Death Metal super stars Exhumed revisit and rerecord their debut masterpiece with Gore Metal: A Necrospective 1998-2015
This maybe one of those things that even if I live until I’m a thousand years old I will never understand why bands do this and yet they continue to do it. It didn’t work for Exodus, it didn’t work for Testament and it doesn’t work here.
Seminal American Death metal/Grindcore act Exhumed have decided for whatever reason to record their 1998 debut masterpiece Gore Metal. It’s not out of print, the album is readily available, the production is sloppy but it fits and is a perfect snap shot in time for the band and yet they feel like retreading over it.
Don’t get me wrong this new recording sounds great and there’s nothing wrong with it but it’s just completely unnecessary. I mean it doesn’t offer anything the original doesn’t just better production and the most recent line up, If you want to know what the band sounds like now just look up a live clip on youtube or go see them if they tour near you.
While I get the reasons behind doing this, the band wishes to pay tribute to the original release by redoing it with the best production they can afford but it only comes across as a cheap cash in. The album still stands as a landmark release for the band and Death Metal in general so nothing can take that away from the original leaving this release somewhat of a morbid curiosity.
Musical this album is as great as it ever was and it’s all there (minus the Sodom cover). The songs are just as awesome as ever just sonically better which I believe robs the album of its uniqueness and takes away the character of what made the original release great.
The only time this whole process of re-recording past songs has remotely worked is when Anthrax did The Greater Of Two Evils because it was live and the songs were all voted in by fans. That album had an air of fun about it and seemed rewarding to the fans for being involved. Also it was tracks chosen by a vote and not just an entire album redone verbatim.
This album is only really worth owning if you are a completest, brand new to the band or an audiophile that can’t stand the less than perfect production of the original
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