EXMORTEM

Denmark's EXMORTEM celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. That is 15 years of slogging it out through musical trends, a multitude of labels, and every obstacle that comes with survival in the ongoing war that is death metal. Having left Earache after the release of 2005's "Nihilistic Contentment", EXMORTEM now finds a label (Mighty Music) with an impressive death metal pedigree located in the band's own back yard. Album number six, "Funeral Phantoms", is every bit as crushing as its predecessor, yet has little else in common with it.

If you are listening for the HATE ETERNAL style fast blasts that defined "Nihilistic Contentment", you will find very few on "Funeral Phantoms". While arguably even heavier than that release, the approach taken is heavy on the heaviness, but at greatly reduced speeds. In other words, what you get is a lot more bulldozing churn with behemoth riffing from leader/guitarist Martin Thim and Andreas Schubert, the colossal roar of vocalist Simon Petersen (the guy is a friggin' giant),and the active/textured drumming of Morten Siersbaek. That is not to say that there are not up-tempo moments; only that the pacing as a whole is slow-to-mid tempo with speedy breaks in just the right places, and when they do hit the effect is earth shaking. In fact, Siersbaek's role here is far more important than it may seem at first blush, as his drumming is so full of accent and nuance that even with a slow, grinding riff, you'll hear him flailing away, producing an especially gripping contrast.

The key word here is "atmosphere" and "Funeral Phantoms" is bursting at the seams with it. Coarse layers and dark ambience, as well as a general feeling of foreboding, are heard throughout. The band's own production (with Jacob Bredahl's mix and Ziggy's mastering) gets an A+ is this regard.

The grimness doesn't stop there though. Thim's photos, design, and layout are well suited to the music. The lyrics range from religious fanaticism ("The Vultures Gather" and "Slow Death Regimes") to the Serbian death squads ("Funeral Phantom") to pure evil and humanity's propensity to fuck itself ("Fixed in Slime", "Black Opium", "Souls of Tyrants", etc). In short, EXMORTEM brings you death on many levels with "Funeral Phantoms". Most wouldn't call it groundbreaking (and that's never really been the point),but the quintet has certainly paid attention to making "Funeral Phantoms" work as a complete package. Another solid album from the Danes.