EXUMER 'Death Mask Messiah'

EXUMER
Death Mask Messiah
Metal Blade Records

 1983 was the year that the sub-genre called Thrash Metal hit the collective minds of the world's youth like a sledgehammer. Oh sure, there were early speedy songs that really got the ball rolling, like ACCEPT's "Fast As A Shark", the legions of VENOM and "Black Metal" from 1982, the mighty SAXON's "20,000 Ft." from 1980, & MOTORHEAD's "Overkill" from 1979, and that's for starters. I could literally write a term paper on the origins of Thrash metal. But when METALLICA's 'Kill 'Em All' and SLAYER's 'Show No Mercy' pummeled everyone with the new at-the-time muscle of Thrash, it was all systems go from that point on. And of course it didn't take long for Thrash to make its way to Germany, where it just exploded with speed, power & fury as the German youth took to Thrash like bier at Oktoberfest! They were made for each other. And just like there's a Big 4 of Thrash metal, with the aforementioned METALLICA and SLAYER, plus ANTHRAX & MEGADETH, there's also a Big 4 of German Thrash. That being DESTRUCTION, KREATOR, SODOM & TANKARD. Those 4 bands, like their U.S. brethren, took the Thrash sceptre to the heads of the German youth and no one was spared. It was indeed glorious! And just like here, their impact was felt immediately. There was no shortage of bands playing Thrash, and there was no shortage of fans banging that head that didn't bang! IYKYK. Thanks to my German Brother Andy Mayhem (RIP my Brutha) I was at the forefront of the Thrash invasion from Germany as wave after wave of bands began their brutal assault on mankind. Bands like ASSASSIN, VECTOM, DARKNESS, and AVENGER (who because of the legendary NWoBHM band of the same name eventually changed their name to RAGE) came to the forefront and began recording demos, albums and playing live in clubs all over Germany and elsewhere. And there was one more band who released the absolutely crushing album 'Possessed By Fire' in 1986, that being EXUMER from Frankfurt. Formed in 1984 as TARTAROS, they changed their name to the much more menacing EXUMER in 1985, and quickly recorded the 'A Mortal In Black' demo. Singer/bassist Mem von Stein left in 1986 and was replaced by Paul Arakaki for another Thrashtastic effort in 'Rising From The Sea'. And save for a demo (Whips & Chains) released in 1989 that was it as EXUMER joined the large mountain of bands that fall by the wayside after a promising start. But like the band's mascot (The Masked Dude is all I know to call him) EXUMER rises from the sea (See what I did there?) and comes storming back in 2012 with 'Fire & Damnation. And like I always say about legacy bands, there's usually 1 captain steering the ship through the perilous waters of the music business. In this case, there's 2. The aforementioned Mem von Stein, who came back for the 'F&D' album, and guitarist Ray Mensh, who's been the one constant through all the starts and stops of EXUMER. Joining these 2 are 2nd guitarist Marc Brautigam, who's been with the band the longest since 2013, bassist Alex Vob since 2024, and the man getting the workout from the fires, drummer Jerome Reil since 2025.  

  The latest slab of Teutonic Steele from the band is 'Death Mask Messiah', which is the band's first since 2019's 'Hostile Defiance'. And if you're looking for emo-filled ballads or acoustic interludes with tear inducing cries of lost love then go jump off a building! This is not the band for you. EXUMER is a full throttle kick in the sack with the neck-breaking fury of power drumming and precision riffing like a ride on the Autobahn in a Top Fuel Dragster with no helmet! Hard to pick a fave original song but the title track is just relentless and it's also one of the two official music videos. The other being "Blinding Skies". The album itself is 11 tracks and clocks in at 42 minutes of pure metal carnage. A crisp production lets all the instruments rage as they were meant to. "Eradication", "Allocated Savagery" is that indeed. "Serpent" is a guaranteed pit-inducing pounder that reminds me of EXODUS's "Brain Dead". "Scorcher" will burn your face with its savage riff. And the breakdown is HATEBREED worthy to be sure. And the icing on the cake is the cover of "Unchained Angel" by the Brandon Florida legends NASTY SAVAGE. As if just covering the song wasn't enough, the nasty one himself, Mr. Ronnie Galleti lends his voice to take the already iconic track to another level. And this connection goes all the way back to 1988 as EXUMER opened for NASTY SAVAGE on their first European tour. The 80's Live!!

  While there's literally thousands of new bands slugging it out all over the world, it's a real joy for me to see the old guard I grew up with still being able to get out there and rage with the passion of a teenager. Both NASTY SAVAGE & EXUMER are still out there making amazing music, along with HELSTAR, MILITIA and CYCLONE, showing the young pups that the old dogs still have a few tricks left. And EXUMER have unleashed an absolute blitzkrieg of an album that proves without a shadow of a doubt that the old dogs still have plenty of bite left! Beware of EXUMER!

  And yes ragers, there is Vinyl aplenty for this crusher. Multiply colors with a couple that are limited to 250 copies. So run, don't walk or cry later over assine prices. GO!

  4.8 Skulls Out Of 5.0