job of opening up into dreadful, fatalistic chorale. This is where I’d felt the rally of ‘Master’s Personae‘ began to make its case for an experiential release rather than a pure whipping of the neck as we continue to see their work designed around a two-sided medium. Now, truth be told I believe most folks would straight up just buy this album for Side A, it really is that good what they’ve achieved in terms of economical detail and high-impact ‘old school’ extreme metal without a hair out of place but that should not suggest that there is no depth or expansion felt within Side B. In fact I believe many listeners will find the second half of this album only strikes deeper at the harried conception offered on the first half.

The second chapter of ‘Master’s Personae‘ features less uniform song lengths, mostly sub-four minute pieces which reach for the more thrashing side of Swedish death rhythmic lines on “Thine Inmost Curse” wherein ‘Poisoned Void‘-era Vorum comes to mind briefly though the lead guitar runs are far more contained and the pace achieving a more freely set tumble through their movement. The sinister swaying motion that eventually comes to a head here is punctuated by performative drum fills and the clattering 80’s death metal revelry which helps to reinforce the abrupt and maniac feeling of Exhumation which they’ve been steadily moving toward with each release; Perhaps my favorite song on the full listen beyond its introductory moments the aforementioned “Perilous Tongue” is the best representative piece which runs the gamut of all that makes ‘Master’s Personae’ unique while pushing the envelope a bit with its series of refrains and exaggerative endpoint. Again the drum performances do well to both create presence and a sense of unique style on this album which continues to create dividends for the end result even when elbow deep in Side B. From this point the ending notes from these folks are experimental in their drift, stretching the possibilities even more on the final two pieces before circling back in under forty minutes.

Though it feels like Exhumation goes more places in its last two pieces than it did in hammering out its first four that shouldn’t suggest a new direction for their sound, but rather that they’d pushed this moment as far as they could to best round out these ideas. In fact if I have one complaint about this record is that its final moments lose a bit of their energy, at least not enough to create an equal experience between the two halves. A full forty minutes of balls-to-the-wall energy isn’t a necessary thing, of course, but the initial hype-beasting froth of the introduction does eventually fade into estranged nuance by the endpoint. That overall progression earns its charm over the course of numerous listens as the first impression held fast in my experience, this carries some parity of experience with ‘Eleventh Formulae‘ though I’d found this album quite a bit more memorable in the long run.

The cohesive aesthetic and graphic design of the final product only amplifies the value of the experience per brilliant cover artwork from the indomitable José Gabriel Alegría Sabogal who shares space with the maestro Daniele Valeriani in the gatefold/insert. For my own taste this is a prime example of curated imagery for an LP which stands out as hand-hewn mastery in a dead sea of thoughtless, soulless and grainy low-effort AI images staining music today. With this all-things-considered approach to design in mind alongside the dark energizing attack of ‘Master’s Personae‘ otherwise this album holds up as one of the very best of 2024 and a new high standard set for Exhumation‘s future. A very high recommendation.

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