All Guts, No Glory

Exhumed is one of the defining bands in both death metal and grindcore. They have influential records like Gore Metal and Slaughtercult. However, if you look at the band's contemporary releases, one album stands tall. All Guts, No Glory has all the ingredients for a perfect death metal record. This album displays both brutality and melody in a perfect manner.

It becomes understandable when "As Hammer to Anvil" starts playing with its crunchy guitar riffs and frenetic solos that channel the likes of Heartwork era Carcass, minus the melodeath elements. Ignoring the title track intro, "As Hammer to Anvil" is a perfect song to kick off All Guts, No Glory being relentless in its 3:38 time run. "Through Cadaver Eyes" is another highlight that displays the prominent thrash metal influence on the album. The pause in the middle of the song which transitions into a melodic guitar solo is probably the best moment on All Guts, No Glory. Although, not a highlight, "So Let It Be Rotten... So Let It Be Done" is notable for being an homage to Metallica's "Creeping Death" song. A perfect reference to add for an album that's influenced by thrash metal, although still predominantly death metal.

Death metal isn't usually a genre that's known for having multiple lead vocalists. However, the dual vocal system that Matt Harvey and Leon del Muerte display on this record is fantastic. They utilize this best on "Your Funeral, My Feast", which sounds disgusting and cool at the same time. Wes Caley and Matt Harvey have some of the catchiest guitar riffs on All Guts, No Glory. As expected, the guitar riffs are inspired by Carcass, with "Death Knell" and "Dis-Assembly Line" notably having unique guitar solos which shows that the guitarists have studied their heroes rather well. Danny Walker's drums are all over the place on here. A noteworthy song in particular is "I Rot Within" in which Walker's drum play is at blast beat levels of speed and judging by the pre-chorus riffs, it shows that he's intending on getting mosh pits starting when Exhumed play this song live. The production is also top notch as Matt Harvey made sure that All Guts, No Glory sounds disgusting as it could be.

But then again, I think disgusting music is fun. All Guts, No Glory is a fun record with several mosh pit starters. It may not have grindcore elements like Exhumed's early material, but it makes up for it with an all-killer-no-filler track listing. The most successful "Carcass worship" band in general, I'd recommend All Guts, No Glory as the Exhumed album to begin with. It's definitely worth the listen.

This California based band going back to the origin to where they were formed in 1990 have come a long way in writing a solid release here, probably one of their best. Even though I dislike the lead guitar on this record, I think that the rhythm outshines it and "glorifies" their sloppiness in the lead department.

The band's tempo changes varies quite a lot. In some segments, the guitar sounds a little thrash metal-esque, but overall quite heavy. This is an album that I can play repeatedly and not get tired of. It's just one of those albums that never seems to be dull or sound cliche. I thought that Matt Harvey (front-man) did a great job composing most of these songs. This band emerged onto the scene when it was almost at the height of its' notorious reign. That is, the 90's era of death metal. I'd say they're more death metal oriented than grind. If you want a good grindcore album, listen to Napalm Death's "Harmony Corruption" release.

This album is enough to knock anyone on their ass, it's brutal, original and intriguing to the listener. I enjoyed every minute of it. Though at times it reminds me of certain influences to the like of Carcass (Steer/Walker) vocal trade-offs but the music is in no way melodic. The compositions are mostly just heavy as hell and the grind bits are fast tremolo picking by both guitars.

If you're going to check out some songs on here, here's a list: "As Hammer To Anvil", "Death Knell", and "Dis-assembly Line." The whole record kicks ass though and is available on Spotify. If you choose to download it, hold on tight for some brain-wrenching splatter to your eardrums. This album packs a huge punch for the band and I hope that they make another like this one in days to come.

The genres of death metal, grindcore, gore metal and splatter metal are practically synonymous with bands like Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death and Carcass. And to be honest I include Exhumed on that list as well because they too are similar with exceptionally violent and disgusting lyrics, fast as hell songs and, like Carcass, the non-occasional use of pitch shifters. After a 5 year hiatus and a very unstable line up these American death metallers pulled together with new members for their comeback album All Guts, No Glory.

I am not really a huge fan of the low quality recording and production that Exhumed and Carcass had on their debut albums. So thankfully you can hear the quality of the production right from the first track which is the instrumental title track All Guts, No Glory which really displays everyones talent on their instruments. Founding member Matt Harvey shreds on guitar along with lead guitarist Wes Caley, pumping out some absolutely unholy and badass work, this can be heard on tracks such as Through Cadaver Eyes which has full on chainsaw-like riffs and Dis-Assembly Line.

Of all the instruments heard on this record the drums played by Danny Walker are particularly impressive. Impressive because he didn't fall into the trap that is common amongst death metal and grindcore bands, which is constant blast beats with hardly any different drum patterns. But on this album they differ from song to song with double bass on one song, blast beats on another and slower beats on another like on I Rot Within and Distorted and Twisted To Form.

Something that Exhumed are pros at and have utilised well over the years is the dual harsh vocals that are provided by Matt Harvey and bass player Leon del Müerte. Matt does the high pitched screams and Leon does the deep growling. The dual vocals sound amazing on tracks like the hard-hitting As Hammer To Anvil and on Your Funeral My Feast which has subtle use of pitch shifters making Leon's voice sound inhumanly deep.

An obvious topic that has to be discussed when reviewing a band like Exhumed is the lyrics. Throughout the record the lyrics are consistently and sufficiently gory enough to satisfy any splatter fan. I do find that with any band that sings of gore and death extensively the lyrics contain excellent use of the English language even if it is to create sort of mini horror stories. And Exhumed are no different on songs like Necrotized and Death Knell. Another small something I picked up on was the speed with which Matt spouts out these detailed lyrics and how well he can enunciate them, it reminds me very much of George 'Corpsegrinder' Fisher of Cannibal Corpse.

There is nothing I can really think of that is disappointing about All Guts, No Glory. I mean the musicianship is spot on throughout the entire release showing on songs like So Let it be Rotten … So Let it be Done. The length of the album is perfect, any longer and it might be a bit repetitive and any shorter and it could be underwhelming. Let's just hope that Exhumed can find a solid and steady lineup so as to create more work like this.

When an album cover depicts four long haired zombies devouring the flesh of the dead from the grave, I expect it to be a very unrelenting death metal album. Dismemberment, mutilation, disembowelment, and any other descriptor for human evisceration are what I expect to drive the music and lyrics. Exhumed delivers the splattered gore on All Guts, No Glory; a visceral mess of American death metal riffs artfully entwined with Swedish style melodic solos.

Most modern death metal strive to be as technical as possible, sweeping better than Cinderella (the fairy tale character, not the ’80s glam metal band of the same name) across the fretboard and tapping like a tap dancer on a high-wire, demonstrating the guitarists’ skills honed in the bedroom woodshop while maintaining as much atonality as possible in order to be more brutal than Dethklok. Exhumed maintain the speed of mid-'90s death metal while adding in very memorable and headbanging riffs such as the main one on “As Hammer to Anvil”, “Through Cadaver Eyes” or “I Rot Within”.

The blood-drenched riffs are complimented by the deep growls and dry rasp of lead guitarist and vocalist Matt Harvey. Rather than sounding separate from the music, Harvey uses his pipes as a fourth instrument. I’m sure the lyrics focus on death and gore in a myriad of ways, but their message doesn’t matter as the music delivers the death and decay well enough with the vocals imparting the fatal blow to the skull, ejecting all of the gray matter on the bloodstained amps.

Normally such brutal music will get extremely old after several minutes and there are definitely instances where Exhumed don’t let up such as on “Distorted and Twisted to Form”, reaching back into their grindcore roots and discharging with atonal and whammy-laden solos lifted from Reign in Blood-era Slayer. “Necrotized” retains the grindcore sensibilities and allows bassist Leon del Muerte (Leon of Death) to be heard in a distorted burst. The relentless and often groovy blood riffs are countered by a respite through melodious leads.

Hearing these soaring solos, you’d think that the trio of Exhumed hail from Sweden rather than California. “Your Funeral, My Feast” demonstrates Harvey’s knack for writing tremendous, melodic solos. They create a nice break before jumping straight back into the murderous fray such as on “Death Knell”.

Despite being around for over 20 years, Exhumed has proven themselves to not fall into irrelevancy by promptly shattering the skulls and eating the intestines of the younger bands through relentless riffs, melodic solos, and demonic vocals. They have all the guts and certainly deserve all the glory.

Originally Posted on Teeth of the Divine

In 2011, a trend can start and end in a couple months. With a dozen new releases in every genre every day and people writing about music on umpteen million blogs (I'm guilty, too), it just moves fast. Take, for instance, the so-called New Wave of Old-School Death Metal. It was identified as a reaction to the too clean, too technical sound of modern death metal. The NWOOSDM seems to have started some time in the middle of 2010, and here we are in the middle of 2011 and the anti-trend of NWOOSDM is now the trend. Some people are already getting sick of it.

Is it now anti-trend to release a modern death metal album? What's cool (or anti-cool) today? Don't ask Exhumed, because they obviously don't care.

The death metal veterans' grindy, thrashy, high-speed death metal is neither trend nor anti-trend. They're just doing what they do, and doing it well. The modern production probably isn't considered cool today. The straight-forward songs have neither technical wizardry nor atmospheric oppressiveness. It's just pure metal made by people who obviously love what they're doing, and don't take themselves too seriously. Metal could use more of that, especially when it's as catchy as this.

The Verdict: Exhumed are just doing what they do, and they don't care what anyone else is doing.

originally written for http://fullmetalattorney.blogspot.com/

I remember almost exactly when my preoccupation with gore started. I can’t remember how old I was (I do know I was quite young), but I definitely remember the circumstances. I was over at my next door neighbor’s house and they just so happened to have a VHS of George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. We must have watched that movie a thousand times. We were completely obsessed with it. I remember running around outside yelling “They’re coming to get you, Barbara!”. I also remember going to the local graveyard and being disappointed to not see even a single flesh-eating ghoul lumbering around.

As I got older, the obsession continued and intensified, ultimately leading me to much more repulsive films, comic books and finally to death metal. As I’ve previously documented, I didn’t care for death metal when I first heard it. But then one day, something clicked. I realized that death metal was the musical equivalent of the all the horror movies and comics I’d freaked out over in my youth, and after that there was no turning back.

Why am I bringing this up? Because no death metal band today exudes those putrid ethos that remind me of the fun of my gore-drenched upbringing more than Exhumed. After a self-imposed eight year silence between full lengths (six if you count the all-covers Garbage Daze Re-Regurgitated) the band is back with All Guts, No Glory, a viciously executed slab of sickness that finds the California quartet doing what they do best; gore, gore and more gore. By backing off the musical and conceptual complexity of 2003′s Anatomy is Destiny in favor of a more refined and catchy approach, they have crafted what is easily their finest album to date.

Of course, a host of bands with more disgusting cover art and more offensive album/song titles have sprung up in Exhumed’s absence, but there is one very important thing separating them from the average Sevared Records band (for instance), and quite frankly, that thing is talent. Exhumed knows how to write brutal yet classy songs that will stick in your head like a surgical saw to the cerebral cortex, the metallic equivalent of a Romero or Fulci film, making the competition look like the direct-to-DVD hacks of death metal.

Taking elements of death metal, grindcore and thrash and tossing them in a vat of musical quicklime, Exhumed goes straight for the jugular with cuts like “As Hammer to Anvil” “Through Cadaver Eyes” and “Necrotized”. It’s frightfully awesome stuff, steeped in pitch-black black humor and backed up with some serious chops. Speaking of chops, the guitar-work of Matt Harvey and Wes Caley (ex-Fatalist, Uphill Battle) is the album’s highlight, a grisly mixture of eviscerating razor-riffage and frenzied soloing that puts the guts in All Guts, No Glory. Exhumed’s rhythm section are no slouches either and as expected, the playing of bassist Leon del Muerte and drummer Danny Walker (also of Intronaut) is as tight as a canister of 2-4-5 Trioxin, infusing the songs with the necessary speed and precision.

As crushing and brutal as All Guts, No Glory is, there is also an infectious sense of fun that permeates the recording. It gives me the same feelings I felt watching that first zombie chase Judith O’Dea through the cemetery, that feeling of adrenaline and giddiness and terror all rolled into one. The zombified band photo gracing the cover is telling; I have a hunch that Exhumed are a group of guys that love this shit as much as I do. So, if you’re like me and looking for the perfect soundtrack to your gore obsession, look no further, because Exhumed are back from the dead and ready to party.

originally written for http://thatshowkidsdie.com

American death metallers Exhumed have never been a band fussed about providing the fastest or most extreme records and have instead focused over their lengthy career now spanning 5 records over 20 years on spinning yarns of Carcass-influenced and melodically infused gore-themed metal. Given I have introduced in this manner clearly such is the case with "All Guts, No Glory" where from first track proper "As Hammer To Anvil" through to closer "Funereality" there is no let-up in the band's multi-vocalled attack, where in the true Carcass mould we get the consistent delight of dual high and low vocals of Matt Harvey and a tempo that could be pretty well summed up as 'fast'.

Following the self-titled 2 minute introduction piece the 10 subsequent tracks are all of a similar standard and 3-4 minute length, the likes of "As Hammer To Anvil", "I Rot Within" and "Dis-assembly Line" being the definition of the Exhumed sound with easily approachable (by DM standards) song structures, hammering drums, clear soloing all wrapped in the perfectly clear yet biting production required for a sound like this. In "Your Funeral, My Feast" and "Necrotized" the Carcass influence in the band's soloing is hugely apparent yet considerably well done to allow these Californian's CHECK to get away with their obvious stylistic influences.

In one of those rare instances there are no plainly weak tracks at all to be found here, "Through Cadaver Eyes", "Death Knell" and "Sound The Charge" besides the aforementioned all being absolutely listenable to any seasoned death metaller like myself, but the magic spark to bring these songs, and the album as a whole, has not yet been found after many listens the past couple of months. Exhumed's latest attempt is a definite pleaser to fans of old school orientated death metal without plumbing the depths of aural depravity most of that ilk choose to take, but as a release "All Guts, No Glory" is full of clean, incisive flesh wounds but the killer mortal blow has not quite been served.

Originally written for www.Rockfreaks.net

After an extended hiatus, everyone's favorite Californian Carcass-worshipping death metal band has returned with one hell of an album: "All Guts, No Glory." In every way, Matt Harvey & Co. have, once again, outdone themselves on this release, and I would venture out on a limb to say that this is the metal album of the year so far. So if you like your metal gory, pulverizing, and sprinkled with memorable melodies, read on.

What Exhumed has accomplished is a complete and natural melding of two past albums with very different sounds: "Slaughtercult" and "Anatomy is Destiny." On this release, they manage to tap into the aggressive, relentless transitional death/grind of "Slaughtercult" while adding the nuanced and mature arrangements (especially in the soloing and production) of "Anatomy is Destiny." The result is nothing less than spectacular. Every member of this album's lineup is on point musically. The songwriting is immense, and every track has an aggressive, breakneck edge with precision drumming and flawless instrumentation.

"All Guts, No Glory" should instantly appeal to any fan of latter-day Carcass (Pre-"Swansong"). The influence of "Necroticism" and "Heartwork" on this album is undeniable. The solos absolutely ooze with Amott-era melody and harmony, and each one is memorable in its own right. To me, the leads are the highlight of all the songs. A few are so good, I find myself hitting the seek button to hear them again and again. And as a bonus, you get something from this band that Carcass never really did. Exhumed mixes the guttural/high-pitched vocal trade-offs of earlier Carcass releases with the melodic death/grind sensibilities of "Necroticism" and "Heartwork". The effect is mind-blowing. However, the arrangements and flourishes that make this album unique are 100% Exhumed. This band, in my opinion, has never been a shameless Carcass "clone" (like The County Medical Examiners, for example). They pay homage to one of metal's most influential bands without bald faced plagiarism. For example, "Distorted and Twisted to Form" -- with its driving d-beat and rumbling groove, is more reminiscent of early Dismember than any aforementioned UK grind act. The sound here is truly unique, and wholly relevant: a kick in the ass for modern death metal and goregrind.

In short, this is an essential purchase for any fan of death metal or melodic grind. It is a flawless album. Although I still think "Anatomy is Destiny" is the band's high point, "All Guts, No Glory" rates a very close second. This belongs in any splatterhead's CD collection. A must-own release for the year 2011.

Standout Tracks Include: As Hammer to Anvil, Through Cadaver Eyes, Distorted and Twisted to Form, I Rot Within

Recommended for Fans of: Carcass, General Surgery, Impaled, Dismember, Grave, Haemorrhage, The County Medical Examiners (I could go on, but frankly, if you like death metal in any form, this album is worth your time!)

I cannot express in words how stoked I was when I listened to this album. Exhumed was one of the very first death metal bands that I got started on, and their debut album Gore Metal holds a place in my heart worthy of worship. I love all of Exhumed's work, but I found that I couldn't enjoy any of their later material as much as I enjoyed Gore Metal. That is until I gave All Guts, No Glory a listen.

The opening title track has that signature raw goregrind sound that Exhumed developed in the late 90's that just makes you want to THRASH! And they top it off with some sick ass Kerry King style squealies using the floyd rose. It sounds like something you'd hear off of Gore Metal, but there are elements of Carcass-like melody in many riffs and solos throughout the album. Tracks like "Distorted and Twisted to Form" and "Necrotized," are songs that no old school Exhumed fan can deny. Other tracks that would remind one of Carcass' more melodic material are "Through Cadaver Eyes" and "Dis-assembly Line."

Exhumed perfectly combined their raw goregrind thrashy sound with melodic influences from Necroticism without over doing it or seeming un-creative with the guitar work, which I feel they did on Anatomy Is Destiny and Slaughtercult. They're still the same sick geniuses they've always been, conjuring up amazing song titles such as "So Let It Be Rotten... So Let It Be Done..." which is my personal favorite. This album is amazing, and should be appreciated by any old school Exhumed fan. I know I'm in love with it, and I feel that any other Gore Metal fan will feel the same way.

Californian cannibals Exhumed have spent the latter half of the past decade sequestering themselves into their other projects, getting in touch with their feelings, touching and maiming themselves, or whatever other activities occupy the deathgrinder's downtime. Only a handful of split appearances have arrived in the meantime, but at last they've returned to Relapse and the aural slaughterhouse that transformed them into a nation spanning, touring troupe of psychos. Yes, All Guts, No Glory returns more to the hybrid of death, grind and thrash that characterized their rise to prominence in the late 90s: born more of Slaughtercult than Anatomy is Destiny, but instantly familiar to anyone seeking a pre-Swansong Carcass clone who do an admittedly knockout job within the medium.

The trademarks remain: a focus on catchy and intense riffing with a subtext of barbaric thrash interspersed with clinical, creepy melodies, and the mix of snarled and guttural vocals that catapulted Symphonies of Sickness and Necroticism into the vegan trauma ward. Exhumed do not spend all their time aping the British pioneers, of course, and they pull in several influences to once again deliver the goods. This is the first album of originals featuring the two newer members (drummer Danny Walker and guitarist Wes Caley), but they're integration into this grisly autopsy is seamless, and you'll hardly notice a difference between this and Gore Metal save for the slight emphasis on thrashing elements over grinding foundations. I was actually not so thrilled by the preview track "As Hammer to Anvil", but the rest of the record more than compensates, with standouts like the early-Pestilence meets Necroticism duo of "Through Cadaver Eyes" and "Death Knell", the eerily melodic battering ram of "Dis-assembly Line", or the enthusiastic Carcass chaos of "Necrotized".

Not all that glitters is viscera, and a number of the songs do stagnate thanks to a handful of less inspiring filler riffs (for example, "As Hammer to Anvil" has about one worthwhile guitar line). The leads are in general sweet, though, incorporating a canny throwback to traditional metal or melodic death solos, not unlike their previous album, Anatomy is Destiny. This is ultimately a more propulsive and less pensive entity than that, with a rich and punchy guitar tone that deftly delivers the aggression without overbearing the ear, the surgical melodies cutting across the rhythm section with a practiced savagery. It's neither as freshly gutted nor as good as the band's 2000 summit Slaughtercult, an album I personally venerate as the best Carcass tribute in my collection, but it follows pretty closely in those same bloodied footprints, and a ghastly good time if you're willing to look past several of the more mediocre riffs dispersed among the tracks.

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com